Noor Abuarafeh (born 1986, Jerusalem) is a Palestinian visual artist who works primarily with video installation, performance, and text-based art.[1] Her work explores themes of memory, imagination, and the construction and interpretation of history.[2]

Noor Abuarafeh
  • نور أبو عرفة (Arabic)
  • נור אבוארפה (Hebrew)
Born1986 (age 3940)
Alma materBezalel Academy of Arts and Design

Education

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Abuarafeh earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.[3] After graduating, she participated in the Homeworks Space Program, a one-year program at Ashkal Alwan in Lebanon.[3]

Career

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Much of Abuarafeh's work is concerned with memory and archives, particularly the politics of what is included or excluded from archives.[3][4] Abuarafeh is also interested in Palestinian art as a whole, especially how artwork made in Palestine reached Europe.[5]

In 2017, she wrote the novel 'The Earth Doesn't Tell Its Secrets' -- His Father Once Said for the Sharjah Biennial 13.[6]

In 2018, Abuarafeh competed a residency at the Delfina Foundation in London.[5][7][8] As part of this residency, she published Rumours Began Some Time Ago, which detailed her residential research.[5]

Abuarafeh's 2018 video piece, "Am I the ageless object at the museum?" was shown at the 2019 Mediterranea Biennale,[9] the 11th Berlin Biennale (2020),[10][11] the 59th Venice Biennale (2021),[2] the Kamel Lazaar Foundation in Tunisia (2023),[12] and the Fries Museum (2023-2024).[13]

Abuarafeh had her first solo exhibition in 2019, at the Al Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art in Jerusalem.[14] In 2021, Abuarafeh had a solo exhibition at the Behna El Wekalah art space in Alexandria, Egypt.[15] In 2023, Abuarafeh held her first solo exhibition in Germany at Kunstverein München.[4] Her work was included in the exhibition Defenders of the Homeland at the B7L9 Art Station in January 2023.[12] Her work is expected to appear at the 41st EVA International in August 2025.[16]

Abuarafeh is a member of the Sharjah Art Foundation[17] and has received a grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture.[18]

References

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  1. "Noor Abuarafeh". ArtEZ University of Arts. Archived from the original on 6 November 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 Weisburg, Madeline (17 March 2022). "Noor Abuarafeh". La Biennale di Venezia. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Senova, Basak (2015). "Noor Abuarafeh: Art is a Family Memory". Tribe Photo Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Noor Abuarafeh 'Resistive Narratives' at Kunstverein München". Mousse Magazine. 5 October 2023. Archived from the original on 13 March 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Noor Abuarafeh: Rumours Began Some Time Ago". Delfina Foundation. 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on 14 March 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  6. Abuarafeh, Noor (2017). 'The Earth Doesn't Tell Its Secrets' -- His Father Once Said. Sharjah Art Foundation. ISBN 978-9948-23-204-9. OCLC 1043956640 via Google Books.
  7. "Noor Abuarafeh". Delfina Foundation. 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  8. "Research Residency - Noor Abuarafeh". 4Cs - From Conflict to Conviviality through Creativity and Culture. 25 June 2018. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  9. "Noor Abuarafeh — Mediterranea 19". Mediterranea Biennial. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  10. Pinto, Ana Teixeira (2020). "Participants: Noor Abuarafeh". Berlin Biennale. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  11. Larios, Pablo (25 September 2020). "Why the Real 11th Berlin Biennale Happens Outside the Institution". Frieze. No. 215. ISSN 0962-0672. Archived from the original on 20 February 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Defenders of the Homeland". Kamel Lazaar Foundation. 17 January 2023. Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  13. "Exhibitions: Seeds of Memory". Fries Museum. 2023. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  14. "Noor Abuarafeh". Al Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art. 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  15. Mounier, Nadia (15 January 2022). "Noor Abuarafeh: How To Resist Forgetfulness". TASAWORAT. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  16. "41st edition of Ireland's biennial of contemporary art - Announcements". e-flux. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  17. "People - Noor Abuarafeh". Sharjah Art Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 March 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  18. "Grantees: Noor Abuarafeh". Arab Fund for Arts and Culture. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
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