we refuse_d brought together fifteen artists whose practices explore refusal, endurance, and action—asking what it means to persist, resist, and create under conditions of silencing, censorship, and displacement.
Developed through ongoing dialogue between artists and curators, we refuse_d was both a collective statement and a space for solidarity. It resonated with the spirit of the nineteenth-century Parisian Salon des Refusés, drawing attention to the fragile optimism and resilience that emerge in times of crisis.
Most of the works were new commissions, presented by artists who affirm the necessity of art as presence. Through the lens of refusal, their works trace paths of persistence, resistance, heritage, community, collective care, and repair.
Above all, we refuse_d was an exhibition about life, persistence, and the necessity of making art.
Artists: Jumana Manna, Barış Doğrusöz, Nour Shantout, Samia Halaby, Emily Jacir, Taysir Batniji, yasmine eid sabbagh (with Tabara Korka Ndiaye and Ndeye Debo Seck), Khalil Rabah, Oraib Toukan, DAAR (Sandi Hilal, Alessandro Petti), Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara, Majd Abdelhamid, Dima Srouji, Suha Shoman, and Walid Raad (with Pierre Huyghebaert).
