An ambitious new project currently underway in Bethlehem hopes to create an international peace monument using various art forms.

Planned to coincide with the Palestinian initiative celebrating the year 2000 in Bethlehem, the project is the brainchild of a native Jerusalemite, Ibrahim Nashashibi, a lawyer turned artist who left Jerusalem in 1967 and is now resident in the United States.

Nashashibi, who only decided to become an artist at the age of 38, has since exhibited works at the United Nations, in the US, Japan, Mexico, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and many other countries.

Now successfully established in California, the artist would like to contribute something to his home country of Palestine which would also symbolize world peace and cooperation.

In 1995, the idea of an international peace museum of the arts was born, and preparatory work began. The support and approval of the Palestinian Authority and President Yasser Arafat was obtained; a site was identified (in Area A) in Beit Jala and its donation from the owner, the Greek Patriarchate, successfully achieved; the organizing foundation, the International Peace Monument for the Arts (IPMA), received non-profit status in the United States as a global, cultural/art/education organization. Currently on a coordinating trip to Palestine, Nashashibi met with the head of the Bethlehem 2000 Steering Committee, Hanan Ashrawi, who is also Minister of Higher Education in the Palestinian Authority. The Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing and supervising the numerous initiatives that have been put forward for Bethlehem to mark the millennium.

The Bethlehem 2000 program is receiving particular attention from the PA and donors, including UNDP and UNESCO, because of the city's importance to the tourism industry, one of the sectors targeted by the PA as having huge growth potential. IPMA is leaving the identification of funders to the Steering Committee, and taking on the huge task of securing and coordinating the international artistic involvement.

With the IPMA, Bethlehem would be able to offer a unique, world-class museum, exhibition and performance hall that pays tribute to and encourages cooperation between artists from all over the world. The idea behind the IPMA lies in Nashashibi's design of the building itself, which would have eight-sided star-shaped levels decreasing in size from the ground floor up (see illustration). The design was made to host 48 murals from 48 different countries, allowing the murals to stand independently yet also remain grouped together. The three media used will be painting, stained glass and mosaic. A total of three levels will sit atop concentric circular platforms that will serve as stairs inside the building, accessing the different levels. From the inside, the building will be a pyramid-style three-storey museum, with three major galleries and a performance hall for theater and other cultural events. One gallery will be devoted to cyber-art, with high-tech and computer-generated art; a second will hold art work by children from the 48 participating countries. Each country involved in the project is responsible for the donation of four works of art, including one mural, one work by an adult artist, one by a child, and one sculpture.

The production of the murals themselves will be a collaborative effort between international artists and local artists and craftspeople. Nashashibi says that, "We found that the best material able to last 2,000 years or more is mosaic. The artists will come from their countries to Bethlehem and, working with local people, will silk-screen their images on to tiles, which will then be fired in a kiln in Hebron. The artists will supervise the work on-site. This is the quickest and easiest way to do the murals and they will last. So, not only is it easy to do and to maintain, but mosaic is beautiful and it fits in with the feeling of the area." The project also calls for an artists' village to be constructed next to the museum, where workshops can be held. Nashashibi hopes that this will be the beginning of the Palestinian Academy -- "a place where artists can meet from all of these different countries. I believe in putting people together, introducing them to the ideals, dreams and art of the others." The project appears to be well on its way, with coordinating committees in Japan, Mexico, Jordan, UAE, Canada, Morocco, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Once the anticipated US$10 million in costs has been raised, construction is anticipated to take 12-14 months.

Further information on the project is available at the IPMA's Web site:

http://www.console.net.bethelehem2000 or by e-mail: inter33@console.net

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