Venetia Porter

Dina Matar

Conflict does more than destroy physical spaces - it extinguishes lives, erases histories and disrupts the collective memory of entire communities. In Gaza, where genocide has brought unimaginable suffering, the destruction of cultural heritage adds another dimension of loss. Tangible and intangible legacies - the sites, artifacts and stories that anchor identity - are being destroyed alongside the people who create and preserve them. In such a context, the act of archiving becomes vital, a way to resist erasure and to preserve memory amid destruction. Archiving Gaza in the Present addresses this urgent crisis. Edited by Venetia Porter and Dina Matar, this interdisciplinary collection gathers voices from diverse fields - law, art, archaeology, journalism, architecture and more - who document the degradation of Gaza's rich cultural landscape and explore the ways in which we can preserve its memory and heritage. In essays, interviews, poems and visual materials, including more than one hundred photographs, maps and artworks, this invaluable collection emphasises the legal, emotional and cultural stakes of the preservation of Gaza and its culture. Archiving Gaza in the Present is a crucial resource for understanding the intersections of war, heritage and identity, and a call to action for intervention and preservation. Contributors include Selma Dabbagh, Salman Abu Sitta, Shareef Sarhan, Hazem Harb, Malak Mattar, Marc-André Haldimann, Nadia Yaqub, Omar Al-Qattan, Kegham Djeghalian, Caitlin Procter, Atef Alshaer, Shatha Safi, Yara Sharif and Nasser Golzar.

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