The Palestinian Table

In the installation The Table, we take an everyday and recognisable object as our starting point: a table. A table is more than a piece of furniture. It is a place where people meet, eat together, laugh, tell stories and pass on traditions. In many cultures, the table symbolises connection and hospitality, but also what has been lost through conflict, displacement and oppression.  

Here we tell a story beyond, and despite, apartheid. It is not about resilience as an achievement, but about the right to simply live — with access to food, water, land and community. Palestine is the starting point for this installation. For centuries, it was a fertile trading region, known for its vines, grain, olives and spices. This abundance lives on in recipes, flavours and rituals that are still part of the culture, even though they are threatened by blockades, land loss and lack of access to water.  

Workshops

The Table consists of several parts and grows during the set-up phase. Visitors are invited to participate in creative sessions in which they work together on the table textiles and decorations. These sessions take place on:  

20, 21, 27 and 28 September, each in four time slots:  

12:00 – 12:45  

13:00 – 13:45  

14:00 – 14:45  

15:00 – 15:45  

Tickets for the creative sessions can be reserved here soon.

During these weeks, the table will slowly be built, shared and experienced – a place of encounter, reflection and hope, in which small acts of sharing, gifts, cooperation and attention tell a great story of connectedness.

Our goal is to have the table ready by the end of November, fully constructed and ready to be presented and celebrated. On 29 November, we are organising a special opening event in collaboration with the Palestinian restaurant Akub and The Spirit of Amsterdam, during which the table will be unveiled in all its richness and significance. 
Come along, take a seat, contribute and be moved by this table of life.
 

About the ongoing Imagine Peace programme
 

Imagine Peace is an ongoing programme at the Wereldmuseum in which we explore how peace can exist — not as an abstract ideal, but as something tangible and human. It is about moments of encounter and shared experience, without exclusion, and with room for mourning, remembrance and hope.  

In Imagine Peace, the Wereldmuseum explores how peace can take shape, even in times of loss and inequality. This series of installations focuses on encounters — without hierarchy, without exclusion.