Arsheef Sido, Grandfather’s Archive

My grandfather Khalil was a documenter. He kept journals, took photos, wrote notes, and wrote letters to Palestinian family and friends who eventually spread around the world. Recently I discovered through my aunt that my grandfather saved all of these things, and many of them are still in excellent condition, and I knew I had to turn his archive of memories, experiences, and stories into a book.

This book is a celebratory archive. I grew up being so proud of being Palestinian, and it was such a normal thing. The music we listened to, the food we ate, the embroidery that decorated all of Tata's chairs and tables, those things were part of the visual language of my childhood and of many Palestinians around the world. I want this book to shift the perspective from the mainstream media's obsession with making us either victims, violent militant terrorists, or poor people on viral videos/photographs. Palestinians come from such a rich culture, filled with poetry, music and language that will move your soul, food that will make you want to write home to talk about, and minds filled with critical and creative thought (and so much more). This book will highlight these parts of our culture through the detailed journals of my Sido, which he started in the 1940s until the 2000s when he became too sick to write. There is a definite shift from his tone of voice after leaving Palestine and resettling in Jordan, and he does also write about the various uprisings and attacks that are such a part of the Palestinian story and history now. Though those are not the focus of my book, I want to show how my Palestinian family dealt with the reality of what was happening to them, and the resilience through which they picked up and carried on, never once forgetting where they came from.

This book will be produced with the generous support from Warehouse421 and Art Jameel.