At the Mill: Histories, Memories, and Futures of Jaffa
The exhibition At the Mill transforms the old wheat mill on Salameh Road - built over a
century ago - into a multidimensional art space that connects the past with the present
through contemporary visual and performance practices. Once a symbol of progress and of
Jaffa’s expansion beyond its old walls, the mill now stands as a site of layered meanings. Its
structure, marked by the passage of time, reflects the city’s cycles of prosperity, hardship,
and regeneration.
The exhibition invites artists from Jaffa and beyond to engage directly with the mill’s
architecture and layered histories. Through installations, painting, photography, video, and
live performance, the participating artists reimagine the mill as a vessel of memory - one that
both bears witness to forgotten narratives and opens up speculative futures.
The curatorial approach situates the mill not merely as a backdrop but as an active
participant in the dialogue between the works. Artists were invited to engage directly with
its architecture, its textures, and its silences, allowing the site itself to guide the process of
artistic production. The resulting works oscillate between documentation and imagination,
reflecting on the entanglement of spatial memory, personal histories, and collective identity.
By foregrounding the relationships between art, place, and historical consciousness, At the
Mill examines how architecture can operate as both a witness and an agent of
transformation. The exhibition questions the ways in which narratives are constructed and
archived, and how contemporary art can intervene in these processes to challenge fixed
interpretations of history. In doing so, it repositions the mill as a locus for critical reflection
on the politics of memory and belonging in Jaffa today.
Ultimately, the exhibition reclaims the site as a living archive - a space where histories
remain in motion rather than sealed in the past. At the Mill underscores that Jaffa’s story is
not singular nor complete, but continuously rewritten through acts of memory, artistic
engagement, and collective imagination. The mill becomes a site of encounter: between past
and future, material and metaphor, hardship and renewal.
Rula Khoury
Curator
The exhibition At the Mill transforms the old wheat mill on Salameh Road - built over a
century ago - into a multidimensional art space that connects the past with the present
through contemporary visual and performance practices. Once a symbol of progress and of
Jaffa’s expansion beyond its old walls, the mill now stands as a site of layered meanings. Its
structure, marked by the passage of time, reflects the city’s cycles of prosperity, hardship,
and regeneration.
The exhibition invites artists from Jaffa and beyond to engage directly with the mill’s
architecture and layered histories. Through installations, painting, photography, video, and
live performance, the participating artists reimagine the mill as a vessel of memory - one that
both bears witness to forgotten narratives and opens up speculative futures.
The curatorial approach situates the mill not merely as a backdrop but as an active
participant in the dialogue between the works. Artists were invited to engage directly with
its architecture, its textures, and its silences, allowing the site itself to guide the process of
artistic production. The resulting works oscillate between documentation and imagination,
reflecting on the entanglement of spatial memory, personal histories, and collective identity.
By foregrounding the relationships between art, place, and historical consciousness, At the
Mill examines how architecture can operate as both a witness and an agent of
transformation. The exhibition questions the ways in which narratives are constructed and
archived, and how contemporary art can intervene in these processes to challenge fixed
interpretations of history. In doing so, it repositions the mill as a locus for critical reflection
on the politics of memory and belonging in Jaffa today.
Ultimately, the exhibition reclaims the site as a living archive - a space where histories
remain in motion rather than sealed in the past. At the Mill underscores that Jaffa’s story is
not singular nor complete, but continuously rewritten through acts of memory, artistic
engagement, and collective imagination. The mill becomes a site of encounter: between past
and future, material and metaphor, hardship and renewal.
Rula Khoury
Curator
The exhibition At the Mill transforms the old wheat mill on Salameh Road - built over a
century ago - into a multidimensional art space that connects the past with the present
through contemporary visual and performance practices. Once a symbol of progress and of
Jaffa’s expansion beyond its old walls, the mill now stands as a site of layered meanings. Its
structure, marked by the passage of time, reflects the city’s cycles of prosperity, hardship,
and regeneration.
The exhibition invites artists from Jaffa and beyond to engage directly with the mill’s
architecture and layered histories. Through installations, painting, photography, video, and
live performance, the participating artists reimagine the mill as a vessel of memory - one that
both bears witness to forgotten narratives and opens up speculative futures.
The curatorial approach situates the mill not merely as a backdrop but as an active
participant in the dialogue between the works. Artists were invited to engage directly with
its architecture, its textures, and its silences, allowing the site itself to guide the process of
artistic production. The resulting works oscillate between documentation and imagination,
reflecting on the entanglement of spatial memory, personal histories, and collective identity.
By foregrounding the relationships between art, place, and historical consciousness, At the
Mill examines how architecture can operate as both a witness and an agent of
transformation. The exhibition questions the ways in which narratives are constructed and
archived, and how contemporary art can intervene in these processes to challenge fixed
interpretations of history. In doing so, it repositions the mill as a locus for critical reflection
on the politics of memory and belonging in Jaffa today.
Ultimately, the exhibition reclaims the site as a living archive - a space where histories
remain in motion rather than sealed in the past. At the Mill underscores that Jaffa’s story is
not singular nor complete, but continuously rewritten through acts of memory, artistic
engagement, and collective imagination. The mill becomes a site of encounter: between past
and future, material and metaphor, hardship and renewal.
Rula Khoury
Curator
The exhibition At the Mill transforms the old wheat mill on Salameh Road - built over a
century ago - into a multidimensional art space that connects the past with the present
through contemporary visual and performance practices. Once a symbol of progress and of
Jaffa’s expansion beyond its old walls, the mill now stands as a site of layered meanings. Its
structure, marked by the passage of time, reflects the city’s cycles of prosperity, hardship,
and regeneration.
The exhibition invites artists from Jaffa and beyond to engage directly with the mill’s
architecture and layered histories. Through installations, painting, photography, video, and
live performance, the participating artists reimagine the mill as a vessel of memory - one that
both bears witness to forgotten narratives and opens up speculative futures.
The curatorial approach situates the mill not merely as a backdrop but as an active
participant in the dialogue between the works. Artists were invited to engage directly with
its architecture, its textures, and its silences, allowing the site itself to guide the process of
artistic production. The resulting works oscillate between documentation and imagination,
reflecting on the entanglement of spatial memory, personal histories, and collective identity.
By foregrounding the relationships between art, place, and historical consciousness, At the
Mill examines how architecture can operate as both a witness and an agent of
transformation. The exhibition questions the ways in which narratives are constructed and
archived, and how contemporary art can intervene in these processes to challenge fixed
interpretations of history. In doing so, it repositions the mill as a locus for critical reflection
on the politics of memory and belonging in Jaffa today.
Ultimately, the exhibition reclaims the site as a living archive - a space where histories
remain in motion rather than sealed in the past. At the Mill underscores that Jaffa’s story is
not singular nor complete, but continuously rewritten through acts of memory, artistic
engagement, and collective imagination. The mill becomes a site of encounter: between past
and future, material and metaphor, hardship and renewal.
Rula Khoury
Curator