oa In and Out of Place: Resistance in the Musealisation of Palestinian Exile

At the end of a long alley within the overcrowded Shatila refugee camp for Palestinians in Beirut stands The Museum of Memories. A small museum space which houses objects that Shatila residents brought with them from Palestine in the aftermath of al-Nakba. This museum is no nostalgic archive of Palestine – it is an important space of resistance. This paper makes use of Edward Said’s (2000) conceptualisation of exile as being ‘out of place’ to demonstrate how the objects adorning the walls of the Museum of Memories from ceiling to floor, are as this paper will propose paradoxically both in and out of place. Drawing upon theory surrounding museum practice and material culture, the paper draws readers’ attention to the uncomfortable practicalities, ethics, and politics of researching the Museum of Memories. The paper, whilst focusing on the specific case of Palestinian exile, draws out a discussion about the wider way in which we tell stories of exile and how we think about the objects which should find themselves within museum spaces. Where we understand these everyday ephemeras of exile as contributing to a rich and nuanced understanding of exile stories with powerful resistance roles.