Dr Adila Laidi-Hanieh is the director general of The Palestinian Museum. This is a flagship project of the Welfare Association, a non-profit organisation that develops humanitarian projects in Palestine. It opened in 2016 and is located in Birzeit, 25 kilometres north of Jerusalem. Heneghan Peng is the architectural firm responsible for the building – the same firm behind the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Laidi-Hanieh has been in this role since 2018 and has been instrumental in setting a schedule of exhibitions, as well as developing the museum’s first five-year programme strategy. She is also responsible for creating the institution’s internal structure, in order to develop a framework where professional practices are grown, experience is accumulated, and standards of excellence are set, in order to build a museum that is sustainable. In taking on the role, Laidi-Hanieh established two new departments, which are focused on curating, and on research and knowledge programming.
The museum’s research programs develop knowledge that is relevant inside and outside Palestine and it aims to connect with the 10 million Palestinians scattered around the world, as well as with all those interested in the region, transcending political and geographical borders. In 2020, Laidi-Hanieh led the museum’s COVID-19 lockdown programming, meaning that it was able to continue providing activities online and also allowing it to grow its audience, reaching a wider number of people.
A writer and scholar, her mission is to produce learning experiences about Palestine, its people and its history, and to engage audiences with these experiences. During her tenure, the museum won the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Laidi-Hanieh is also the founding director of the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre NGO and has published a number of essays and books. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from George Mason University as a Fulbright Scholar, as well as an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University.