Sara El-Jazara is an art historian, researcher, and archivist whose practice explores the intersections of art, memory, and resistance in the Arab world. Her work engages with the politics of the archive, tracing fragmented histories and artistic practices as acts of preservation and collective reclamation.
A graduate of Marist College in Florence, Italy, El-Jazara’s professional experience spans research, archiving, editing, curation, gallery management, and art consultancy.
CV
TALKS.WORKSHOPS
REVOLUTIONARY PALESTINIAN ART
talk
2024
I was invited by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at King’s Academy to give a talk on Palestinian art. This talk welcomed students, faculty, and staff. I discussed Palestinian art, with a particular focus on revolutionary aspects of Palestinian art practices from pre-1948 until today.
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SUSTAINABILITY IN ARAB ART PRACTICES
talk
2022
I was invited by Remote Closeness to give a talk on “sustainable” art practices in the Arab world. At the heart of the talk, I argued that the notions of “sustainability” are a result of capitalism and a by-product of the inherently unsustainable Western model of art-making. Whereas, historically, Arab art practices have been inherently “sustainable” as they act deeply in connection with their surrounding environment.
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AROUND THE ARCHIVE
workshop
2022
This four-part seminar series offered a critical survey of modern and contemporary art across the SWANA region, tracing the evolution of visual language from early 20th-century colonial mandates to the contemporary post-war era. Central to this program was an experimental, collaborative approach, where I worked alongside participants to collectively deconstruct established narratives and fill archival gaps. This process transformed the sessions from traditional lectures into a shared investigation of how artists navigate political upheaval and cultural identity.
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ART WEEK @ KING’S ACADEMY
workshop
2022
The Art Week 2022 workshop at King’s Academy provided students with a concise overview of Arab art history from the 19th century to the present, combining visual analysis with historical context to show how art in North Africa and West Asia reflects major social and political developments. It explored key moments such as Western Orientalism, the fall of the Ottoman Empire, colonial rule, nationalist movements, the occupation of Palestine, and regional conflicts like the Lebanese Civil War and the Iran-Iraq War, highlighting their influence on artistic production. The workshop also emphasized challenges in accessing art archives, encouraging students to question where knowledge comes from and to rethink the purpose and definition of the archive.
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