This article was originally published by This Week in Palestine and is republished with permission.

Paintings depicting diverse impressions of the city of Jerusalem, such as these by Suleiman Mansour (left) and Samia Halaby (right) will displayed in the Through their eyes exhibition, which opens March 12th in East Jerusalem.

Why Jerusalem? What was the inspiration? How was the city viewed and reflected? Which memories, impressions, images and recollections? These were some of the questions we raised as we started working to produce the exhibition Through their eyes, a collection of Palestinian visual art organized as the opening event of Jerusalem's celebration of its selection as Capital of Arab Culture 2009.

Along generations, Jerusalem has been a source of inspirations for intellects, poets, writers, musicians and obviously fine artists. The history of the city that goes back millenniums, its connection with the diverse believers of the world and even the concurrent wars, crises and fights over the city by the different invaders and occupiers have added up to its glory and magic.

In the present, the city stays to be a source of controversies, not only from the political aspect, but also from the complex social status filled with contradictions and absurdities, where its original residents are deprived their basic rights. All this has always been and still comprises a motivating source of creation on all levels.

As Jerusalem was announced Capital of Arab Cultural 2009, an exhibition that brings together Jerusalem with all its various representations and early pioneering Palestinian artists seemed to be the right project with which to open our 2009 program and to contribute to this international celebration of our city.

Through their Eyes is an exhibition that brings together Palestinian artists who, over decades, have been painting Jerusalem in a wide array of rich representations, using various themes, styles and mediums.

The focus is on the works that reflected their different representations of the city, their impressions, memories, images and recollections before its occupation in 1967, and after.

The exhibition intends to touch on the diversity of works created by artists who at some point had lived or experienced the glory of this unique city. They have presented the city in realism through painting its long-lived magical architecture with the focus on it famous golden skyline. Others chose the more abstract representation inspired by its clustered lines and vivid colors.

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The exhibition opens on March 12th and runs through April 25th.

Participating artists include: Kamal Boullata, Samia Halaby, Sophie Halaby, Jumana Husseini, Suleiman Mansour, Taysir Sharaf, Vera Tamari, Vladimir Tamari and Daoud Zalatimo.

Through their eyes was produced by the Palestinian Art Court-al Hoash, in cooperation with the Ethnographic and Art Museum at Birzeit University and the International Academy of Arts-Palestine.