Forty percent of Palestinians are clinically depressed, a rate unmatched anywhere in the word. It's more than triple that of the U.S., ten times higher than in the U.K., and four to eight times higher than in Scandinavia, where the sun doesn't shine for a good part of the year. For Palestinian neuroscientist Mohammad Herzallah, this epidemic is an opportunity, if a tragic one, because it has made his country an ideal place to do groundbreaking research into the effects of depression on the brain. 

The exhibition Jericho - Beyond the Celestial and the Terrestrial appears small, compiled of one major work or installation by each of the five artists involved. But the show - now running at the Birzeit University Museum in the occupied West Bank - is built upon long processes of research and creativity, resulting in several extensive and atypical considerations of the city of Jericho. Part of the Cities Exhibition, founded by Ramallah-based artist Vera Tamari, it follows a series of other shows based on studies of West Bank cities. The past editions have focused on Jerusalem, Ramallah and Nablus. 

Palestinian architect Naseer Arafat has dedicated much of his life and work to the restoration and preservation of buildings in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. Last year, his extensive research and work came to fruition as Nablus, City of Civilizations, an impressive and extensive architectural and historical survey of the ancient city. 

Judges for the 2013 World Press Photo Contest have awarded the Photo of the Year to Swedish photojournalist Paul Hansen for his photograph of a Gazan funeral procession taken during Operation Pillar of Cloud last November. The award is considered one of the most prestigious photojournalism honors in the world. The procession was for Fouad Hijazi and his two children Sohaib, 2, and Muhamad, 4, killed by an Israeli airstrike November 19, 2012. 

Britain is, it seems, becoming the place to see Palestinian contemporary art. After exhibitions in Manchester and London in 2012 devoted to or with major representation of Palestinian artists, the capital has now upped the ante with the opening of P21, a gallery specializing in work by Palestinian artists or engaging with the theme of Palestine. 

Born and raised in Gaza, El Saqqa is justly proud of Despite, as the exhibition at the Richmix arts center in east London was called. He assembled this collection, along with Nicola Gray and the organization Arts Canteen. Despite has been an important exhibition for many reasons. It is probably one of the largest collections of art from Gaza ever shown, at least outside the Middle East. Nine of the sixteen artists represented at the December show are still based in Gaza. 

Just a stone's throw away from Jerusalem lies a sleepy town with an infamous name. Qalandiya, a village bordering the holy city but divided from it by the Israeli separation wall, shares the same name as the hulking Israeli checkpoint between the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This week, the town of almost 1,000 came into the limelight for hosting the inauguration of the Palestinian Occupied Territory's largest biennale to date. Following in the footsteps of previous biennials, Qalandiya International (QI) will be held every two years. 

My friend Husam Zakharia is a Palestinian comic artist living in California. Through his website "the cartoonish inner thoughts of a young brown man," Husam takes on Israeli and American policies, as well as the Arab Spring and consumerism. His online collection includes a few pieces themed around Palestinian hunger strikers. And with Mahmoud Sarsak and Akram Rekhawi carrying on the plight for detainee rights through 81 and 57 days of fast, respectively, I thought it relevant to post a few.