HOW FRAGMENTS THEATRE KEEPS HERITAGE ALIVE IN JENIN ' S OLD CITY
Beyond
Museum Walls
HOW FRAGMENTS THEATRE KEEPS HERITAGE ALIVE IN JENIN ' S OLD CITY
In Jenin’ s Old City, where Cinema Jenin has been demolished and historical landmarks disappear into commercial development, a small theatre is doing what traditional museums often cannot: turning heritage into lived practice co-created by the community it serves.
Fragments Theatre, founded by Rawand Arqawi, performs essential museum functions— preserving memory, transmitting heritage, building identity— through a radically participatory model that positions young people as co-creators rather than passive recipients. In 2025, this work earned Arqawi the AFIELD Fellowship, awarded to three individuals worldwide who have initiated bold, long-term social projects within their communities. Each Fellow receives a grant and joins a lifelong peer network of changemakers.
THE MUSEUM ECOSYSTEM
When we map the Arab world’ s cultural infrastructure, museums occupy the institutional center. Surrounding them is a network of community arts spaces, civic cultural centers, artist collectives, and neighborhood theaters— not replacements for museums, but extensions of the museum mission into contexts where formal institutions cannot easily reach.
Fragments Theatre exemplifies this role. Operating in Jenin’ s Old City— a close-knit neighborhood where social conservatism initially resisted its presence— it has become what Arqawi calls“ a space and a home for artists, children, and residents of the Old City, a place for learning, sharing ideas, and exchanging experiences.”
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