The University of Waterloo Art Gallery (UWAG) opened an exhibition titled "i look to the skies," a solo installation by Palestinian-Canadian interdisciplinary artist Jude Abu Zaineh. The work centers on Maqlouba, a traditional Palestinian dish, as a metaphor for diaspora, memory, and cultural preservation. The installation incorporates bioart, video, sculpture, textiles, and petri dishes cultivated from food remnants and foraged materials, creating a contemplative sanctuary that explores themes of exile, migration, and identity under colonial violence.
This exhibition matters because it brings together contemporary art, food culture, and decolonial practice in a deeply personal yet universal meditation on displacement and belonging. Abu Zaineh's work, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and developed in partnership with Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, highlights how visual art can serve as a form of cultural archive and resistance. The show also underscores the growing recognition of Palestinian narratives in Canadian art institutions and the role of interdisciplinary methods in addressing urgent social and political themes.