MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels) x articule
© Credits: Ola Alkrenawi, The Bride, still image, 2024.
The Lost Paintings: a Prelude to Return
Exhibition from August 29 to October 4, 2025
Opening reception on Friday, August 29th, from 5 to 8 PM
The Lost Paintings exhibition is curated by Joëlle Tomb, Haidi Motola, and Rula Khoury.
This exhibition gathers 53 artists from Palestine and its diaspora across time and borders to reimagine the missing works of Maroun Tomb, a Palestinian-Lebanese artist, whose 1947 exhibition in Haifa was lost amid the mass displacement and dispossession of the Palestinians during the Nakba. The works resurrect a moment that was nearly erased until it was discovered in archival documents.
Drawing from the minimal information of Tomb's last exhibition in Palestine before his forced exile, the contemporary artists’ responses navigate across painting, photography, multi-media, sculpture and video to move between what was and what could be. They do not reconstruct the past, but reclaim it—through fragments, gestures, and stories passed across generations. Bringing together today’s rising artists alongside the trailblazers of Palestinian modern art, this exhibition is a collective act of resistance paired with interrogation of colonial violence and its consequences on multiple generations.
From Haifa to Gaza, landscapes are revisited not as backgrounds, but as living witnesses; still life is rendered unstable, objects and places teetering between presence and disappearance. Archival fragments reemerge as portals, where loss is neither resolved nor concealed but held, examined, and reimagined. Rather than reconstruct the past, the exhibition inhabits the void—where what is absent does not vanish, but stands determined. In this space, memory becomes an act of return, not to what was, but to what still calls.
The Lost Paintings is a nonprofit organization established to advance the work on The Lost Paintings project. The organization is a collective of international curators and cultural producers committed to sharing the untold stories behind art from diverse cultures around the world. The mission of the organization is to bring forgotten and lesser-known works of art into public view through thoughtfully curated exhibitions, insightful artist talks, films and immersive educational tours. By connecting historical narratives with contemporary perspectives, The Lost Paintings seeks to inspire a deeper understanding and appreciation of art’s pivotal role in shaping cultures and histories globally. The Lost Paintings is a registered nonprofit organization based in the US.
Artists — Noor Abed • Abed Abedi • Hala Abo Freh • Ghassan Yousef Abulaban • Tala Abunuwar • Ruba Al-Faraouna • Dalia Osama Ali • Faten Abu Ali • Sama Alshaibi • Aysha E Arar • Doaa Badran • Nasrin Abu Baker • Joanna Bararkat • Jacqueline Bassoul Béjani • Doris Bittar • Benji Boyadgian • Muhammad Nour Elkhairy • Faissal El-Malak • Ashraf Fawakhry • Michael Halak • Aya Abu Hawash • Iman Jabrah • Raed Issa • Khaled Jarrar • Madeleine K • Juhaina Habibi Kandalaft • Dina Nazmi Khorchid • Bayan Kiwan • Noel Maghathe • Yara Kassem Mahajena • Maria Saleh Mahameed • Souad Nasr Makhoul • Suleiman Mansour • Sara Mraish • Zohdy Qadry • Antoine Elias Raffoul • Ridikkuluz • Fatima Abu Roomi • Steve Sabella • Razan AlSalah • Nora Sayyad • Farid Abu Shakra • Samah Shihadi • Nardeen Srouji • Roba Taleb • Dalleh Tarabey • Fouad Tomb • Lorena Tomb • Sandra Tomb • Mary Tuma • Sharif Waked • Ronen Zien • Manar Zuabi
Acknowledgements
This travelling exhibition extends across two venues – Montréal, arts interculturels and articule. It was produced with the support of the Kone Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts and Conseil des Arts et des Lettres de Québec.
MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels)
Founded in 1999, MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels) is a non-profit organization that supports the development, creation, presentation and promotion of intercultural arts for a variety of audiences. MAI's programming promotes hybrid and innovative practices in dance, theatre, visual arts, speech arts, performance, music and arts, while building bridges between artists and local communities through its Public + program.
For any questions or requests concerning accessibility to the event or our gallery space, please contact James Goddard via email or by phone at 514-842-9686. For general accessibility information, please visit our dedicated page. We are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming space for all.
Considering ongoing COVID-19 and flu transmissions, please note that mask wearing is strongly recommended during events.