Lifestyle

Art Under Occupation: Palestinian-Canadian artist Hanny Khoury talks art, identity, and belonging

Published

5 years ago

August 6, 2021

Palestinian-Canadian artist Hanny Khoury has spent years thoughtfully exploring his identity, trying to establish his understanding of what it means to be Palestinian.Art has always been his lifeline, an outlet where he channels frustrations and emotions, seeking a means of representing his past in a way that empathizes with an international audience. From Palestine to Canada, his journey has been difficult and encouraging, a true redemption arc that’s far from over.

Khoury grew up in a small village in historical Palestine-one of six children-under the Israeli occupation. As far back as he can remember, his identity, and the identities of his family and neighbors, were conflated with the information being spread by the occupation. “You are a Palestinian, a minority living under occupation. The environment is weird, nothing is clear.You can’t identify yourself and you don’t grow up with a clear identity that’s solid,” says Khoury.“From school to the media, the occupation is basically programming your brain, to make you forget your identity.”

Art was the one thing that could ground Khoury to something tangible. It was a means of coping with the instability of his daily life and allowed him to express his confusion. As he describes, it was a means of creating an entirely new world: “It’s like I was creating my own environment, my own life, the way I wanted it to be. With time, art became a healing process for me. It became the one thing through which I rebuild the relationship with everything around me and make peace with it. Heal it. That’s how art spoke to me. Art became like food for me, or water.”Even when his parents struggled to afford necessities, his mother would use soil and flowers to make natural pigments he could paint with. Walls, doors, broken pieces of wood-anything could serve as a canvas in Khoury’s eyes.

Eventually, after years of tension, both internally and with his environment, he made his way to Canada. This fresh start opened his mind, and he finally found the space and time to focus on his practice. It was during this period that he began to consider the parameters of being a Palestinian artist in a contemporary context. As a child, Khoury’s sources of artistic inspiration were limited to what was acceptable under the occupation. Names from Western art history, like Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, were tolerable, but examples of Palestinian art were scarce. “Back then, I didn’t have anything that made me a Palestinian artist. I got this sense of belonging later in life, through my own research. I developedan awareness about our existence as Palestinians and then my art started to belong to the history and the story of Palestine. Before that, I didn’t have the opportunity to learn that information,” says Khoury.

Through his studies and careful research, Khoury began to form his own idea about the critical difference between being a Palestinian artist and producing Palestine art. “I think the Palestinian story of identity loss, it had its own time,” he explains.“Silman Mansour, Nabil Anani, Ismail Shammout-those artists had to do it because they had to construct their identity and the identity of the Palestinian people. For us, as the young generation in or from Palestine, we must do something different. We have to work with an international language, while still belonging to the Palestinian identity.” Khoury’s search for identity is also a search for expression, finding a way to leverage Palestinian form to resonate on an international, even universal, level.

Currently represented by Mark Hachem Gallery, Khoury’s work is set to make an impression on audiences around the world. He has already made great strides with his ability to translate his own experiences into a visual, emotionallanguage that anyone can connect with. “What I have suffered in my life, the experiences, the journey I had in Palestine-this is what developed my international language of art. This is where it came from. The figures, the colors, the balance. Everything that makes up my work is Palestinian, but the figures themselves aren’t necessarily Palestinian,” he explains. “Art is translating the time period that we live in, visually.The modern world of art is not translating specific moments, it’s translating specific emotions. We talk about our conflicts, our difficulties, our pain, the system. That’s what we talk about as artists. So, when we look at art, it should deliver emotion. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with belonging to the physical world. It can be connected to the emotional world, or faith.” Confident and passionate, Khoury is forging ahead with a new vision of what Palestinian art could be, offering the next generation of young artists what he was denied growing up: an inspirational figure.

Lifestyle

Finding the “Best Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me:” A Complete Guide

Published

20 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Michelle Langton

Getting injured in a car accident is a stressful time. After all, you could face serious injuries that affect you for the rest of your life.

Thankfully, a good personal injury lawyer can help you navigate this complex moment in your life, but it can be easy to get overwhelmed finding the right one. If you are a resident of the Old Dominion and Googling “best injury lawyer near me Virginia,” look no further than the Richmond law firm Burnett & Williams.

One of the most common questions people ask about hiring an attorney after a car crash is “When should I contact a lawyer?” The answer is as soon as possible.

After receiving medical care, your next call should be to a personal injury attorney, as they will be able to get the ball rolling on your personal injury claim. A sense of urgency will help them fight to get you the compensation you deserve and prevent you from making any mistakes with the insurance company that will hurt you in the long term.

An important thing to keep in mind when hiring a personal injury attorney is the statute of limitations, the state-imposed deadline by which a victim has to file a lawsuit. If you miss this deadline, you could be barred from receiving any damages for the accident.

Although the statute of limitations can vary from state to state, in many states, including under Virginia law, it is two years from the date of an accident. If you delay hiring an attorney, it gives them less time to prepare your case.

Why hire a personal injury attorney?

But what does a personal injury attorney do that helps your case? The main benefits of hiring a personal injury attorney include:

Investigation: After hiring an attorney, they will begin an extensive investigation process. They will collect all records, including police reports, medical records, witness statements, and photos you took of the scene. They may also revisit the scene of the accident or consult expert witnesses, such as medical experts or accident reconstruction specialists, to build the strongest possible case.

Negotiation: Your lawyer will then get to work crafting a demand letter to the insurance company (or companies). One of the best things about hiring a personal injury attorney is that they handle all communications and negotiations with insurance companies on your behalf. Not only does this mean that you are less likely to fall victim to the insurance adjusters’ pressuring tactics, but it also allows you to focus more on what matters most: your recovery.

Trial representation: While many personal injury cases end in settlements, sometimes both sides cannot come to an agreement for fair compensation. In these cases, your claim will proceed to trial, where it will be heard by a judge and/or jury. When a personal injury case goes to court, it is important to have a skilled trial lawyer on your side who is willing and able to argue your case.

How to determine which Virginia personal injury lawyer is best for your Virginia injury claim

However, it can be difficult to determine which personal injury attorney to hire. There are tons of radio ads, billboards, and Google search results that all claim to be the “best injury lawyer near me,” so how do you know which ones actually are the best? Attorney C. James Williams III, principal at Burnett & Williams, guides us through what injury victims should look for when hiring an attorney.

One of the first things to look for when hiring a personal injury attorney is their fee structure. The best personal injury lawyers typically work on a contingency fee basis, meaning they are paid a percentage of the final settlement or award. These are the “we don’t get paid unless you win” guarantees.

While other specialties, such as criminal law, operate on an hourly basis, the status quo for personal injury law is a contingency fee. “Be suspicious of anyone who asks for an upfront retainer or hourly rate for your personal injury case, as this could imply that they don’t think they can win your case,” Williams advises.

It is also important to look for a law firm with a specialty area that correlates with your specific accident. “Not every lawyer is trained and equipped to handle every personal injury case,” explains Williams. “For example, truck accidents involve additional complex laws beyond the typical auto accident case. So do motorcycle accidents. An attorney who has only ever handled standard car accident claims might not be the right fit to handle one of these cases.”

But perhaps the single biggest factor to consider when choosing the best injury lawyer near you is their track record. “More often than not, experienced personal injury attorneys’ results should be able to speak for themselves,” says Williams.

If a law firm has good reviews online and has a history of winning big settlements and jury awards, chances are they are a good choice to hire. “And as a bonus, the better the reputation, the more leverage you get in the negotiation process,” Williams adds. “Insurance companies are often scared to go to trial against a lawyer they think they might lose to.”

If you are looking for the best Virginia personal injury lawyers, look no further than the skilled and experienced attorneys at Burnett & Williams. “Contact us today for a free consultation,” concludes Williams. “We will review your case and determine if we can help get you the compensation you deserve.”