DARAT AL FUNUN - THE KHALID SHOMAN FOUNDATION

Darat Al Funun means "House of Arts" in Arabic. It is a dynamic place established in 1993 by Khalid Shoman, a prominent Palestinian who has been involved in contemporary Arab art all his life. The art gallery highlights regional artists through its permanent collection which exhibits such renowned artists as Ismail Fattah (Iraq) or Nasser al Soumiou (Palestinian). It also organizes temporary exhibitions of paintings, sculptures, photos, installations... intended to reveal preferably artists in the making. The Maison des Arts also houses a library of art books and receives painters and sculptors in residence. Finally, in addition to exhibitions, it organizes film screenings, concerts, readings and debates. The house wants to be a real place of exchange and not only a static forum.

The house. Darat Al Funun is housed in one of the oldest houses in the city. It was built in 1920 by a family of Amman notables, like all the houses in this residential area of Jebel Al Weibdeh. It dominated the small Circassian town that became the gigantic Amman a few decades later. Outside the property are the remains of one of the many Byzantine churches that existed in Philadelphia (6th century), perhaps dedicated to Saint George. The open garden at the rear of the building, decorated with sculptures, is home to a pleasant tea room