Paper short abstract:

This paper examines museums presenting Israeli Muslim Arabs and Bedouins. Through the establishment of two collections, focusing respectively on contemporary art and the Israeli army, each director expresses a similar utopian vision: for their group to become a respected part of Israeli society.

Paper long abstract:

The focus of this paper will be on two museums in Israel. The visions of the museum founders are influential in all aspects of the institutions, from where it is located, through the layout, the accessioning of objects, and the organization of activities and ceremonies.

Twenty years after establishing an art gallery, Mr Abu Shakra is about to open a museum in Umm el-Fahem, a Muslim Arab city. The museum collection consists in large part of contemporary art. A question this paper will address is how effective a tool contemporary art is for implementing Mr Abu Shakra's utopian vision of making the Arab Muslim minority an accepted and respected group within Israeli (cultural) society.

Mr Ziad is the founder and chairman of Albadia - the Arab Bedouin Heritage Center and the Monument to Fallen Bedouin Soldiers in the Galilee. Half of the center's exhibit is ethnographic and half is dedicated to the role of Arab Bedouins in the Israeli army. This paper will look at how the presence of the memorial influences the accessioning of objects by the center. Furthermore, it will examine whether Mr Ziad's utopian vision of making the Bedouin population an accepted and respected group in Israeli (cultural) society can be realized by emphasizing the group's role in the army and by combining a memorial and a heritage center.