The Bell Gallery at Brown University is currently showcasing the exclusive US presentation of the exhibition “Prisoners of Love: Until the Sun of Freedom” by acclaimed artists Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme. This exhibition, curated by Kate Kraczon and Thea Quiray Tagle, is a profound exploration of the power of poetry, music, and creative practices as tools of resistance and remembrance within systems of incarceration.
Drawing inspiration from interviews with former political prisoners in Palestine, Abbas and Abou-Rahme have created an immersive sound and video installation that projects moving images onto surfaces reminiscent of prison architecture. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the poem “Enemy of the Sun” by Palestinian poet Samih Al-Qasim, a powerful symbol of solidarity between political prisoners in Palestine and the United States.
Commissioned in 2020 by Kraczon, the exhibition has been a collaborative effort with Brown University’s academic and student communities. Since 2020, the artists have engaged with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and conducted archival research at the John Hay Library. In Spring 2025, Abbas and Abou-Rahme co-taught a research-based course that invited students to explore hidden histories of mass incarceration.
“Prisoners of Love” not only serves as an exhibition but also as a site of collective research, memory, and political imagination. It is a testament to the artists’ commitment to documenting Palestinian life and political struggle through a vast counter-archive that challenges official narratives.
For more information about the exhibition, visit the Bell Gallery at Brown University’s website. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience this unique and thought-provoking presentation before it closes on May 31.
