Dear Readers,

I am deeply honored to present this issue of Hand Papermaking magazine—Palestine on Paper—brilliantly guest edited by art historian Nisa Ari who was introduced to us by our friend, Palestinian American artist Michelle Samour. Nisa Ari is Associate Professor of Arts of the Islamic World at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and writes about late-nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Palestinian art, with a current focus on how the “matter” of land (soil, flowers, trees, and water) has formed the basis for new experiments and resistance in Palestinian art from the end of Ottoman rule to today. As papermaking is all about the “matter” of land, we knew Nisa would bring a nuanced perspective to the topic of paper in Palestine. It was my privilege to work with Nisa, to try to track down the threads of Palestinian papermaking history in the archives, review the scant mentions of papermaking on Palestinian lands in Hand Papermaking, and attempt to locate Palestinian paper artists. In the end, it felt most compelling and urgent to think more broadly about paper in all of its forms and connotative presence and how it shapes and informs our understanding of a land with a people.

This issue of the magazine is one of several actions that the organization is taking to fulfill goals outlined in its Hand Papermaking Statement on Equity In Response to the Palestinian Crisis (published October 16, 2024, available on our website under the About section). To date, we have gone through the process of divesting our endowment from companies that do not align with our guiding principles, and we have convened fieldwide conversations on the topic of equity at the 2024 and 2025 conferences of North American Hand Papermakers (NAHP). Our 2025 year-end broadside, Colors for the Diaspora, features the beautiful poem by Palestinian American poet Zeina Azzam, with imagery by Palestinian American artist Samar Hussaini. I am delighted to conclude this issue of the magazine with Colors of the Diaspora accompanied by a moving description of the collaborative project by Hand Papermaking board member Sanaz Hagani who made the stunning paper for the broadside.

In addition to contributions on the topic of Palestine on Paper, this issue includes two pieces that share concerns with the main themes of colonialism, erasure, and cultural resiliency: Tamara Valdez reviews Mariana Castillo Deball’s exhibition “Vùjá de—Paper Thresholds” that foregrounds cochineal dye, first extracted by the Nahua people of central Mexico; and Crystal Z Campbell eloquently describes her paperworks that feature the manila envelope, manila rope, and abaca as “underloved material witnesses that bear colonial traces.”

Amidst the current climate of fear and intimidation faced by cultural workers and organizations in telling difficult stories and speaking truth to power, I am deeply honored to work alongside the board and staff of Hand Papermaking to uphold our values and guiding principles in our publishing efforts to advance traditional and contemporary ideas in the art of hand papermaking. I extend my profound thanks to Nisa Ari and all of the contributors in this issue, Palestine on Paper. I look to the field to bring our attention to more untold stories about the history and practice of papermaking in Palestine, and in other places. It is our wish and responsibility to uplift the full range of papermaking stories around the world.

Love and solidarity,

Mina Takahashi

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