Recognizing that art has a unique ability to unify, activate and empower, the Umm El-Fahem Museum of Art was established in 1996 – as a local initiative of people of culture from the Wadi Ara region, who wanted to bring contemporary and high-quality Arabic art to the area and its residents. In the absence of other galleries in Arab society, the gallery grew rapidly and became an important and significant cultural center in the national and international art field. 

Indeed, since its inception hundreds of exhibitions of artists have been presented in the gallery, dozens of research books and catalogs have been produced. The gallery established a collection of Palestinian and Israeli art which includes nearly 2,000 works of art, and curates the first historical archive of Umm El-Fahem. 

One of the most important moments in the history of the gallery was in 1999, when the American artist, Yoko Ono, presented an exhibition at the Umm El-Fahem Museum of Art, which manifested a call for dialogue between the cultures and religions in Israel and the world. This achievement contributed to turning the gallery into a stage for the local residents and marked the way for every initiative and desire to work for an egalitarian future and a shared life.

The Umm el-Fahem Gallery offers art education by bringing together young students from Jewish and Arab schools, and through projects of excellence which prepares teenagers for their acceptance to art academies. Gallery initiatives also include community activities such as locating exhibitions in the homes of the city’s residents, and opening seminars and gallery talks to the general public. The Gallery also devotes resources to promoting the status of women by offering local women a unique opportunity to participate in professional ceramic workshops to learn a new skill: empowering the women by creating pathways to employment.

Said Abu Shakara, one of the founders and director of the gallery, won a variety of awards for his work:

Tsadik Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award – 2008
French knighthood award – French government – 2012
Lifetime Achievement Award – Abraham Foundation – 2017
Lifetime Achievement Award – the Shulamit Aloni Foundation – 2018