Amman’s Social History Through Photography

About the exhibition

This exhibition proposes a panorama of various representations of Amman and a reflection on the urban practices of distinct social groups at different times. It aims to decipher Amman’s social life, urban heritage and civic spirit by analyzing a selection of original pictures from public and private collections covering one century, from the first picture of Amman dating from 1867 to the end of the 1960s, around the turning point of the 1967 war. The pictures of this exhibition put these visual productions into perspective with the memories of the city’s inhabitants. To do so, with the help of Jordanian colleagues, the three curators and researchers have gathered reminiscences of major buildings, streets and social events that marked the growth of Amman. Beyond the study of the city’s expansion, in this exhibition, photography is used as the basis for a social, cultural and economic history of Amman, a city – and later a capital – in the making.
This exhibition proposes a sensitive history of Amman through the photographers’ perception of this urban territory ‘in the making’. It also seeks to contribute to a history of photography in the Middle East through an understudied observatory.

The photographs of the exhibition will be included in a book directed by Norig Neveu, Myriam Ababsa and Falestin Naïli, to be published by Ifpo next year.

Dr. Myriam Ababsa is a Social Geographer, Urbanist, and Associate researcher at the French institute for the Near East (Ifpo Amman). She is the author of several publications, including Amman de pierre et de paix (Autrement 2007) and the Atlas of Jordan (Ifpo 2013).

Dr. Norig Neveu is a research fellow at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)/ IREMAM. Neveu is a specialist of Modern history, her current work of research focuses on sacred topographies, religious politics and authorities in Jordan and Palestine between the 19th and 21st centuries. Neveu has worked on several publications.

Dr. Falestin Naïli is a social historian and author based at the University of Basel and affiliated with the French Institute for the Near East (Amman, Jordan). She is the author of La Palestine entre Patrimoine et Providence : imaginaires bibliques et mémoire du village d’Artâs (XIXe-XXe siècles), Paris, Karthala, 2022.