The Thyssen Portrays Gaza Resistance Amid Masterpieces

Published on May 23, 2026 | Translated from Spanish

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and UNRWA Spain have inaugurated the exhibition Gaza, Where Life Resists, a showcase that through ten portraits highlights the critical situation of the Gazan population. Raquel Martí, executive director of UNRWA Spain, warned that around 20,000 people need urgent evacuation, while authorized departures remain minimal. Art thus becomes a megaphone for a humanitarian crisis that does not cease.

gallery interior with classical paintings on walls, ten framed portraits of Gaza residents arranged on white pedestals in foreground, museum visitors standing still while observing the artworks, one visitor touching a portrait frame with fingertips, soft spotlight beams illuminating faces in the portraits, shadows of visitors cast on marble floor, contrast between golden baroque frames and modern documentary photography, cinematic photorealistic style, warm museum lighting with cool blue tones from windows, ultra-detailed textures of canvas and skin, dramatic chiaroscuro effect, technical exhibition documentation aesthetic

Art as a data channel: how the exhibition digitizes the crisis in Gaza 📊

The exhibition uses a system of QR codes next to each portrait that links to updated UNRWA reports and testimonial videos. This technical integration allows visitors to access real-time data on displacements, water access, and casualty figures. The development of this open-source digital platform aims to make humanitarian information verifiable and replicable in other conflict contexts. Technology does not save lives, but it documents the urgency.

Express evacuation: 20,000 people waiting and only three taxis 🚕

Raquel Martí estimated that 20,000 Gazans need urgent evacuation, but authorized departures are so scarce they seem like a New Year's lottery. If art imitates life, here life imitates a monumental bureaucratic traffic jam. Meanwhile, the Thyssen portraits stare intently, as if asking: has anyone seen a bus? The irony is that leaving Gaza requires more management than organizing the Goya Awards gala.