The Bateekha Project is Auctioning Watermelon Art for Palestine

As protestors inside and outside occupied Palestine are punished for raising the national flag, the watermelon - red, green, white and black - has become its subversive stand-in, as well as a symbol of Palestinian unity.

The Bateekha Project, named after the word for ‘watermelon’ in Arabic, builds on the fruit’s history of cultural resistance with an art auction taking place in London. Each of the 28 international participating artists have been tasked with designing their own watermelon sculpture from the same fiberglass base. Those works will be on display from September 15th to 17th, 2026 at Gallery 1957 in Hyde Park.

The exhibition will culminate in a live auction on the evening of September 18th. One hundred percent of the proceeds will be donated directly to Palestinian children and families through the grassroots organization Healing For Gaza, which provides individuals with trauma therapy and mental health support both remotely and on the ground.

Each artist began their unique interpretation of the watermelon with the same base - a handcrafted fiberglass cast of the fruit sourced from the streets of Cairo and moulded in Old Cairo’s historic craft district. Each artist took a distinct direction - most painted the cast, but some also sliced it open, while others used traditional Palestinian embroidery.

Works by internationally renowned artists including the UK's Peter Kennard, Palestine's Malak Mattar, and Egypt's Huda Lutfi and Ghada Amer will be exhibited together in a single gallery, with all pieces available for purchase following the exhibition. While Sliman Mansour—the pioneering Palestinian artist whose iconic watermelon paintings helped cement the fruit as a symbol of Palestinian resistance—was unable to contribute a sculpture, he has written a statement that will welcome visitors as they enter the gallery.

Hedayat Taymour from Egypt, founder of The Bateekha Project and a participating artist, reflected on how meaningful it was to watch artists from around the world translate the original sculptural form into the finished product through their own artistic language, “creating a collective expression of shared humanity and connection.”

“I created the Bateekha Project as a way to use art and my own sculptural language to support children and families in Palestine, transforming a simple watermelon into a symbol of solidarity and hope while raising funds for healing and recovery,” Taymour said.

She co-founded the project with Palestinian sisters Ghada Sousou and Dima Fakhry, alongside Taya Elzayadi and Malak Fouad from Egypt. Fouad, host of the podcast ‘What I Did Next’, was searching for a meaningful way to support Palestinian families after Israel's genocidal war began in October 2023.

“Feeling helpless watching events unfold over the last three years, I wanted a tangible and meaningful way to do my bit for my Palestinian brothers and sisters,” Fouad said. “This project is dear to my heart as it brings together creative and artistic voices, both Arab and from outside the region, to raise money for much needed trauma families and children of the Gaza war.”

The auction on September 18th will go live online starting September 7th and will be accessible in-person at Gallery 1957 in 1 Hyde Park Gate, South Kensington, London.