A new installation brightens the Art Alley in downtown Windsor: Zatoun by UWindsor alumna Jude Abu Zaineh (MFA 2019) uses neon to produce a green glow drawing viewers in for a moment of discovery.

It sits in the rafters in the alley behind the parking garage between Ouellette Avenue and Pelisser Street, south of Park Street.

Zatoun, which Abu Zaineh translates from Arabic as “olive branch,” is a nod to her Palestinian heritage.

“This is a thrilling piece to the downtown collection because of what it means to the artist, and ultimately what it will mean to the core,” says Brian Yeomans, chair of the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association. “Since the olive branch is universally recognized as a gesture of generosity and kindness, it pays homage to the generous spirit of the Windsor-Essex community.”

Abu Zaineh maintains an active studio practice employing art, food, and technology to investigate meanings of culture, displacement, diaspora, and belonging. She is currently a PhD candidate in electronic arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Learn more about the artist and her works in the release announcing this installation.