Exhibition spotlights evolution of Al Jazeera - Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera archetypal went connected aerial with its Arabic-language TV transmission connected November 1, 1996, with a squad of immoderate 250 staff, and has since evolved implicit much than a 4th of a period into a planetary media network.

Exploring the Qatar-based media network’s trajectory implicit the past 25 years, the “Experience Al Jazeera” multimedia accumulation has opened for the nationalist astatine the Fire Station, Doha’s starring modern creation space.

“We talk astir the ngo and imaginativeness down Al Jazeera, which was founded nether the inaugural of His Highness, the begetter emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who truly saw a request successful the portion for a transmission that is autarkic and enjoys a state of media that has not historically existed, particularly successful the region,” curator and museography manager of the accumulation Anaghime Ziani told Al Jazeera.

A full of six sections person been organised successful a sequential, chronological thread, she said.

“We commencement with a constituent that is precise well-known astir Al Jazeera, and done that starting point, we research the corresponding themes,” Ziani said.

The exhibition’s archetypal taxable is built astir Al Jazeera’s slogan created soon aft the channel’s launch: “The sentiment and the different opinion”.

“[The slogan] encapsulates the editorial standards that the web stands for, to represent the aggregate sides to the story, the standards that the transmission inactive stands for until this day,” Noora Al Hedfa, International Communications Officer astatine Al Jazeera said.

The accumulation starts disconnected with ‘The Opinion’ section, showing reporting of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle [Mersiha Gadzo/Al Jazeera]

As visitors participate the exhibition, ample video installations play footage of the network’s reporting from the occupied Palestinian territory, the astir caller Russia-Ukraine war, and from Tahrir Square during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

As they determination along, they are shown immoderate of the risks and difficulties faced by Al Jazeera journalists. 

The web has faced the jamming of its outer signals, the closing and bombing of its offices, including successful Baghdad and Gaza City, and harassment, persecution arsenic good arsenic targeted killings of its journalists.

Since its motorboat successful 1996, 12 Al Jazeera journalists person been killed successful the enactment of duty.

Most recently, Israeli forces changeable dormant Al Jazeera Arabic newsman Shireen Abu Akleh portion she was covering a subject raid successful Jenin successful the occupied West Bank successful May. At the clip she was wearing a helmet and flak overgarment intelligibly marked with the connection “PRESS”.

Witnesses, Al Jazeera, and galore investigations by the United Nations, quality rights groups, and media organisations recovered that Israeli forces changeable Abu Akleh.

Israel initially claimed she whitethorn person been killed by Palestinian gunmen, but by September, Israeli authorities said determination was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh was “accidentally hit” by Israeli service fire.

An interrogation with slain writer Shireen Abu Akleh from 2021 is played astatine the accumulation [Mersiha Gadzo/Al Jazeera]

On show are items by Arabic analogous Tarek Ayoub, who died from terrible injuries that helium sustained erstwhile a US airstrike deed Al Jazeera’s Baghdad bureau successful April 2003.

Visitors tin presumption a postulation of letters from Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj from Guantanamo Bay wherever helium was wrongfully detained for implicit six years. The lone writer to beryllium detained astatine the tract successful Cuba, helium was covering the US warfare against the Taliban, erstwhile helium was arrested connected mendacious charges by Pakistani authorities successful 2001.

He was held without proceedings and endured torture and interrogations until helium was released successful May 2008 arsenic an guiltless man, without charge.

Correspondent Tarek Ayoub’s idiosyncratic items are connected show [Mersiha Gadzo/Al Jazeera]

A item of the accumulation is the Still Here installation, wherever visitors are invited to marque usage of virtual world and augmented world exertion to immerse themselves successful an award-winning multimedia project.

Created by AJ Contrast, Al Jazeera’s Emmy-nominated immersive storytelling and media innovation studio, Still Here explores the contented of incarceration and gentrification successful the US, and was produced successful collaboration with formerly incarcerated women.

By putting connected a headset, visitors tin travel a quality named Jasmine Smith arsenic she returns location to Harlem successful New York City aft serving 15 years successful situation for sidesplitting her spouse successful self-defence. The task premiered astatine the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and has received 11 planetary awards.

Visitors usage audio with augmented world successful the ‘Still Here’ task [Mersiha Gadzo/Al Jazeera]

Guests tin besides cheque retired accumulation instrumentality from the 1990s and a smaller replica of an Al Jazeera workplace equipped with cameras.

Al Jazeera contiguous spans implicit 10 linear and integer channels successful six languages and a web of implicit 70 bureaus worldwide, reaching implicit 400 cardinal households.

Al Hedfa, told Al Jazeera that the media web has worked successful collaboration with Qatar museums for much than 2 years to bring the accumulation to life.

The accumulation opened connected November 2 and volition tally until March 25. Tickets outgo 50 Qatari riyals ($14), but visitors aged 16 and nether tin participate for free.