A few years ago, I first learned about this project on Italian colonial memory called "Immaginari PostColoniali - PostColonial Visions".The project sought to establish "a large shared archive of everyday images and objects, an unconventional convention, exhibitions, performances and workshops in schools" about Italy's colonial history. I had a personal interest in this project because … Continue reading Whatever Happened to Immaginari PostColoniali/Postcolonial Visions?
Category: Photography
Ahmed Mater's first US exhibition, focusing on his landscape photography on the impact of urbanisation and the rapid change that Saudi Arabia has experienced, will be on view at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery from March 19–Sept. 18. The exhibition, curated by Carol Huh, includes “Empty Land,” a series of aerial photographs, “Desert of Pharan” (2011-13) which focuses … Continue reading Symbolic Cities: The Photography of Ahmed Mater
Palestinian Violinist Nabeel Abboud-Ashkar speaks about his initiative Polyphony at a panel about the Middle East and Art at Aspen, alongside French photographer Frédéric Brenner who spoke about his project Diaspora and his book This Place (You can see a longer presentation on the book entitled Israel through 12 lenses). The third person on the panel was Dutch composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven who spoke about his … Continue reading Palestine/Israel, Music and Photography at Aspen
The exhibit “She Who Tells A Story” is a photography exhibit, a smaller scale Light from the Middle East which is dedicated to the work of women artists, featuring work by twelve women photographers from Iran and the Arab world. The photographers are: Iraqi Jananne Al-Ani, Yemeni Boushra Almutawakel, Iranians Gohar Dashti, Shadi Ghadirian, Newsha Tavakolian and Shirin Neshat, Egyptians Nermine … Continue reading She Who Tells A Story
An exhibition of the Wonder Beirut project by creative partners Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige is on exhibit at CUAG until April 14th. The artists describe the project, which they worked on from 1997 to 2006, as "our production of postcards of war," inspired by the contrast between the touristy postcards and the reality of the city … Continue reading Wonder Beirut: The Story of a Pyromaniac Photographer
Where does tongue-in-cheek parody end and self-exoticization begin? At what point does the Arab woman artist, stepping into the so-often imagined space of "The Harem" risk pandering to an audience that seems to have a never-ending appetite for orientalist remediations? Lebanese photographer Rania Matar's wonderful and insightful A Girl in Her Room series (capturing teenage girls in … Continue reading When Arab Women Artists “Revisit The Harem”
Aquila Style recently featured five Arab women artists from Lebanon, Saudi and Yemen. The article features three photographers (Lebanese Rania Matar, Yemeni Boushra Almutawakel, and Saudi Reem Al Faisal) as well as Lebanese film-maker Lamia Joreige, Saudi visual artist Sarah Abu Abdalla. The focus on Arab women's photography is interesting given that Arab photography in general has not … Continue reading Arab Women Behind the Camera
Abu Dhabi Festival has a trio of exhibitions this year: View From Inside (Contemporary Arab Photography, Video and Mixed Media Art), the 2015 Festival Commissions and Emirati Insights. The Festival is hosting the Middle East debut of FotoFest International with The View from Inside exhibition which includes over 140 works by over 35 leading Arab artists from 12 … Continue reading Abu Dhabi Festival
The “Here and Elsewhere” exhibition at the New Museum begins on July 16 and runs until 28 September. This exhibition of contemporary art from and about the Arab world brings together forty-five artists. The exhibition borrows its title from a 1976 film-essay by French directors Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin, and Anne-Marie Miéville. Their … Continue reading Here and Elsewhere
The two works of art above, by Lebanese artist Youssef Shawki, are described in an article in The National as at the centre of his exhibition, Acid Fields, "a collection of abstract works featuring tormented and distorted figures." The only two paintings that veer from illustrating bodies are the maps: Arab World Map Construct / … Continue reading When Absurdity Becomes The Form
"The Libyan, curated by Noon Art and supported by the British Council, will bring together, for the very first time in London at the Arab British Centre, the work of eight living Libyan artists." So there is an art exhibition that highlights the work of eight Libyan artists, both men and women, until 30 November. … Continue reading Art Exhibition The Libyan
Arab Hyphen 