Symbolic Cities: The Photography of Ahmed Mater

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 …

Al Hangar and the New Generation of Saudi Artists

Myrna Award writes about  Al Hangar (The Warehouse) an initiative by young Saudi artists, who describe it as a cultural movement which aims to “ignite a sense of community.” Artists are individually invited to show work at Al Hangar, similarly to a biennial. And so far, they’ve been inundated with requests to participate, an indication of …

The Oscars and the Berlinale

With the 88th Academy Awards ceremony to take place this Sunday, Al Bawaba looks back at nine films from the region to be nominated for an Oscar, including Hany Abu Assad's Paradise Now (2005) and Omar (2013), and Rachid Bouchareb's Days of Glory (2006) and Outside the Law (2010), but also Incendies (2010), adapted from …

Mahmoud Sabbagh’s Barakah Meets Barakah

Mahmoud Sabbagh's Barakah Meets Barakah has been described as conventional in form, unconventional in setting. Surely one of the more conventional films ever to enjoy a premiere at the Berlinale's risk-embracing Forum parallel section, it's of considerable interest as a very rare cinematic export from a country where nearly all manifestations of cinema have been …

From Mathaf to Madrid

The exhibition Looking at the World Around You: Contemporary Works from Qatar Museums is being held from 9 February to 19 June 2016 at the Santander Art Gallery in Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, the "first major loan exhibition in Europe of works from Mathaf, the Arab Museum of Contemporary Art in Doha."   This selection, more …

Mohamed Ben Attia’s Hedi and the Berlinale

Inhebbek Hedi, directed by Tunisian director Mohamed Ben Attia,  with Belgium's Dardenne brothers as co-producers, is "the first Arab contender in two decades" in the official competition of the Berlinale, running from 11-21 February. Hedi tells the story of "a simple young man" who "does not expect much from the life that is traced for …

Highlights of Shubbak 2015

In a wide-ranging article which provides an overview of the Arab art scene in the West, Lana Asfour writes about the commission and performance of an opera based on the acclaimed novel Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif as part of this year's ongoing Shubbak festival. As Asfour writes, Cities of Salt is "arguably [Munif's] greatest work, …

Arab Women Behind the Camera

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 …

Interview with Myrna Ayad on Saudi Art

artnet interviews Canvas magazine editor Myrna Ayad on the Saudi art scene, following the publication of the book Contemporary Kingdom: The Saudi Art Scene Now. Asked about the challenges facing artists, Ayad talks about the stereotypes about Saudi Arabia:   What is the biggest challenge facing the Saudi art scene?
 From the West: Being pigeonholed …

Interview with Ahmed Matar

Huffington Post's James Scarborough interviews Saudi Arabian artist Ahmed Matar on Arab art "hitting the global art world with the force of a haboob, a summer sandstorm." Once you're done wincing at that line, read the whole of the interview here. On why the "Edge" in Edge of Arabia, Matar says: We were the first …

Boutros Hallaq: The Arabic Novel and the Civil Uprising

During the first year of the so-called Arab Spring Boutros Hallaq spoke at the Arabic Circle at the University of Chicago about The Arabic Novel and the Civil Uprising (which is what he called the Arab Spring), and there's a recording of the talk he gave in Arabic here. Here's a summary/translation of the talk: …

An Apartment Called Freedom

An Apartment Called Freedom, by Ghazi al Qusaibi, is set between 1956 and 1961, and tells of the experiences in love and politics of four Bahraini young men studying at university in Cairo. The novel begins on the plane, where 16 year old Fuad is on his way from Bahrain to Egypt to study law. …