Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Naima Morelli
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The past, present and future of Ethiopia by artist Aïda Muluneh
Ethiopian artist Aïda Muluneh’s striking photograph titled “The past, the present and the future” depicts three women with blue skin; it is extremely evocative, and reminiscent of the painting “The three ages of Woman” by Gustav Klimt. The photo contains pop-culture elements, calling to mind the comic book character Mystique…
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Defusing violence through humour is one aspect of artist Massinissa Selmani’s work
According to Algerian artist Massinissa Selmani, he is obsessed with making work with the minimum of materials and components. For him, simplicity is not something you start with, but something you arrive at. He removes excess to get to the essence. “In the studio I’m spending more time removing than…
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Inaugural Rabat Biennale show rewrites the rules of the contemporary art game
Do we need another biennale when the landscape of such exhibitions worldwide is already saturated? Why do we need one in Morocco? What would such an event in al-maghrib al aqsa – the far west of the Arab world — look like? These were the questions that French-Algerian curator, philosopher,…
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Libya. Back Home uses theatre to tackle collective memory
“Why don’t I have the strength to chop off this bond with this country, Libya, which brings me so much suffering?” asks filmmaker Khalifa. He is giving voice to the reflections of guilt-torn actress Miriam. By then the people hearing these words knows it. They know that we don’t stop…
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Igniting Casablanca’s art scene: interview with Yasmine Laraqui
In the emerging contemporary scene, it’s not rare to have artists wearing many different hats. That is certainly true of Yasmine Laraqui, founder of Dasthe Art Space in Casablanca. Yasmine’s work as a curator and an artist run in parallel. Born in 1989 in the western Moroccan port city, her…
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New directions for the Palestinian Museum
Since its inaugural exhibition “Jerusalem Lives” in 2017, the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit has presented new perspectives on Palestinian history, society and culture. Founded and developed by the Taawon-Welfare Association, an independent Palestinian non-profit organisation, over the past few years the space has launched a number of educational programmes and…
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Artists get political at the 2019 Venice Biennale
The 2019 Venice Biennale has asked artists to step into the socio-political realm, in the middle of far-right Matteo Salvini’s Italy. And they have done it, dismantling Orientalism and getting the Mediterranean closer together in the process. In the current period of massive migration across the Mediterranean, the role of…
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While Europe looks at Moroccan art, Moroccan art looks at Africa
Today more than ever Morocco is at the centre of political and economic interests. It’s not surprising, then, that art institutions all around the world are paying increasing attention to emerging Moroccan artists. These contemporary practitioners are indeed moving in the footstep of a boundless cultural tradition, while also incorporating…
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Non-aggressive socio-political art at the 2019 Sharjah Biennial
It is not usual to find a politically and religiously conservative country going hand in hand with being one of the most culturally active. An exception is Sharjah, a unicorn in the United Arab Emirates. Thinking of contemporary art and the Middle East, one might associate Sharjah’s investment in the…
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The life and work of Palestinian Islamo-Pop artist Laila Shawa
A group of women wearing different-coloured niqabs carry ice creams that are just as colourful. Their eyes are closed as if they are about to savour the different flavours. Of course, they can’t, because their mouths are covered by cloth. This painted image is a powerful statement not only on…