Cultural Connection
“Art has to be the best way to build trust between countries.” —Issa Touma, Syrian photographer. ‘Cultural Connection’ provides updates on the Arab and Iranian arts scene from writers across the Middle East and the Western world.
on :
Saturday, 18 May, 2013
Safwan Dahoul’s distinctive canvases, characterized by elegant curvature of line and the Pharaonic-eyed, heavy-browed subjects, all have all shared the same title for the last three decades: Dream. Yet what is most striking about this latest series of paintings, showcased at Ayyam Gallery in Dahoul’s first solo UK show, is the shift away from the muted sepia palette that usually pervades his work. Here we see only monochrome; stark black and white images peer out at the viewer from the walls...
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on :
Thursday, 9 May, 2013
Multiculturalism has lately taken a bit of a thrashing from the political and intellectual elite in the West. It used to be the answer for everything, the epitome of respect, inclusiveness and fostering tolerance. Somewhere along the line it suddenly became inadequate, something that created segregation, prevented national unity and common purpose, among other things. A recent Chatham House brief, The Roots of Extremism, suggests that there are a growing number of people in Europe who believe t...
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Saturday, 4 May, 2013
The four small rooms that hold the Saloua Raouda Choucair retrospective at the Tate Modern truly offer the most surprising and enjoyable experience available in London this summer....
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Saturday, 27 Apr, 2013
Standing at the crossroads between expressionism, surrealism and cubism, Bahgory considers himself a disciple of Pablo Picasso. The grotesque laughter characterizing a substantial ...
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Monday, 15 Apr, 2013
Lebanese artist Walid Raad rose to international acclaim in the early 2000s with The Atlas Group, established in Lebanon in 1999 with Raad as its only known member. The Atlas Group...
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Saturday, 6 Apr, 2013
Elias Khoury’s latest novel to be published in English, White Masks, is actually a work from 1981, written in the heat of the Lebanese Civil War on the eve of the Israeli off...
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Friday, 29 Mar, 2013
During the ten years since the US-led invasion of Iraq, we have been bombarded by statistics that purport to indicate levels of progress in the country. Statistics and numbers take...
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Tuesday, 19 Mar, 2013
It is a good time to see art in the Arab world, and perhaps an even better time to be an Arab artist. The Sharjah Biennial is in full swing for the next two months (March 13–May ...
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Located next door to the Halcyon Gallery and above the Ralph Lauren store on New Bond Street, the Ayyam Gallery cuts a striking dash at the heart of the London art scene. Newly lau...
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on :
Tuesday, 26 Feb, 2013
Speaking at a press conference at the inauguration of the Istanbul Design Biennial, the chairman of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), Bülent Eczacıbaşı, pre...
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