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DUBAI: “Within art histories, the Global South has been underrepresented. And within that, the Arab world has been underrepresented. And within texts looking at the greater Middle East, the Gulf has been marginalized. We wanted to reclaim ownership of that space in some way.”
Dr. Aisha Stoby is talking about “Khaleej Modern,” an exhibition she has curated that runs at New York University Abu Dhabi until December 11, and which grew out of Stoby’s research for her PhD, in which she examined the art scene in the Gulf from the mid-20th century up until what she refers to as “the cultural boom, which I pin to 2008.”
Munira Al Kazi, ‘Untitled (Family),’ 1965. (Courtesy of Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah)
The GCC countries were not seen as rich sources of art at that time, not just by Westerners, but often by those from older countries in the Arab world too, as Stoby discovered during her research.
“Even in instances where it was unexpected, I was faced with that sort of pushback. I asked some very well-known artists from the Middle East if they’d been to the GCC and what interactions they’d had with artists here, particularly in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. And I had some very surprising answers,” Stoby tells Arab News. “Some positive, but some — surprisingly for our neighbors — negative; dismissing the art scenes that took place.”
Hassan Meer, ‘Under the Water.’ (Supplied)
It was, in large part, frustration at the paucity of information available to counter such attitudes that led Stoby to delve deeper.
“There’s a sparsity of material. And it’s very dispersed; there are a lot of books that are out of print, and the region is not generally looked at as a whole,” she says. “(The Gulf art scene) has not generally been viewed as collectives that have crossed borders — the things which join us as nation states: The prosperity that came with oil, the ongoing conversations about tradition and modernity, and the fractures that that can create, as well as the progress, and how that could be perceived. So, (my research) came from wanting to compile a more accurate archive (that could give) more visibility.”
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So, visitors to the exhibition will find work from, among others, Saudi-Kuwaiti artist Munira Al-Kazi, whose work in the mid-Sixties was acquired by MoMA in New York and London’s V&A Museum.
“It’s commonplace for institutions throughout the Middle East and in the West today to collect works from the region, but in the mid-Sixties for the MoMA and the V&A to both have decided to collect Munira Al-Kadir’s work is special,” says Stoby.
Visitors will also learn about the collective The Artist Friends of the GCC, which included in its ranks Yousef Ahmad from Qatar and Abdulrahman Alsoliman from Saudi Arabia and for a decade or more from 1975 exhibited around the Arab world, as well as in Europe.
“They were a very cosmopolitan group who had all studied abroad or travelled abroad. Travelling is something that, generally, should be part of an artistic practice: Absorbing different influences and information.”
Stoby says she hopes the exhibition can be “the start of a conversation,” adding: “I suppose the difficulties inherent in the process of making it also point to further discussions that we hope to have.”
Some of those discussions will undoubtedly revolve around the definition of modernism itself.
“If you take the word ‘modernism’ in the context in which it is meant, you realize that the ownership that has been ascribed to it is really fundamentally flawed — it’s an ongoing process in so many of our countries in the Global South, if you look at things from a non-Global North perspective.” Stoby says. “(Indian art historian) Geeta Kapur calls it ‘an incomplete process’ in India, and I consider that to be true of our region as well. It’s ongoing. And that’s what joins us. This conversation of tradition and modernity continues throughout the Gulf and is as present in artists’ work from the 1940s as it is in the last room of the exhibition in 2007. And if we were to have continued the exhibition it would have been present there as well.”
There are several other themes that run through the exhibition: Urbanization, development, society and self-representation. “Again, these are things that join us — our collective experience as a region,” Stoby says.
The sub-title of the exhibition is “Pioneers and Collectives,” which is why, Stoby explains, some artists who may have expected to be included are not.
“In this context, ‘pioneers’ means not just artist, but also founder, teacher, mentor,” she says. “(These are all people) who went on to do really important things for their countries, beyond their practice.”
DUBAI: Twenty four-year-old Bahraini Russian model and pianist Evlin Abdullah-Khalifa was named this year’s Miss Universe Bahrain.
She was chosen by a judging panel that included Egyptian actress Mai Omar, the Black Eyed Peas’ Jrey Soul, and influencer Faryal Makhdoom, among others.
Coming in first runner-up place was 18-year-old Lujane Yacoub and filling in the third spot with a tie at second runner-up were Mariam Naji from Raffi and Shereen Ahmed from Manama.
"My main purpose in life is to find success (and) to believe in myself because I struggled a lot with this problem in my life. And I realised that whenever you believe in yourself, you can achieve anything. And I want to say to everybody watching to believe in themselves as well just as how me and my sisters believed in ourselves," said an emotional Abdullah-Khalifa in an interview with Arab News.
The glamorous Miss Universe Bahrain 2022 beauty pageant kicked off on Sept. 7 with a series of online episodes, with the final episode premiering on Sunday night to reveal the new beauty queen.
During the final Q&A segment, Abdullah-Khalifa was asked: “When do you think a woman becomes empowered?” Her winning answer captured the hearts of the jury “I think a woman becomes empowered when she knows herself, when she knows her values, and when she knows what she is capable of. An empowered woman is a role model of the people and whose actions lead to success. And I’m here to be that woman to lead all the people to success and believe in themselves.”
Born to a Bahraini father and Russian mother, the winner declares herself to be an advocate for education and also seeks to raise awareness about anorexia, which she suffers from.
When asked about her Miss Universe Bahrain 2022 experience, Abdullah-Khalifa said to Arab News, "Beauty pageants changed me a lot. In this short time, I have become a totally different person, a better version of myself."
The top seven finalists shot the eight-part series and engaged in several activities to further promote their various advocacies and charitable missions.
The first edition of Miss Universe Bahrain, which took place last year, crowned model Manar Jess Deyani, who made history for being the shortest-ever candidate of the Miss Universe pageant standing at 154.9 cm.
She also made waves when she chose not to wear a traditional swimsuit at the show’s preliminary round, receiving a lot of support and recognition from women and the community she represents.
“For me, this is what this show is all about: Celebration of individuality and freedom to choose especially on their clothing choices. I was very lucky to experience the Miss Universe pageant last year and I am so thankful to the whole team at Miss Universe because they are very sensitive and are all aware about culture and representation, so when I arrived there at the competition, they gave me an option to wear burkini during the swimwear competition round, which for me is so empowering as a lot of women can relate to that choice and statement I made the moment I stepped out of the stage,” said Deyani in a statement.
Meanwhile, the 71st Miss Universe pageant that Khalifa will compete in has been postponed to next year, a source confirmed to Arab News. While no reason has been given for the postponement, it is probable that two Miss Universe pageants will be held next year, with the 2023 winner being crowned later in the year.
LONDON: The documentary “Walled Off,” which premiered in Italy on Thursday, features a star-studded collaboration of active voices in the public eye speaking out about Palestine.
The film is written and directed by Vin Arfuso, an American filmmaker of Palestinian and Italian descent, and co-produced by American-Palestinian model and musician Anwar Hadid
Other producers on the project are Kweku Mandela, grandson of the former South African president and anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela, and Pink Floyd co founder Roger Waters.
The pre-release screening of “Walled Off” took place at San Carlo auditorium in Albenga, in northern Italy, as part of European artist-activist Cake$’s debut solo exhibition “A Child Is Born In Bethlehem.”
Taking its title from the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, owned and designed by anonymous British artist Banksy, the film underlines the importance of socially and politically engaged art.
The documentary follows Hadid as he explores the hotel’s site-specific installations and storied halls with head manager Wissam Salsa.
Located next to Israel's separation wall, which encloses occupied Palestine and annexes part of its land, Banksy said it has the “worst view of any hotel in the world.”
Therefore the title “Walled Off” is also a wordplay, underlining that, just as Palestinians are "walled in," Palestine is "walled off" to the rest of the world. In this sense, the film lets viewers in to join Hadid and Arfuso on their journey.
Hadid and Arfuso have been friends since 2018, and first traveled to the West Bank together in April 2019, when Arfuso shot a music video for Hadid’s song “Progression 101.”
The two returned six months later and filmed “Walled Off '' over 10 days “guerrilla style” after Arfuso’s equipment was withheld on arrival in Israel.
Arfuso told Arab News that this meant that he had to film with an iPhone at times, or mix and match whatever camera and lens he had available.
However, the very rawness of Arfuso’s “imperfect” filmmaking style highlights the tragic beauty of Palestinian resilience, while avoiding any glamorization of the occupation.
As a manifestation of Arfuso and Hadid’s dedication to completing the documentary, the cinematic approach perfectly mirrors what is at the heart of the story — that visual activism matters.
Later scenes feature archival footage stretching back over five decades, which supports the story’s message on multiple levels.
“Walled Off” achieves its aim of challenging the Western media narrative regarding the Palestinian struggle with admirable frankness and surprising wit.
It also serves as a compelling look at injustice, chronicling the destruction of Palestinian lives, property, public life, and the daily struggle for human dignity in Palestine.
While grounding Arafat as a national identity symbol, the film tells the larger story of the Oslo Accords and the peace we almost achieved. While it is heartbreaking to see the possibility of a better future slip away, it also serves as a reminder that it is not impossible. In this way, the film encourages viewers to keep strategizing for change.
“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable,” Banksy says.
As a form of art itself, “Walled Off” has done exactly that.
Hadid and Arfuso both make appearances, but this does not detract from the film’s message.
“It was very important for me and Anwar not to make it about us. We don’t want the selling point to be us; we want the selling point to be, if there is one, the children of Palestine, and what’s important and what’s happening on the ground,” Arfuso said.
“We faced a backlash, but the best thing about it is that we welcome it; we are only calling for human rights. If there’s a backlash for calling for human rights, clearly there’s something wrong in that situation and, hopefully, that will get people to look deeper into it.”
“Walled Off” will be released in early October.
DUBAI: British Moroccan model Nora Attal has shared photos from her latest campaign for American designer Tory Burch’s Fall-Winter 2022 collection.
The campaign, shot in New York City, also features Romanian model Andreea Diaconu and South Sudanese-Australian Adut Akech Bior.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nora Maria Attal (@noraattal)
A post shared by Nora Maria Attal (@noraattal)
In the image shared by Attal, the model is seen holding Tory Burch’s “Kira Square” crossbody bag, alongside Diaconu. The brand also shared the new campaign on their social media, captioning one of the posts: “Your first look at our Fall/Winter 2022 campaign, featuring a collection that started with the women of #NewYorkCity. Unique individuals who catch our eye in fleeting snapshots. We explored this through the lens of shape, geometry, color and convertibility.
“Shot in NYC, Tory Burch FW22 conveys optimism and ease, balancing the collection’s heightened sense of luxury,” the post continued.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nora Maria Attal (@noraattal)
A post shared by Nora Maria Attal (@noraattal)
The US label recently also spotlighted other Arab designers in their summer campaigns. Moroccan-Italian model Malika El-Maslouhi posed for the brand’s activewear section Tory Sport, while Dutch star Imaan Hammam, of Egyptian and Moroccan heritage, was spotted in the label’s latest beauty campaign.
In a series of images shared on the brand’s Instagram page, El-Maslouhi wore a pleated, laser-cut tennis skirt with a white tank top and a blue and beige crossbody bag from the fashion house’s Summer 2022 tennis collection.
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A post shared by Tory Sport (@torysport)
Meanwhile, Attal had a summer to remember, turning 23 in June. She treated her Instagram fans to a snapshot of her celebrations, including attending a concert by US rapper Megan Thee Stallion at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain.
Her birthday celebrations came hot on the heels of a sentimental moment for Attal, as the catwalk star tied the knot with her longtime partner, UK-based photographer Victor Bastidas. The wedding took place against the backdrop of orange and palm trees in the presence of their loved ones in Ibiza, Spain.
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The nuptials were attended by Attal’s family and close friends, including her parents Charlie and Bouchra, her siblings, Bastidas’s family and fellow models Vittoria Ceretti, Blesnya Minher and Mona Tougaard.
Attal shared snippets from the wedding ceremony by way of Instagram Story reposts of videos and photos taken by the guests in attendance, who flew in from all over the world to attend the ceremony.
Attal wore a creamy white slip dress with thin straps, lace details and a ruffled hemline from French label Lanvin. She accessorized the elegant look with a long, lace-embroidered veil.
LONDON: The work of European street artist and activist Cake$, who uses public art to protest against Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank and as an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people, is currently on display for the first time in Italy.
The exhibition, titled A Child Is Born In Bethlehem, opened at the Palazzo Oddo Gallery in Albenga on Sep. 4 and continues until Sep. 19. Curated by British-Palestinian art collector, activist and journalist Zayna Al-Saleh and Italian collector Lorenzo Sibilla, it showcases the entirety of the artist’s work to date, including photography of his street art in Palestine, original stencils, linocuts and video art.
Cake$, who guards his true identity and describes himself on his Instagram page as an “open-air prison artist,” has created more than 300 works in Bethlehem over the past four years.
The title of the exhibition references a 16th-century hymn by Samuel Scheidt, which organizers said allows for the juxtaposition of divinity and profanity, past and present, perceived spaces and their actuality to frame the contemporary Palestinian experience, drawing much-needed attention to the persecution of the Christian Palestinian community in the Occupied Territories.
Israel’s separation barrier, dubbed an “apartheid wall” by human rights campaigners, is viewed by many as a symbol of occupation. Cake$ told Arab News that he paints on the wall to advocate for non-reformist reforms that diminish the power of an oppressive system while emphasizing the system's inability to solve the problems it creates.
His artworks often depict dark silhouettes of children combined with military symbols. As they play or live with tools of war, such as barbed wire, the children seem unaware they are in imminent danger.
The use of single-color silhouettes helps to reinforce his very clear and hard hitting message. The images serve to illustrate the fact that humans are not born violent or hateful but cultural conditions can cause them to become that way. Some of his works feature monitory text, such as “CAUTION/ Toys Of Any Kind Prohibited” (2019) and “I Was An Angel and They Tear Gassed Me” (2020).
Cake$ pointed out that in addition to the obvious Palestinian connections, his images also have another, more universal, message.
“The girl with the barbed wire, it’s not just about the kids in Palestine that are suffering because of the wall but all kids that suffer because of a border system,” he said. “The situation in Palestine is really special because it’s been there for 20 years this year.”
Repetition of imagery is an important part of activist street art, said exhibition co-curator Al-Saleh.
“There is a very persistent condition involved with activist art, especially street art, due to the material impermanence of it, because art on the wall gets painted over quite regularly,” she said.
“This means Cake$’s approach to painting in Bethlehem is done with serious persistence, just so that his message remains visible and that his presence has been felt by Palestinians and by tourists and passersby alike.”
That said, in creating a series of linocuts for the exhibition, Cake$ chose not to simply replicate images of his street art and instead reworked them to better fit the blank space of the gallery walls. In doing so he is “redirecting his public art practice to smaller-scale images, to situate his work at the very boundary between Bethlehem and a safe art institution,” according to the exhibition organizers.
“I wanted to recreate these images in a contemporary art way so I used the motifs and the barbed wire to create a more complicated image,” Cake$ said.
Some of his most striking works on display are those that reinterpret the works of Old Masters to reflect the Palestinian narrative. For example, in his piece that homages Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory,” retitled “The Persistence of Apartheid,” three masks dangle loosely with an Israeli watchtower visible in the background.
“We all put on masks, in some way or another, and for some people it’s better for them to put on masks than to see the truth of apartheid,” said Cake$.
The exhibition deals with heavy concepts, which can provoke extreme emotional responses. The contrast between the tragic and absurd has reportedly moved several visitors to tears. However, if one looks closely, there are perhaps glimmers of hope in some of the works on display.
Speaking about a linocut titled “Little Palestinian Girl Removing Barbed Wire” (2022), Cake$ said: “I used chalk to paint something in a more expressionist way, which will show the way I see the future beyond barbed wire.”
From Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al-Ali’s famous character Handala to British street artist Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, visual activism has played an integral role in supporting Palestinian resistance on a global scale. Art has an emotional and personal element that means it can educate, enlighten and empower people to bring about change.
“I don’t want to change the politics of borders or make them more humane but instead demolish walls and borders,” Cake$ said. “That’s what I try to show by painting on the apartheid wall.
“What I call border abolition is concerned with expanding this freedom, the freedom to move and to stay. This does not mean advocating for free movement in the world as it is currently configured but rather for transformation of the conditions to which borders are a response.”
In an age of cynicism, Cake$ dares viewers to look at the world as it is and imagine what it could be.
DUBAI: Syrian director Soudade Kaadan nabbed the Armani Beauty Audience Award at the Venice Film Festival for her movie “Nezouh” on Saturday.
“Proud to announce for the second time, my second fiction feature film won in Venice and this time it is the audience @armanibeauty award,” Kaadan wrote on Instagram.
Read our review of ‘Nezouh’ here.
“Nezouh,” which means displacement or migration in Arabic, sees director Soudade Kaadan present an allegorical tale of female emancipation set during the height of the Syrian conflict in Damascus.
Meanwhile, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras’s epic documentary about photographer Nan Goldin and her activism against the Sackler family and their art connections, was awarded the Golden Lion for best film at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.
Poitras, the American filmmaker behind the Oscar-winning Edward Snowden documentary “Citizenfour,” thanked the festival for recognizing that “documentary is cinema” at the ceremony Saturday evening in Venice. Neon is expected to release the film in theaters this fall and HBO Documentary Films recently acquired it for a television run.
Considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation, Cate Blanchett won the best actress award in Venice for a second time on Saturday.
Colin Farrell's best actor award in Venice crowns a redemptive arc for the Irishman, who almost destroyed himself in his dizzying rise to stardom before rebuilding a career as a supporting player.
Farrell's victory at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday came for his turn as a sweet-natured animal lover in the pitch-black comedy-drama “The Banshees of Inisherin.”