The Arab World Institute’s exhibition on Gaza’s archaeological treasures offers European visitors a vital glimpse into the history of the Palestinian enclave.
I wrote the piece for The New Arab
Here is the link to the article
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In his new show, More than Dreams, Less than Things, at NIKA Projects in Paris, Ugay looks at the origins of image-making both literally and philosophically. Inspired by Ibn al-Haytham’s Book of Optics, the artist reanimates the ancient camera obscura, letting light seep through the book’s pages to birth abstract images: faded records of a presence.
The exhibition, which opened on March 16, explores the tension between technological progress and the way this can be disrupted by the power of imagination and poetry – eminently human things – by looking at the intersection of photography, technology, and diasporic memory.
I wrote this piece for Times of Central Asia
Here is the link to the article
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It was a pleasure to contribute three pieces to the new issue of HADARA, a very stylish and elegant magazine from the Gulf. I wrote a piece on the Islamic Biennale, I spoke with the design studio Karim+Elias, and investigated the work of the young promising artist Mariem Abu Taleb.
You’ll find the magazine in newstands and the pieces online here.
My piece on the Islamic Biennale
The article on the design studio Karim+Elias
A piece on artist Mariem Abu Taleb
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I wrote for Middle East Monitor an article about “Beyrouth Ya Beyrouth”, a comic book collection in the form of a newspaper created last year by the comic book festival “Rencontres du 9e Art, Festival BD d’Aix” at Aix-en-Provence in the South of France.
The collection sees a group of Lebanese artists sharing different sides of Beirut that are less known to the media. Rather than focusing on the crises and turmoil, they aim to capture the city’s everyday life, emotions and experiences through the medium of comics.
Here is the link to the article
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Is it possible to preserve architectural heritage while working towards sustainability? And what to make of the architectural relics of the past century? Can they somehow take on new meaning rather than remaining a representation of dystopias and utopias of the past?
All these questions and more are addressed by the Uzbekistan Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Running alternate years with the Art Biennale, this is undoubtedly one of the most important architectural events in the international arena.
I have interviewed Ekaterina Golovatyuk of Studio GRACE, the architectural film that curated the Uzebek Pavillion. The piece is for Times of Central Asia.
Here is the link to the interview
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As I walked to the museum in the southern French city, some graffiti on a restaurant shutter caught my eye: “If a place attracts you, it’s because there is something waiting for you, and your story there has already been written.”
These words stuck with me as I turned the corner and the incredible MUCEM building stood before me, epic in shape and location, silhouetted against the cloudy sky, seemingly suspended on the sea.
“Revenir” focuses on the idea of home, travel and returning. This is not only the scope of the show, but the wider project of the museum, which is dedicated to Mediterranean cultures, especially to that very specific blend for which this city port is renowned.
Running until 16 March at the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (MUCEM) in Marseille, the exhibition “Revenir” (“Return”) invites visitors to explore the experiences of returning to one’s homeland.
I wrote about the show for Middle East Monitor.
Here is the link to the review
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Sara Raza is a litmus test for the spirit of the times in the shape of an art curator. In simple terms, art crowds can count on her direction for the Tashkent Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) to bring the most pressing issues in contemporary art to the foreground.
Indeed, the author of the book Punk Orientalism – and the namesake curatorial studio – has been just appointed as Artistic Director and Chief Curatorial Director of the CCA Tashkent, set to open in September 2025.
It’s a strategic move for the Centre, which has aspirations of becoming a global arts and culture hub and is aiming at international artistic and creative exchanges, which include residencies, exhibitions, workshops, and educational programmes, and contributing to Uzbekistan’s cultural ecosystem.
Here is the link to the interview
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I have written about the new show of Mous Lamrabat “Homesick”, now at Loft Art Gallery in Marrakech through the 15th of March, for The Markaz Review.
The series is a striking meditation on identity, nostalgia, and cultural fusion. Through twenty powerful new works, the Moroccan-Belgian photographer reimagines heritage with contemporary aesthetics, bridging past and present in an emotional exploration of belonging.
Here is the link to the review
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Across Paris, contemporary Vietnamese artists have also been making their presence felt, represented by galleries such as Galerie BAO and A2Z Art Gallery and showing at art fairs like Asia Now (Europe’s only fair focused on Asian artists). Taken together, these various presentations point towards a cultural conversation between the two countries that stretches back to colonial times.
I have written a piece on Vietnamese art during the Paris Art Week for Plural Art Mag.
Here is the link to the article
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The mythological figure of the Simurgh is the focus of Slavs and Tatars’ latest show at the gallery The Third Line in Dubai called “Simurgh Self-Help”.
The show speaks of the importance of reclaiming and reframing cultural memories in a fractured world, and an invitation to think beyond the artificial, top-down confines of nationalism, to find cultural unity.
I have interview Payam, one half of Slav and Tatars, for The Times of Central Asia.
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From art fairs to vibrant galleries, Marrakech is becoming a top spot for contemporary African art, bringing together local talent and global influences. I wrote this article on the local art scene for The New Arab.
Here is the link to the article
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My second article for the Art Newspaper France is “Gérôme in Qatar: an updated look at Orientalism.”
With the exhibition “Seeing is Believing: The Art and Influence of Gérôme” at the Mathaf – Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar is positioning itself as the bridgehead for a new chapter in the history of Orientalism.
