Naima Morelli

Published! Uzbekistan at the 2025 Venice Biennale at Times of Central Asia

25-03-2025

Central Asia, Interview, Italy, Published

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

Published! Marseille ‘Revenir’ exhibition on MEMO

By: Naima Morelli

11-03-2025

France, News, Review, Visit

Affiche de l'exposition "Revenir" © passeport - photo David Giancatarina, Sfeir-Semler Gallery Hamburg/Beirut, Adagp, Paris, 2024 et © archives famille Ghoussoub Feghali, Collections du Muse national de l'histoire de l'immigration - Établissement public du Palais de la Porte Dorée

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

Published! Q&A with Sara Raza director of CCA Tashkent

By: Naima Morelli

10-03-2025

Central Asia, Interview, News, Published

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

Published! Mous Lamrabat on Markaz Review

By: Naima Morelli

10-03-2025

Review

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

Published! Vietnamese Art in Paris for Plural Art Mag

By: Naima Morelli

01-03-2025

Uncategorized

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

Published! Simurgh Self-Help by Slavs and Tatars’ on Times of Central Asia

By: Naima Morelli

21-02-2025

Central Asia, English, Interview, Published

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.

Here is the link to te piece

Published! The Marrakech Art Scene on The New Arab

By: Naima Morelli

14-02-2025

News, North Africa, Published, Reportage, Research

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

Published! Gérôme au Qatar for The Art Newspaper France

By: Naima Morelli

07-02-2025

Uncategorized

Seeing Is Believing: The Art and Influence of Gérôme - Mathaf

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.

Here is the link to the piece

Published! The contemporary art fair 1/54 Marrakech on MEMO

By: Naima Morelli

06-02-2025

Interview, North Africa, Published, Reportage, Research, Visit

1-54 Marrakech 2025. [Courtesy Mohamed Lakhdar]

Small but well-curated, the 1/54 art fair in Marrakech aims to be the gateway for African art, while fostering the local Moroccan art scene. I have reported on the event for Middle East Monitor.

Here is the link to the article

Published!Nadia Saikali and Beirut as the centre of abstract art on MEMO

By: Naima Morelli

03-02-2025

Interview, Middle East, News, Published

Nadia Saikali and Her Contemporaries show at Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah

The show “Nadia Saikali and Her Contemporaries” at Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah until 2 August is dedicated to pioneering abstract artist Saikali, and the influence that she had on modernism in the Arab world and beyond.

This is the first of two pieces which I have written of the show, and has been just published by Middle East Monitor.

Here is the link to the piece

Published! Central Asian artists in Doha

By: Naima Morelli

24-01-2025

Essay, Interview, News, Published

The show “I Swear I Saw That” interrogates Jean-Leon Gerome’s way of seeing, which Sara Raza recognizes as a “fantastical and highly mythologized vision of the East,” and looks at how artists from both the Middle East, the Arab world and Central Asia fought back.

A Central Asia and Caucasus expert who works extensively in the Middle East, Raza has examined the process of the exoticization of Eastern populations for a long time. She coined the term “Punk Orientalism,” which also became the name of her book and curatorial studio.

I wrote the article for Times of Central Asia.

Here is the link to the article

Published: The Rise of the Indonesian Contemporary Art Market for The Observer

By: Naima Morelli

11-01-2025

English, Indonesia, Interview, News, Published, Research

There is no doubt that the Indonesian art market is one of the strongest in Southeast Asia. At art fairs all over Asia and Europe, we see an increasing number of big-name artists and collectors hailing from the art capitals of Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Bandung. Private museums, galleries and studios are cropping up across the vast archipelago.

I have interviewed Indonesian art collectors Andonowati and Wiyu Wahono, as well as Tom Tandio, director of Art Jakarta, to take the pulse of the market for The Observer.

Here is the link to the article

Naima Morelli

Published! Uzbekistan at the 2025 Venice Biennale at Times of Central Asia

Published! Marseille ‘Revenir’ exhibition on MEMO

Published! Q&A with Sara Raza director of CCA Tashkent

Published! Mous Lamrabat on Markaz Review

Published! Vietnamese Art in Paris for Plural Art Mag

Published! Simurgh Self-Help by Slavs and Tatars’ on Times of Central Asia

Published! The Marrakech Art Scene on The New Arab

Published! Gérôme au Qatar for The Art Newspaper France

Published! The contemporary art fair 1/54 Marrakech on MEMO

Published!Nadia Saikali and Beirut as the centre of abstract art on MEMO

Published! Central Asian artists in Doha

Published: The Rise of the Indonesian Contemporary Art Market for The Observer

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