Interview | Naima Morelli

Published! Italian colonial architecture in Libya on Al-Jazeera

13-07-2024

Essay, Interview, Libya, News, North Africa, Reportage

I have been interested in Libyan art, culture, and literature – as well as its relationship with its Italian colonial past – for a few years now. And every time I look at this country through a different facet, there is so much to discover.

This time I looked at the erasure of the colonial architectural heritage in Benghazi and Tripoli, gathering different viewpoints from Libyans, and their memories attached to these buildings.

I wrote the story for Al-Jazeera, with the title “Cultural treasure or painful reminder? Libya’s colonial architecture.”

Here is the link to the article

Published! Interview with Aspan Gallery on Times of Central Asia

By: Naima Morelli

11-07-2024

Central Asia, Interview, Published

My latest piece for the Times of Central Asia is entitled “Almaty’s Aspan Gallery Champions Central Asian Art at Home and Abroad.” For this article, I have interview Aspan Gallery’s director Meruyert Kaliyeva.

Here is the link to the interview

Published! Kazakhstan’s Pavilion at the Venice Biennale for The Times of Central Asia

By: Naima Morelli

12-06-2024

Central Asia, Interview, News, Published, Research, Visit

The Kazakh pavilion “Jerūiyq: Journey Beyond the Horizon” at the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, from April 20 to November 24, represents a major milestone in changing perceptions of Kazakh art.

Staged in the Naval Historical Museum, the exhibition reinterprets the ancient legend of Jerūiyq, drawing inspiration from Kazakh myths and the visionary journey of the 15th-century philosopher Asan Kaigy.

I have interviewed the Pavillion’s curator Anvar Musrepov for The Times of Central Asia.

Here is the link to the interview

Published! Balkan artists for the Financial Times

By: Naima Morelli

08-06-2024

Balkans, Interview, News, Published, Reportage, Research

Aside from big names such as Marina Abramović, the Balkan region is little known globally, making it ripe for collectors.

I have interviewed some of these artists, collectors and galleries for the Financial Times.

Here is the link to the article

Published! Timor Leste Pavillion on Plural Art Mag

By: Naima Morelli

29-05-2024

English, Interview, News, Reportage, Research, video

I have interview artist Maria Madeira and reviewed “Kiss and Don’t Tell,” Timor-Leste’s inaugural pavilion at the Venice Biennale for Plural Art Mag.

The show amalgamates Timorese traditions, personal narratives of displacement, and universal struggles for identity.

Here is the link to the article

Published! Hong Kong art scene + Kingsley NG on Il Manifesto

By: Naima Morelli

25-05-2024

English, Interview, News, Published, Research, Visit

The Italian newspaper Il manifesto has just published two pieces of mine. One is an article reflecting back on the art week and the art marketin Hong Kong, the second is an interview with artist Kingsley Ng who did a commission for the façade of the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.

Here is the link to the article

Published! Palestine at the 2024 Venice Biennale for MEMO

By: Naima Morelli

26-04-2024

English, Interview, Middle East, News, Published, Reportage, Research, Visit

The "South West Bank" show at Palazzo Mora [Naima Morelli]

My first report from Venice. Besides the controversy around the closed Israeli Pavilion, in this article for Middle East Monitor I look at three shows representing different facets of Palestine at the 2024 Venice Biennale

Here is the link to the article

Published! Interview with artist Mandy El-Sayegh for MEMO

By: Naima Morelli

05-04-2024

Collection, Interview, Malaysia, Middle East, News, Published, Research

Malaysian-Palestinian artist Mandy El-Sayegh .[Photo Abtin Eshraghi. Courtesy of the artist and Lawrie Shabibi]

Middle East Monitor has just published my latest interview with Malaysian-Palestinian artist Mandy El-Sayegh.

Based on assemblage and cultural hybridity, the artist’s work uses artifacts from contemporary culture to speak of the current political climate.

Here is the link to the interview

Published! South-east Asian collectors on the Financial Times

By: Naima Morelli

24-03-2024

English, Essay, Interview, Singapore, Taiwan

Painting of sitting room with a glassy side table, yellow sofa and plants

As Hong Kong is gearing up for its art week, I have spoken with collectors and gallerists for the Financial Times to see how the art market is a bit more fragmented than it used to be.

Here is the link to the article

Published! Nadine Khalil’s I Can No Longer Produce the Limits of My Own Body on The Markaz Review

By: Naima Morelli

06-02-2024

Interview, Middle East, News, Published

In my interview with curator Nadine Khalil for The Markaz Review, we discover the artists on display in Dubai in the exhibition, I Can No Longer Produce the Limits of My Own Body, on view at the Nika Gallery through the 24th of February, 2024.

Here is the link to the article

Published! Interview with director of Palestine Museum US for MEMO

By: Naima Morelli

01-02-2024

English, Interview, Italy, Middle East, Published, Research

Faisal Saleh, founder of Palestinian Museum, speaks during the inauguration of the facility in Woodbridge, Connecticut, April 22, 2018. [HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images]

“A few months ago, the director of the Palestine Museum US, Faisal Saleh, was in a room in Venice with members of the commission for the 2024 Venice Art Biennale. They tried to explain to him why his proposal for a collateral exhibition of Palestinian artists was rejected.

Saleh is not only Palestinian, but also very American in his ethos. So, he told me, when the Biennale spokesperson tried to convince him that art and politics have to be kept separate, he didn’t hesitate to tell them, ‘Well, I may not be as much of an expert on art as you are, but I do know that politics and art are intertwined. You can’t really separate one from the other.’ “

Faisal Saleh, director of the Palestine Museum US has started a petition to have a Palestinian-only collateral show at the Venice Biennale 2024. I spoke with him for Middle East Monitor.

Here is the link to the interview

Published! Interview with Samia Halaby on The New Arab

By: Naima Morelli

24-01-2024

English, Interview, Middle East, Published

Palestinian artist Samia Halaby discusses her latest exhibition, 'Flurrying' | Arab News

“I see the beauty in many places, many times, and I have always wanted to interrupt conversations to point out what I see,” says Palestinian artist Samia Halaby. “I learned not to do so, and share beauty through painting.”

Today in her eighties, Samia Halaby is a pioneer of abstract painting and a central figure in Palestinian art, with an artistic career that started in the late 1950s and was also accompanied by a strong commitment to the liberation of her country.

I have interviewed the artist for The New Arab.

Here is the link to the interview

Naima Morelli

Published! Italian colonial architecture in Libya on Al-Jazeera

Published! Interview with Aspan Gallery on Times of Central Asia

Published! Kazakhstan’s Pavilion at the Venice Biennale for The Times of Central Asia

Published! Balkan artists for the Financial Times

Published! Timor Leste Pavillion on Plural Art Mag

Published! Hong Kong art scene + Kingsley NG on Il Manifesto

Published! Palestine at the 2024 Venice Biennale for MEMO

Published! Interview with artist Mandy El-Sayegh for MEMO

Published! South-east Asian collectors on the Financial Times

Published! Nadine Khalil’s I Can No Longer Produce the Limits of My Own Body on The Markaz Review

Published! Interview with director of Palestine Museum US for MEMO

Published! Interview with Samia Halaby on The New Arab

About

MY BOOKS

Categories

Archives