Naima Morelli

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Art installation at the Desert X AlUla 2024 exhibition in Saudi Arabia

Over the past three years, there has been a shift in perception around the Saudi Arabian art scene, and at this year’s Desert X AlUla, artists benefitted from freer expression.

I have review the art festival for the German webmagazine Qantara.

Here is the link to the article

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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.

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Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha [Naima Morelli]

With shows that range from political stances to introspective research, Doha’s Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art proves itself to be one of the most authoritative voices for Arab narratives and the Global South in art.

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My latest piece for The Markaz reviw is about two exhibitions in Tripoli and Florence. These examine Libyan identity, gauging what to take and what to leave of its colonial past and its ancestral roots, while trying to make sense of the last years of civil war.

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Artist Manal AlDowayan poses ahead of the opening of the exhibition 'The Future of a Promise' in Venice, Italy on June 1, 2011 [Marco Secchi/Getty Images]

I am just back from Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia, where artist Manal AlDowayan has two shows in the context of the Al-Ula art festival.

I sat with the artist asking her about her partecipation at the upcoming Venice Biennale, and about her work based on both tradition, community partecipation and women in Saudi Arabia.

Here is the link to the interview

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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

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