Naima Morelli

Archive
Middle East

I wrote a piece for The Markaz Review, wondering whether curators who organize international exhibitions and develop books aren’t in fact public intellectuals. With interviews to @roseissaprojects @punkorientalism @farah.abushullaih

“Contrary to popular belief, it remains true that the specter of the intellectual still haunts the art world. The only thing that has changed is the mask they now hide behind — that of ‘curator.’ The current dislike of the word intellectual runs just as deep as our love for the word “curator.” ‘

Here is the link to the piece

Read More
Team photo from left to right:
Amélie Kalafat (Artistic assistant)
Clara Alabed Alnaef, (Partnership & communication),Joanna Chevalier (Artistic director), Laure d’Hauteville (Founder & fair director), Tara El Khoury Mikhaël (Gallery relations), Léonie Racy (Scenographer), Camelia Esmaili, (Special Project Advisor) [@Irenederosen]

The successful Menart Fair, that has just concluded in Paris, is showing how artists from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are leading the conversation, while also opening up new perspectives in the European cultural arena.

I wrote the piece for Middle East Monitor

Here is the link to the article

Read More

Fruits weave together ancestral longing, anchoring us to home. ‘Double Blessings’ is an exhibition in Chicago that explore this concept through the work four artists who are connected to Palestine. Their art tells stories of consumption and lineage, with food as a common but diverse language.

I have interviewed Noel Maghathe, the curator of the show, for The New Arab.

Here is the link to the article

Read More

With the new art space Wonder Cabinet in Bethlehem, Palestinian architects Elias and Yousef Anastas,are recovering, treasuring and expanding the genius loci of the West Bank.

The kind of impact that the art space is hoping to have is twofold: encouraging the Palestinian art scene to grow beyond Ramallah, while also attracting creatives from around the world to Bethlehem.

I have interview them for Middle East Monitor.

Here is the link to the piece

Read More

Duty and care are the words that would best describe the approach of Dr Adila Laidi-Hanieh towards the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit.

She is stepping down as director of the museum at the end of this month, and she reflected on her years in charge, changing the institution from the inside out. I have interviewed her for Middle East Monitor

Here is the link to the piece

Read More
Adam

I have interviewed independent researcher, curator and artist Adam HajYahia for Al-Monitor.

Adam’s exploration of structural and hierarchical violence and its intersections with capitalist, colonial, sexual and social dynamics took material shape recently in an exhibition called “Carnal Politics: Sex, Desire and Anti-Colonial Deviance in Mandate Palestine.”

Here is the link to the article

Read More
Nabil Anani's Eye on Jerusalem, 2012

My latest piece about Nabil Anani’s new show, currently at Zawyeh Gallery, just came out for The New Arab.

Nabil is one of the founders of the contemporary Palestinian art movement. His works highlight Palestine’s folkloric culture and seek to foster national pride beyond Israel’s 75-year occupation.

Here is the link to the piece

Read More

Starting this year, Abu Dhabi is building a contemporary art scene tending to the local community, positioning itself as the main taste-maker in the discourse on the Global South in the Middle East.

I wrote a piece based on my latest trip to Abu Dhabi last month for Middle East Monitor.

Here is the link to the article

Read More

My latest piece for Middle East Monitor is titled: “Saudi artist Hawazin Alotaibi rethinks gender norms and masculinity in the Gulf.”

It’s a piece of art criticism about this young artist, who doesn’t sheer away from using image distortion and experimental printing processes in order to create portrayals of male figures that contend with evolving conceptions of Arab masculinity.

Here is the link to the piece

Read More
Works by Zeinab Saab as part of A thought is a memory, curated by Noel Maghathe. Presented by CUE Art Foundation, 2023 [Photo by Filip Wolak]

My latest piece for Middle East Monitor is about a collective show at CUE Art Foundation in New York reflecting on the hybrid identities of Arab Americans.

Called “A thought is a memory”, the show is curated by Noel Maghathe and runs until 13 May.

Here is the link to the piece

Read More

The exhibition “Hijrah: In the Footsteps of the Prophet” and the documentary “In the Footsteps of the Beloved” are embracing historical and scientific evidence, signalling a change in Saudi Arabia. I wrote about it for Middle East Monitor.

Here is the link to the piece

Read More
The third edition of Ramallah Art Fair at Zawyeh Gallery in Ramallah [Instagram/ramallah_artfair]

The first article published this year is about the third edition of an atypical but important art fair that takes place in Ramallah, Palestine.

It’s the second year that I follow tis partly physical partly virtual art fair, and this time I spoke with the fair’s director for Middle East Monitor.

Here is the link to the piece

Read More