Country | Naima Morelli

Published! Interview with director of Palestine Museum US for MEMO

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

Published! Su Hui-Yu at Singapore Art Week for The Financial Times

By: Naima Morelli

24-01-2024

Interview, Published, Research, Singapore, Taiwan

My latest piece for The Financial Times. I have interviewed the Taiwanese artist Su-Hui Yui about his work on collective memories, transgression and technological change in Asian societies that he presented during the Singapore Art Week.

Here is the link to the piece

Published! A need-to-know guide to Ithra for Wanderlust

By: Naima Morelli

29-12-2023

Middle East

I first visited the cultural center Ithra in Saudi Arabia back in April, and I have recently wrote a guide to it for the Uk-based travel magazine Wanderlust.

“Driving up to the centre, in concentric circles around Ithra, is the best way to take in the sleek sculptural silver shape of the building of the cultural center Ithra in Dhahran, in the Eastern Province.

After an initial sense of wonder, curiosity arises about a space fast becoming a leading creative institution, and a bastion for art and cross-cultural experiences in the Saudi art scene.”

Here is the link to the piece

Published! Art in Riyadh on Wanderlust

By: Naima Morelli

28-12-2023

Middle East

Along with Jeddah, Riyadh is at the forefront of everything contemporary and trendy in Saudi. The Riyadh art scene is becoming more lively by the day, thanks to an ever-growing calendar of Biennales, festivals, and events.

I wrote for Wanderlust a list of seven of the most interesting art spaces in town, to understand what contemporary art means in a bustling country that is undergoing such rapid social change.

Here is the link to the piece

Curatorial text: Inessa Kalabekova’s Descendants of the Dragon in Singapore

By: Naima Morelli

27-12-2023

Central Asia, English, Essay, News

I have written the curatorial text for the new show “Descendants of the Dragons” by Singapore-based Kazakh artist Inessa Kalabekova at the Music Box Museum. The show opened on 1 December, and will run until 31 January 2024.

Please find the press release down below.

Published! Noor Riyadh for Al-Monitor

By: Naima Morelli

26-12-2023

Middle East, News, Published, Reportage, Visit

My piece on the light art festival Noor Riyadh has just been published on Al-Monitor.

“Standing in the middle of the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, a swarm of drones creates delicate constellations on the horizon. A virtuoso is playing the piano on a stage, complementing the 3,000-drone performance conceived by Studio Drift — an artist duo formed by Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta — called ‘Desert Swarm’.”

Here is the link to the article

Published! Interview with Marwa Benhalim

By: Naima Morelli

21-12-2023

Collection, Interview, Libya, Published

The Italian Magazine Arabpop has just published my interview with Libyan artist Marwa Benhalim in Italian, with the title “The history of the world in a fist of couscous.”

This issue magazine themed “feast” is now out in the press.

Here is the link to the pdf of the article Download

Published! Manar Abu Dhabi on MEMO

By: Naima Morelli

02-12-2023

Essay, Middle East, News, Published, Reportage, Research, Visit

What is the role of art in times of conflict? I wrote a piece about it for Middle East Monitor, centered on the art light festival, Manar Abu Dhabi, curated by Reem Fadda and Alia Zaal Lootah from 15 November 2023. The festival runs to 30 January 2024.

Here is the link to the article

Published! Interview with Libyan writer Mahbuba Khalifa for The Markaz Review

By: Naima Morelli

13-11-2023

Interview, Libya, Published

The Markaz Review has published my latest article called “My Love for Derna: Interview with Libyan Writer Mahbuba Khalifa”

Mahbuba Khalifa, a Libyan philosophy graduate, is an author and poet from flood-devastated Derna, often called Libya’s “city of poets.” She has devoted her most recent book to the city of her childhood and adolescence.

Here is the link to the interview

Central Asia in the spotlight at Asia Now fair on The Financial Times

By: Naima Morelli

14-10-2023

Central Asia, Interview, News, Published

I have a new piece out on the weekend edition of the Financial Times, called “Central Asia in the spotlight at Asia Now fair.”

The article looks at how craft, nomadism and spirituality feature prominently in the region’s artistic practices, and are the focus on the art fair Asia Now, happening next week in Paris.

Here is the link to the piece

Published! Art Curators as Public Intellectuals on The Markaz Review

By: Naima Morelli

09-10-2023

Central Asia, Interview, Middle East, News, Published

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

Naima Morelli

Published! Interview with director of Palestine Museum US for MEMO

Published! Interview with Samia Halaby on The New Arab

Published! Su Hui-Yu at Singapore Art Week for The Financial Times

Published! A need-to-know guide to Ithra for Wanderlust

Published! Art in Riyadh on Wanderlust

Curatorial text: Inessa Kalabekova’s Descendants of the Dragon in Singapore

Published! Noor Riyadh for Al-Monitor

Published! Interview with Marwa Benhalim

Published! Manar Abu Dhabi on MEMO

Published! Interview with Libyan writer Mahbuba Khalifa for The Markaz Review

Central Asia in the spotlight at Asia Now fair on The Financial Times

Published! Art Curators as Public Intellectuals on The Markaz Review

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