Naima Morelli

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INDONESIA-ART-MUSEUM

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

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Installation view of Seeing is Believing The Art and Influence of Gérôme Courtesy of MATHAF Arab Museum of Modern Art and Lusail Museum Doha

Middle East Monitor has published by review of the exhibition Seeing is Believing: The Art and Influence of Gérôme at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art.

The French artist, who lived and worked in the 1800s, was extremely influential in his depictions of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, shaping Western perceptions of these regions during the very century when colonialism and so-called “Oriental Studies” were entrenching global power dynamics.

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We really don’t want to hear yet another mouth uttering the old and weary truism: “In order to know where we are going, we need to know where we come from.”

But can we even look at Massinissa Selmani’s videos, drawings, and photos in his exhibition 1000 VILLAGES—dedicated to the story of his own country Algeria and currently on exhibition at Index Foundation in Stockholm—without having this truism resounding in our ears like blaring evidence? We might as well cover our mouths.

I have spoken with the artist for FLAUNT Magazine.

Here is the link to the interview

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immagine per Friche, Belle de Mai © Caroline Dutrey

This summer I visited for the first time Marseille, to do a little research on the comic book scene there. I have found an incredible lively scene, which provided me with many insights about art, life, and how a community comes together around shared values.

I wrote the piece in Italian for the webmagazine Art a Part of Culture.

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Moroccan artist Bouchra Khalili

In her work, currently on show both in Athens and at the Venice Biennale, Moroccan Artist Bouchra Khalili highlights the power of storytelling for the disenfranchised subjects of history.

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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.

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Una visitatrice di Art Basel Hong Kong

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

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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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Sparrow on the Sea | M+

A new byline and – most importantly – some news from the Hong Kong Art Week. I’m writing for Italian newspaper Il Sole 24Ore about a new commission by artist Yang Fudong, who will screen new work on the façade of the M+ museum.

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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.

Here is the link to the article

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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.

Here is the link to the article

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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

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