Naima Morelli

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talk7
What a nice evening at Kon Len Khnhom, the contemporary art space run in Phnom Penh, Cambodia by art manager Meta Moeng! It was great to finally see the space in person after hearing so much about it; this is a traditional Khmer house tucked in a small alley right in the city center, where they held residences, events and do projects with students.

Yesterday night I held a talk talking about my experience researching emerging art scenes, from Indonesia to Singapore, and I discussed with the audience about the features of the Cambodian contemporary art scene and the local art market. The atmosphere was so nice and cozy and elicited reflections; really my jam! Below some pictures from the night.

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konlen
This Saturday 10th February 2018 I’m going to have a talk at the art space in Kon Len Khnhom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

For this art talk, I’ll be sharing about my own experience and methodology in researching the emerging art scenes. Meanwhile, I will also present my findings about the Cambodian art scene so far and ask feedback from the audience to analyse together these different aspect of the art scene.

Please drop by if you are in town!

Here is the link to the fb event

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KimHak

CoBo Social has just published my interview with Cambodian photographer Kim Hak as the first of a three-part series on Cambodian photographers. In this piece I talk with Kim Hak about the special role photography holds in Cambodia for the collective memory.

Here is the link to the interview

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DelerePress

Culture is a gift to share. Driven by this ethos Yanyun Chen and Jeremy Fernando founded in Singapore the publishing house Delere Press, which marries art and literature. I have interviewed both of them for Culture 360, the webmagazine of the Asia-Europe Foundation.

Here is the link to the article

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GeraldLeow

CoBo Social has just published an interview with one of my favorite Singaporean artists, Gerald Leow. We did the interview this past June, at the time he exhibited his latest series “I am Time Grown Old To Destroy the World” at Chan+Hori gallery in Singapore.

Here is the link to the interview

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vipoo
We kick off the new year with the publication of an interview I did some time ago with ceramic artist Vipoo Srivilasa for CoBo Social. His work explores the similarities between the cultures of his native Thailand and his adoptive home, Australia. Vipoo’s art is playful and profound– as well as being highly collectible.

Here is the link to the interview

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1

I love the end of the year so much. Looking back and taking stock of what worked and what didn’t, because acknowledging that even what apparently didn’t worked is the seed for something even bigger to happen. And also, recognizing that nothing is ever wasted, and everything will converge eventually, because it’s all you, all one person is one universe following his own personal trail of crumbs.

In the past few months I haven’t posted on the blog my regular rants/reflections on my journey through life. This is because I realized that instead of being focused on the present and what was at hand, I was rehearsing the “narrative of my life” a little too often. Too much of looking back and planning ahead, instead of sitting down, spot the priorities and get down to them. Which resulted a dispersive mindset and lazy habits. And now that is the right time to reflect, look back and appreciate, it just feels so much better. A few lessons have unfolded. And while of course everything is unfolding all the time, I feel that right now I can see a motif appearing, whereas in the past few months it was more the phase where everything was colliding before taking a recognizable form.

Enough with vagueness! Let’s get down to the specifics; one thing I learned this is that when you ask your friends for feedback in a particular area of your life they know you well for, they will always tell you that “in the past you were so much better at this.” Of course you know that this is not true. There were movements where you showed up with your higher self in that sector. One particularly focused training session, a period where you were really pushing with work, another week where you realized a set of very good comic book pages. Growth is never even. You’ll have moments where you are quietly learning in some areas and it doesn’t show, and moments where it finally come up. It’s a gift to have friends to keep you in check, but most importantly you have to regularly practice, day in day out.

On the edge of 2017 I can see how all the expressions of my being are starting to come together, and hopefully in 2018 they will find a way to coexist harmoniously as an even flow. Ok, let’s be more specific. I guess I’ll start by looking at the year through the lens of my different practices.

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collectingcambodia

Art Republik Issue 17 is just out. You will find there my article on collectorship in Cambodia, where I have interviewed curator Reaksmey Yean, dancer and collector Sophiline Cheam Shapiro and artist Sophal Neak, discussing the concept on building an art collection in a country where the art infrastructure is still absent.

Here is the link to the pdf version of the piece

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RanaSamara

I have interviewed Palestinian artist Rana Samara for Middle East Monitor. Rana is a highly inquisitive, courageous and determined woman. These characteristics propelled her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art as a mother of three children from a conservative background. Her passion for art has led her to a two-year MA in Fine Art at Northwestern University, Chicago.

The backbone of Rana’s work are conversations with women about gender and intimate relations. Her latest series of work called “Intimate Space”, was presented by Ramallah’s  at Art Dubai 2017 and put the spotlight on the depth and complexity of the research of Palestinian artist.

Here is the link to the interview

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Beirut

I feel today the MAXXI Museum in Rome is the one contemporary art institution who is really nailing it in the Eternal City. The multifaceted and highly political show “Home Beirut: Sounding the Neighbors” is proof of that. The exhibition focuses on Beirut artists representing city’s development and destiny, and introducing the local artistic scene to a European public.

This show is the third chapter of the “Mediterranean Trilogy” through which the MAXXI has been examining the interaction between the artistic communities of Europe and the Middle East. The aim is prompting the birth of a new trans-Mediterranean culture, critically important for the global landscape of artistic creation.

The show presented 30 artists, architects, filmmakers, musicians, dancers, researchers, activists negotiating between critical reflections of recent history of conflicts, through archiving and re-enacting memories, and prospection of the future, through attempts of urban transformation and global outreaching.

Here is the link to the review

 

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BaitAlKarama

 

The webmagazine Middle East Monitor has just published my article called: Palestine’s first female-run cookery school is ‘a labour of love’. The piece is based on an interview with artist Beatrice Catanzaro about the Bait Al Karama, the first Women’s Centre in the heart of the Old City of Nablus, which combines a culinary social enterprise with art and cultural activities.

The space was established to support the social and economic needs of women in the Old City struggling in the aftermath of the occupation, and to draw international attention to Nablus as a place of art and culture.

Here is the link to the piece

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HoTzuNyen

Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen has a new show at the Berlin gallery Michael Janssen, called No Man II. In this interview for CoBo, I spoke with him about his process, his conception of his characters as empty shells, and his love for books. Ho Tzu Nyen’s work and ideas are endlessly fascinating for me.

Here is the link to the interview

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