Visual arts
All topics-
Blasphemy, iconoclasm, Islamophobia?
Islamic art – understanding the richness of the Muslim world
How is one to convey the history of Islamic images of Muhammad freed from today’s polarised politics? What are the challenges and pinch points of this particular academic endeavour?
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Tunisia's Oscar shortlist
"Under The Fig Trees" and modern rural youth
Erige Sehiri, director of "Under The Fig Trees", shortlisted to represent Tunisia at the Oscars next year, says she hopes the award-winning drama film will smash the cliche that rural women are "miserable and closed"
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Iran protests 2022
Female film stars show solidarity
In Iran, two famous actresses, Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi, were arrested recently. These days anyone who shows solidarity with the protesters is a target to be silenced. By Kevin Tschierse
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Richard Serra sculpture in Qatar desert
4WD pilgrimage to acclaimed installation
Deep in the Qatari desert, security guards have a lonely time keeping 24-hour watch over one of the world's most isolated artworks, created by renowned U.S. sculptor Richard Serra
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“A History of Arab Graphic Design”
Shaping collective memories
Bahia Shehab and Haytham Nawar's award-winning "A History of Arab Graphic Design" (2020) took ten years to produce. In interview with Marcia Lynx Qualey, Shehab talks about the project and the difficulties in compiling an Arab graphic design textbook
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Cartoonists in the Arab world
Children of the revolution
How are comic book artists in the Arab world responding to the political situation in the region? Lena Bopp talks to illustrators Lina Ghaibeh and George Khoudry about young artists' collectives and feminist superheroes
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Afghan refugee confronts his past
"Flee", one man's story
Jonas Poher Rasmussen's Oscar-nominated animated documentary “Flee” focuses on the life of a refugee from Afghanistan. Based on a true story, it centres around the question: when does flight end? By Jane Esher
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Mohamed Abla awarded Goethe Medal
Telling stories through art
Mohamed Abla is the first visual artist from Egypt to be awarded the Goethe-Institut’s Goethe Medal, Germany’s highest honour in the area of foreign cultural policy. Stefan Weidner sheds some light on the artist’s work
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Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art
Iranians flock to see Western art
For the first time in decades, contemporary Western artworks, from Donald Judd to Christo, are on public display in the Iranian capital. They had long been locked away so as not to offend Islamic values. By Suzanne Cords
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Controversy at Berlin's Biennale art show
Abu Ghraib torture photos in the spotlight
A French artist has used photos of torture from Abu Ghraib for an oversized artwork at the Berlin Biennale. Reactions from fellow artists have been mixed, with some criticising and others praising the work. Christine Lehnen reports
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Hajj pilgrimage
Egypt family keeps alive kiswah tradition
Under the steady hum of a ceiling fan, Ahmed Othman weaves golden threads through black fabric, creating Koranic verses, a century after his grandfather's work adorned the Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque. A ceremonial hanging of the kiswah over the cubic structure symbolises the launch of the hajj annual pilgrimage
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Anti-Semitism at documenta15
"The documenta is in ruins"
Anti-Semitic motifs have no place at Germany’s documenta art show or anywhere else in the world, stresses Meron Mendel, director of the Anne Frank Educational Centre in Frankfurt. But he also says: this is not an anti-Semitic documenta. Interview by Stefan Dege