Visual arts
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The new Ataturk Cultural Center in Istanbul
Turkey's second modern age
Between Ataturk's republican utopia and Erdogan's 21st century Islam: the newly built AKM Cultural Center in Istanbul. By Tomas Avenarius
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Marwan Rechmaoui exhibition in Beirut
But the trees kept voting for the axe
The work of artist Marwan Rechmaoui is both minimalist and complex and embodies the faultlines of his home city. Some of his latest pieces are now on show at a leading Beirut gallery – its first exhibition since the explosion that rocked the city last summer. By Lena Bopp
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Berlin's Human Rights Film Festival
"Yemen's Banksy" – Murad Subay creates art against war
Yemen remains the world's worst humanitarian crisis, say humanitarian organisations. At the recent Human Rights Film Festival in Berlin, street artist Murad Subay commented on the horrors of war. Elizabeth Grenier reports
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Prostitution in the Shah's Iran
Shahr-e No – "the neighbourhood of the sorrowful"
Drawing on the history of Tehran's Shahr-e No red light district, Nasrin Bassiri describes how prostitution functioned in Iran before the Islamic Revolution. The neighbourhood would end up being destroyed in August 1980, six months after Khomeini came to power
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Graffiti artist Shamsia Hassani
Giving voice to Afghanistan's oppressed
Afghanistan's first female street artist depicts Afghan women as they face renewed Taliban threats. Despite the danger, she pursues her work of resistance. By Cristina Burack
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Last stand for Afghanistan's art scene?
Afghan artists react to the Taliban takeover
Particularly threatened by the Taliban, some artists are trying to destroy all proof of their work. Others are creating last pieces as a form of resistance. Manasi Gopalakrishnan reports
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"Algeriennes" by Swann Meralli and Deloupy
The bravery and resilience of Algeria's "mujahidates"
Using a graphic novel to address a contentious issue like the Algerian war of independence may seem an odd choice, but new release "Algeriennes", translated into English by Ivanka Hahnenberger, defies any preconceptions you may have about the genre's limitations. Richard Marcus read the book
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Berlin: "bê welat – the unexpected storytellers" exhibition
Taking a tender look at life through the Kurdish lens
How can the various realities of Kurdish life, shaped by depression, resistance and war, be depicted in art? This is the question addressed by the “bê welat – the unexpected storytellers” exhibition in Berlin. Ceyda Nurtsch reports for Qantara.de
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"What is Islamic art?" with art historian Wendy Shaw
What is art, when the primary sensory organ is the heart?
How can we truly appreciate the richness of cultures not our own? In her recent book "What is Islamic art? Between religion and perception", art historian Wendy Shaw explains the need to abandon our vision-centred perception of art and the aesthetic, embarking instead on a multi-sensory voyage of discovery. Interview by Lucy James
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Muslim artist designs stained glass windows for German abbey
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Muslim artist designs stained glass windows for German abbey
Afghan artist Mahbuba Maqsoodi redesigns the stained glass windows in Germany's oldest Catholic monastery, in Tholey (Saarland).
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Pete Katz and "The Prophet: A Graphic Novel"
Romantic ideals for a new generation
Often disdained by intellectuals, Kahlil Gibran’s "The Prophet" has remained immensely popular for nearly a century since its publication in 1923. Now one of the most translated books in history has undergone another translation – into the visual sphere – by Pete Katz, who both adapted and illustrated the new volume. By Nahrain Al-Mousawi