cura tors It is clearly limiting to view a curator as just a curator. In their work, they take on the roles of cultural diplomats, art historians, contemporary archaeologists, writers, artistic designers, producers, entrepreneurs, facilitators, mediators, storytellers and so much more. Canvas ’s first in a series of special features on curators of Middle Eastern art looks at six leading figures behind some of the genre’s greatest exhibitions. of middle eastern art i SPECIAL FEATURE On 6 April 2011, JerusAlem-bOrn curAtOr And prOducer Jack persekian was dismissed from his role as Artistic director of the sharjah biennial. persekian was de- clared “untenable” by sharjah’s ruler sheikh sultan bin mohammed Al-Qasimi over a purported controver- sial artwork by Algerian artist mustapha benfodil. exhibited in the 10th sharjah biennial, it included sexual phrases in Arabic and references to Allah. According to numerous news reports, curators rasha salti and Haig Aivazian, who were responsible for the selection of the work, defended persekian and also stated that the installation was not intended to be offensive; the words in Maportaliche/It Has No Importance were borrowed from the voices of victims of rape at the hands of religious extremists in Algeria, who used religious texts to justify their crimes. the piece was therefore specific to the Algerian context during the country’s civil War and in no way was meant to be an attack on islam. the work in question was removed as was persekian. When researching this influential curator of middle eastern art, one encounters reference after refer- ence to his abrupt dismissal, but very little about a man whose years of work in the field of middle eastern art have contributed to the development of the region’s art scene as well as its dissemination abroad. One uncovers a lack of information about persekian’s establishment of the Anadiel Gallery and later, the Al-ma’mal Foundation, both located in Jerusalem and which continue to provide palestinian artists with a space to exhibit their art freely without the need for political affiliation. take heed of all of this, and one will find how necessary it is to delve further behind the black-and-white print which boldly pinpoints one jack persekian Photography by Aurore Belkin. 71 small, yet unfortunate, episode in persekian’s career, to discover a man who has fought in the name of art. “i stumbled upon curating. i didn’t intend to become a curator in the beginning,” says persekian, who holds a bs in business Administration from bethlehem university. in 1992, he opened Anadiel Gallery and began holding solo and group shows. the israeli-palestinian peace process was taking place and many palestinians turned to art as way to manifest their desires for a new era. At the time, the palestinian art movement coincided with the formation of the palestinian national movement as well as the estab- lishment of the palestine liberation Organisation (plO), which concerned itself with issues of identity and resistance as the expression of heritage and folklore through the visual arts, music and dance. this period of confusion, hope and disappointment in unfulfilled expectations could be viewed as a turning point in the creative movement in palestine and it was then that artists began coming to persekian’s gallery. “Anadiel provided artists with freedom from adhering to certain political ideologies and practices being set forth by the plO,” he explains. “it allowed a younger generation to come forth without being bound by any political culture or agenda.” Anadiel Gallery soon led to the establishment of a bigger initiative: the Al-ma’mal Founda- tion. established in 1998 as a not-for-profit society, the Foundation transformed Anadiel’s programmes into institutional initiatives – an act which aimed to assist the organisation in securing a continuous stream of funding for its artistic and cultural developments. ceaselessly thinking beyond the normal confines and thematics of an art exhibition space, persekian cites the launch of the annual 10-day Jerusalem show in 2007 as one of the Foundation’s highlights. neither a large-scale exhibition nor a biennial or one- time event, the show presents artworks, performances and creative interventions by palestinian as well as foreign visiting artists throughout the Old city in a seeming call for resistance against the hegemony of neighbouring israel through the visual forms of art. sharjah provided persekian more ways in which to promote the dissemina- tion of middle eastern art. Head curator of the sharjah biennial from 2004–07; Artistic director of the sharjah biennial from 2007–11 and director of the shar- jah Art Foundation from 2009–11, during these years persekian’s efforts were concerned with the role of the sharjah biennial as an institution operating in sharjah within the uAe and the entirety of the middle east. “i was convinced that the biennial should not just be about an interest to showcase works of art, but about the process of the creation of those works,” states perse- kian. “i saw it as a way to foster an interest and appreciation for art in the region and, gradually create another pole for the production and realisation of art in the east like in the West.” there’s no set approach to persekian’s curatorial method. “it is never a certain system i apply,” he says. “it is a process of discovering the place, thinking through the context and connecting that to whatever information is given to me.” His 2009 exhibition Disori- entation II-The Rise and Fall of Arab Cities at manarat Al-saadiyat in Abu dhabi, presented works by middle eastern artists who ex- plored Arab cities where both unity and division co-exist. the works on display also looked at the period of egyptian presi- dent Gamal Abdel-nasser (1956–70) and how the failure of his plans for pan-Arab nationalism led to a rupture in es- tablished social structures. “What i enjoyed most about this exhibition was the fact that it predicted the recent Arab uprisings in so many ways,” states persekian. “[Art] is a creative act not readily understood by the authorities; while writers are put in prison and deported for forthcoming declarations, it’s not always fully un- derstood what the artist is trying to say.” As intellectually and visually engaging as it is to put on an exhibition, persekian has qualms about curating. “After about 10 years of curating, i realised that i was a curator but i didn’t accept the classification until later and i still have lots of reservations,” he says. “You are a mediator between the artist’s work and the audience. Your role is to explain a show and that’s a big responsibility because an artwork does not readily provide straightforward answers to basic questions when placed within a specific context.” For such a new word to the english language, the definition of being a curator is still under the process of explanation, but persekian is more than a curator. “i would rather be known as a producer,” he says with conviction. “the process of creation is very important to me. A producer assists with the artistic process of creation and transforms ideas into an actual visual manifestation.” persekian’s curatorial work has taken him throughout the world. His roster of exhibitions includes Never-Part , bozar, brussels in 2008; Dubai Next , co-curated with rem Koolhaas at Vitra design museum in Weil am rhein, Germany in 2008; Reconsidering Palestinian Art , cuenca, spain in 2006; Diso- rientation – Contemporary Arab Artists from the Middle East , Haus der Kulturen der Welt, berlin in 2003 and he also acted as the Official palestinian representa- tive to the XXiV biennale de são paulo in 1998. regardless of where he works, persekian says that his communication through art doesn’t change according to the location. What changes, rather, is the infrastructure with which a show is put together and the local customs which need to be adhered to. “in the West, the infrastructure is set in place but is somewhat rigid, which means you need to work within an already set structure,” he explains. “in the Arab world, the infrastructure is lacking but you can change things around more easily in order to correspond to a particular context.” despite his many travels, he chooses to be based in his hometown of Jerusalem. persekian is still involved with the Al-ma’mal Foundation and Anadiel Gallery and is also doing work for darat Al-Funun in Amman. this month, he takes the post of Visiting professor at the royal college of Art in london, among other projects. “i always try to look beyond the event and the exhibition,” he says. “i always ask ‘what’s after this?’ i don’t like just dropping in and leaving to go somewhere else. i think about how what i build will benefit people afterwards.” “I think about how what I build will benefit people afterwards.” curAtOrs OF middle eAstern Art speciAl FeAture 72 Photography by Myrna Ayad. A Firm FiXture On tHe internAtiOnAl Art circuit FOr tHe past three decades, French curator catherine david’s artistic practice is, and has always has been inher- ently nomadic. “my approach to projects is guided by a commitment to represent the moment that we are living in,” she explains. “no matter where i am, i remain acutely aware of what is happening elsewhere, so i never feel like an outsider or insider anywhere.” Her extensive curating career boasts solo and group shows with names such as Gilberto Zorio, stan douglas, eva Hesse, Alejandra riera and Hassan sharif, and it is clear that this is a woman who has never felt regionally bound when it comes to art. she admits to favouring critical artistic practices, has never set out specific career goals and instead, selects projects based on “what comes my way and what i find most meaningful.” As one who prefers to show rather than tell, david’s track record reveals what her humble temperament doesn’t; her body of work is punctuated by a series of exhibitions, biennials and artist projects, all of which have helped solidify the curatorial repu- tation which precedes her today. david studied linguistics at the sorbonne, followed by History of Art and museology at the École du louvre to prepare for her chosen vocation. “my education gave me a vision and helped spark intel- lectual interest,” she recounts. “looking back, it provided me with a methodology that i can now truly appreciate.” in 1982 at the age of 27, she made her professional debut as curator at paris’s musée na- tional d’Art moderne, centre Georges pompidou. Given the educational limitations of this profession in the 1980s, being exposed to such an institution was important experience for an aspiring curator. “my role was vast and entailed researching works, liaising with the acquisitions committee, installing the collection, managing its conservation and basically everything that revolves around the organisation of works,” says david. After an eight-year stint at the museum, she spent four years at paris’s Galerie na- ca tHerine Da V iD curAtOrs OF middle eAstern Art speciAl FeAture tionale du Jeu de paume, organising shows for artists such as marcel broodthaers, Helio Oiticica, robert Gober, Jeff Wall and chantal Ackerman. david prefers for her shows not to be encumbered by a set of curatorial guidelines; her approach is rather contingent on the style of the artists, selected space and composition of the works. but there is, of course, one fundamental imperative – the thematic narration of the show must always be coherent. “i don’t think that there are so many ways of presenting monographic works, for ex- ample,” says david. “but no matter what you are showcasing, viewers should be able to comprehend the complexity of the pieces. it has to be clear without being transparent. You also need enough space to al- low for ‘vibrations’; art should always articulate distances.” the year 1994 marked a significant turning point in david’s career. she was appointed Artistic director of Kassel’s Documenta X , thus becoming the first woman to hold this top-level position. “it was definitely a milestone for me, but not because of all the gender-related hype!” laughs david. “i had a lot of freedom to do what i wanted, as well as a decent budget; an overall great platform.” it was around this time that she began setting her sights on the middle east after noting the region’s then-lack of artistic documentation and exposure to the West. then came Contemporary Arab Representations in 1998, a long-term project which aimed to develop an interdisciplinary cultural dialogue between the region and the West. produced by the tàpies Foundation, it comprised travelling discussions, productions, seminars, presentations, exhibitions and publica- tions centring on the region. “i wanted to change the middle east’s artistic mapping and emphasise its cultural momemtum” recalls david. “moreover, i never thought that modernity was a privilege reserved for the West, so i wanted to be involved in the east and accomplish things there artistically in the same way.” Contemporary Arab Representations would focus on one city at a time and first on the list was beirut, a capital plagued by socio-political issues. “i had read extensively on lebanon and beirut, its past and cultural scene to understand its complex history,” remembers david. “it struck me that the lebanese were living in an important political, cultural and social moment and that they were trying to understand what had happened.” the project came to fruition in 2002 and david, along with curator nuria enguita mayo, rallied names such as tony chakar, rabih mroué, Walid raad, marwan rechmaoui and Jalal toufic for the exhibition, which toured to barcelona’s Fun- dació Antoni tàpies, rotterdam’s Witte de With, centre for contemporary art and sweden’s umeå bildmuseet. david shuns all “comfortable stere- otypes” – especially those related to art. during the early planning for Contemporary Arab Representations , she was wary of presenting over-sen- sationalised works which may foster a distorted perception of the region. “At the time it was less about hav- ing ‘successful’ shows per se and more about presenting images which would challenge people’s thoughts,” she says. “most of the works from the region are not direct or illustrative representations, so i wanted to show them in as ‘dry’ a way as possible. i also wanted to give access to contemporary debates; as a curator, you have to embrace radicalism and know how to articulate positions.”the first of three ‘equations’, lebanon was followed by egypt in 2003 and iraq in 2006. in the years that followed, david curated a gamut of shows for regional artists, including News from Tehran with nasrin tabatabai and babak Afrassiabi at the Witte de With in 2004; Bahman Jalali at the tàpies Fondation in 2007; Di/Visions: Culture and Politics of the Mid- dle East at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in 2007 and Hassan sharif’s Experiments & Objects 1979 – 2011 at the Qasr Al-Hosn cultural Quarter Hall in 2011 – the latter was david’s second collaboration with the Abu dhabi Authority for culture and Heritage (AdAcH). she was first approached by the organisation in 2007 to curate the AdAcH platform at the 52nd Venice biennale, an endeavour she gladly committed herself to given her high regard for the institution. “What AdAcH has established is very important,” says david. “i hoped that the emirates could become a cultural hub for the region and wanted to show works coming from Abu dhabi and the region that people didn’t expect.” despite being recognised as a leader in her field (she received the bard Award for curatorial excellence in new York in 2008), david’s career hasn’t been spared the occasional controversy. she was set to curate the 10th lyon biennale but resigned from her position six months before the opening, in a move strongly indicative of her no-nonsense work ethic. “the biennale is funded by the ministry of culture where i was already a civil servant for inspection des musées de France,” explains david. “they [the ministry] refused to ‘lend’ me to the biennale and demanded i work [at inspec- tion] all week and only devote Fridays to the biennale. despite sup- port from biennale director thierry raspail and the rest of the team, they wouldn’t change their minds, so i had to step away. “ no matter the region, artist or organisation, david’s unyielding standards nev- er falter. “For me, a curator is really involved in culture and visuals arts, not someone who caves into something because it’s ‘main- stream’,” she insists. “i never change my expectations and always aim for the same level of quality and challenging proposals, regardless of the project.” With countless publications to her name, including Tamass 1/Beyrouth, Bahman Jalali, Di/Visions: Culture and Politics of the Middle East and Hassan Sharif - WORKS 1973 – 2011 , david is filling the very gaps which initially stirred her interest in the region. she is document- ing and developing aspects of the middle eastern art scene – undertakings which she believes are part and parcel of every curator’s role. “What we do is an accumulation of cultural ideas, connections and bringing people to- gether,” she believes. “it is all for the sake of art – something for the sensibilities and the mind.” “My approach ... is guided by a commitment to represent the moment that we are living in.” rose issa FOr OVer 30 YeArs, irAniAn-lebAnese curAtOr, Writer And producer rose issa has been ceaselessly resolute in giving middle eastern artists visibility. through the tumultuous upheavals of the region’s wars, lack of cultural funding and challenging restrictions, her tireless efforts to introduce Western audiences to artists from the middle east have painted a new picture of a region beset by conflict. many of the artists issa has discovered were previously unknown outside their home countries – among them chant Avedissian, mohammed ehsai, Abbas Kiarostami, rachid Koraïchi, Farhad moshiri and nja mahdaoui – and have since gone on to achieve star status on the international art circuit. Whatever the challenges, issa always perseveres – the mark of a determined character and one that has led to the recognition she enjoys today. the seeds of her artistic journey were sown in the 1980s against the backdrop of the suffering and trauma of constant wars, invasions and resistance across the middle east. A mathematics gradu- atefrom the American university of beirut, issa was studying history and Arab literature in paris when israel invaded lebanon in 1982 – an event which instilled within her a fervent desire to project a better image of the Arab world. “At the time, nobody was doing anything cultural in relation to Arab Image courtesy Rose Issa Projects, London. 75 curAtOrs OF middle eAstern Art speciAl FeAture and iranian art in europe,” says issa, who tapped into her contact list of middle eastern film directors and went on to make a film festival of her own. After meeting a string of european cultural and artistic figures, issa realised that very few people in the West were aware of the situation in the middle east and of the artists she so passionately advocated. “i wanted the film festival to be purely Arab,” says issa of the First Arab Film Festival in paris, which generated incredible press coverage. “i thought to myself ‘it’s not so hard to make something happen’ – we brought everything together in two weeks, for when there is a will, there is a way.” the success of her first film festival opened up new doors for issa. she subsequently worked on the cannes Film Festival for a few years until, in 1986, esteemed iraqi architect, urban planner and patron of the arts mohamed makiya invited her to london to launch the Kufa Gallery, a space which promoted middle eastern art – genres that no one spoke of at the time, due to the region’s political situation. “there was a desperate need for a place where all of us could meet,” she says passionately. “there was not one single place in europe. even the institut du monde Arabe didn’t exist then. Whether based in paris or london, Arabs didn’t have much of a platform to express themselves; they didn’t know each other’s culture; what was known in iraq was not known in lebanon and what was known in lebanon was not known in morocco, and so on.” it was at Kufa Gallery, with the support of makiya, that issa began to curate her first exhibitions, prompting a steady stream of artistic figures from the middle east to pass through the gallery’s doors. she curated a show of 20 Arab female artists living in the uK which included palestinian artists mona Hatoum and laila shawa; another exhibition was made in collaboration with dia Al-Azzawi and featured the work of iraqi artist ismail Fattah. but for issa, in order to stage art shows, there needed to be an active community of middle eastern artists. “it was more important for me to lobby the artists than it was to put on the exhibitions,” she says. issa, who considers herself Arab and iranian as well as english and French, moved to beirut from iran at the age of 14. she was soon enrolled in French schools to fine-tune her language skills, which, at the time were mostly limited to Farsi. Her early years in iran proved useful later when she stumbled upon the office of iranian radio and television while walking along Hamra street one day during the summer of 1973. she soon embarked on four years working as a journalist reporting on the political situation in the region. the disciplines of politics and art continually intertwined within her later curatorial and film work, and led her to pursue her projects by placing artists’ work within a historical and social context. After a few years, issa left her position at Kufa Gallery to work as an independent curator. she still put on one show at the gallery each year, but it was during this time that she began working more with institutions in the uK and throughout europe. in 1995 she curated Signs, Traces and Calligraphy at london’s barbican Art centre – a show which she con- siders to be one of the most “magnificent” of her career. the exhibition presented works on paper, canvas and textiles by contemporary artists using calligraphy: Ahmed moustafa, Koraïchi, mahdaoui, Ali Omar ermes, Osman Waquilla and mehdi Qotbi. the development of works based on the morphology of calligraphy as an art form started in the 1950s, when it began to appear in paintings as a sign of aes- thetic defiance against colonial powers. “paint- ing with letters” subsequently became a dominant trend in artistic expression across the region. the show was a success and travelled to Amsterdam and co- penhagen in the same year. in addition, the exhibition and its catalogue led issa to pursue curatorial work on calligraphy at russia’s Hermitage museum and the moscow state museum. As passionate as issa is about organising exhibitions, the role of a curator is just one of many hats she wears. “i publish, i do film festivals and i curate,” she says adamantly. “i’ve never- theless always needed to spell out what it means to curate and organise an exhibition.” For her, curating means one must be en- gaged in many aspects of an exhibition’s planning simultaneously. However, most importantly, a curator must collaborate closely with the artists. despite her achievements as a curator staging exhibitions around the world – at such venues as the V&A, the leighton House museum, the Hermitage museum and the beirut exhibition centre, more recently – securing conceptual, artistic and financial control over her exhibitions has been continuously challenging. she cites a particular experience when she was commissioned by tate britain to stage a show of middle eastern artists in 2008. the museum’s committee discussed several versions of the proposal on middle eastern art, and one requirement was to include an israeli artist that she needed to include an israeli artist, too. “i said ‘no, i’m sorry, we are 22 Arab countries, and not all are represented in my proposal, and for once, you need to give us a show and allow us to call it Arab and iranian. if you want an israeli, i’ll give you one: raeda saadeh and just like that, that prereq- uisite was no longer requested,” declares issa. saadeh is a palestinian artist who was born in the muslim city of umm Al-Fahem in the northern region of Haifa and holds an israeli passport. When issa opened up rose issa projects on 269 Kensington street in london in 2008, she finally had her own art space where she could freely exhibit artists of her choice in the way she wished. by 2008, her focus was publications. issa continues to work as an independent curator at premier institutions accross the world. each show she puts on bears her ‘signature’: “You can tell it’s my show because it has the pulse of the times. the only time is now; there is only freedom in the present moment,” she says. “The only time is now; there is only freedom in the present moment.” 76 Photography by Shadia Alem. tHe lAst YeAr HAs been One OF GreAt AccOlAdes FOr sAudi- born mona Khazindar. in march 2011, she was appointed director General of paris’s institut du monde Arabe (imA), thus becoming the first woman in the organisation’s history to assume this post. three months later, she made headlines once again as co-curator of the inaugural saudi pavilion at the 52nd Venice biennale, alongside robin start. Khazindar is not one to revel in her achievements, quickly admitting that 2011 has been “a big challenge and shift of responsibilities in terms of workload.” Her new position at the imA follows her previous role there as curator for the department of contemporary art and photography and Head of the permanent modern Art collection – a title she had held since the organisation’s founding in 1980. “As director, i definitely have more administrative responsibilities now and i’m now trying to find a balance between artistic or creative work and bureaucratic formalities,” she explains. “there is a lot of pressure for the imA to regain a position in europe as the bridge between the Arab world and the european artistic platform.” it is precisely this cross-cultural vision which first sparked Khazindar’s interest in working for the organisation, after obtaining a diploma in contemporary and modern history from the sorbonne in 1988. “it was the first space to organise shows comprising contemporary works by Arab artists,” Mona kHaZ inDar curAtOrs OF middle eAstern Art speciAl FeAture recalls Khazindar, who also holds a master’s degree in Foreign languages from the sorbonne and a literature li- cense from the American university in paris. raised in saudi Arabia before settling in France, she absorbed a love of litera- ture from her father, Abid Khazindar, a writer and columnist for saudi daily newspaper Al-Riyadh . Her passion for visual arts, how- ever, was initially inspired by the sculptures which dot the Jeddah corniche, some of which are by Henry moore, Victor Vasarely, Joan miró and Alexander calder. “my house was next to the roundabout with césar’s sculpture, The Fist ,” smiles Khazindar. “i remember the year when the sculpture was removed for renovation, i had difficulty locating our home. the idea of Jeddah’s open-air museum was not only innovative in terms of art in the middle east but also ingenious because in saudi Arabia public places are segregated, whilst the open-air museum could be visited by families.” Khazindar acknowledges that her responsibilities at the imA were ini- tially “a lot to take in”, but she counts this as valuable experience. “i learnt how to curate hands-on. the great thing was that i was working with special- ists who had been doing it for a while, so watching them taught me a lot,” she explains. Her role entailed artist selection, determining the number of works in each show, preparing texts and finalising exhibition catalogues. “And of course, liaising with the communication team to promote the exhibitions!” she laughs. established in 1980 as the result of an agreement between the Arab world and France in a bid to promote islamic and Arab culture and heritage in the West, the imA aims to represent an all-encompassing approach to art – an overriding decisive factor, explains Khazindar, when it came down to acquisitions. “We wanted all Arab countries to be represented, as well as different schools of art. We knew that there needed to be works in various media by both established and emerging artists. that is why the imA is pioneering; it has amassed the first-ever pan-Arab contemporary art collection.” the in- stitution holds more than 400 works by artists including samir rafi, shafic Abboud, saliba el-douaihy, Abdelhadi el-Gazzar, shakir Hassan el-saïd, etel Adnan, Faisal samra and marwan; however, due to budgetary constraints acquisitions ceased in the 1990s. Khazindar has curated up to five shows per year at the imA, including Images of Contem- porary Arab Photographers in 2006; Umm Kulthum, The Fourth Pyramid in 2008 and the group show Palestine: Creation In All Its Forms in 2009 – the latter described by Khazindar as a “deeply enriching” experience. bringing together 18 palestinian artists, the show presented works by the likes of mona Hatoum, emily Jacir, taysir batniji, rana bishara, raeda saadeh, steve sabella and larissa sansour, and is cited as a “major career highlight” by the curator. “it provided me with critical insight into how different artists interpret the same theme,” explains Khazindar. “Out of the 18 artists, 11 were women, so i could see right away the different sensitivities of each gender and how they construe issues of exile, identity, displacement and diaspora.” A strong sense of space pervades Khazindar’s curatorial work. Although her approach depends on specific projects (and budgets), the adage ‘less is more’ plays an integral part in her practice. “nothing is done haphazardly; i always make sure there is an aesthetic sense and underlying connotations in the works’ display. it makes me angry when it is too crowded!” she says. “i orient towards a minimalist style because i like the pieces to breathe and i want the audience to be able to admire them from various angles.” Khazindar believes in ‘training the eye’ – a philosophy held by many an art protagonist – and attends as many art shows as she can. “exposure and visiting exhibitions on different scales is the best way to educate oneself,” she believes. today, her eye for curatorial aesthetics has become innate, seeping into every aspect of her day-to-day life – both in work and leisure time. “i find myself doing it at home when i cut fruits or organise my bookshelf,” she laughs. “curating is everything; it is beauty, a thinking process and a way of life.” A turning point in Khazindar’s career was co-curating saudi Arabia’s pa- vilion at the 2011 Venice biennale, marking the debut participation for both her and her homeland. “it was a milestone for the saudi contemporary art scene,” she says. “saudi artists can now create works which meet interna- tional standards and i think they are up for the challenge.” despite being based in the West, Khazindar remains committed to her homeland’s art scene. since 2000, she has held the position of Vice president of the Al-mansouria Foundation, established by HrH princess Jawaher bint majed bin Abdul Aziz Al-saud, to support artists from saudi Arabia and encourage their creative expression. “so many artists in the Kingdom have started to exhibit abroad,” enthuses Khazindar. “And with touring exhibitions such as Edge of Arabia , we are starting to leave a mark on the West.” she is also a member of the Advisory committee for public Art in the King Abdullah economic city (since 2010) and a jury member for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2011–13). Khazindar has also contributed to artist monographs, includ- ing one published in association with the Al-mansouria Foundation for acclaimed egyptian sculptor Adam Henein in 2005. such one-on-one encounters with artists allows her to immerse herself in their oeuvres , a process she thoroughly relishes. the dichotomy of her involvement in both eastern and Western art scenes has given her a unique bilateral perspective, and one which is wit- nessing, little by little, a narrowing divide between the two regions. “i believe that what is lack- ing in saudi Arabia is being – and will be – addressed progressively,” she says. “We will, in due time, have more museums, galleries and cultural events. it is a challenge, but i am confident. look at how far our artists have come already.” “Curating is everything; it is beauty, a thinking process and a way of life.” in december 2010 tHe OFFiciAl OpeninG OF dOHA’s mAtHAF: Arab museum of modern Art struck the middle eastern and wider art worlds like a proverbial bolt of lightning. three groundbreaking shows marked the museum’s launch, surprising and impress- ing the many art practitioners and enthusiasts who had flown in to the Qatari capital from around the world. For those whose knowledge of regional art practices and production was limited, it was astounding to see examples of middle eastern art from as far back as the 1840s right up to the present day. Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art and Interventions told the world that middle eastern art has a very long, colourful history. And for those whose passions run high on contemporary art, it was Told/Untold/Retold , masterminded by sam bardaouil and till Fellrath, that was another bolt of tiLL FeLLratH & saM BarDaouiL Image courtesy Art Reoriented. © Heidi Gutman Photography, New York. 79 lightning altogether. For over a year, the lebanese and German duo behind the curatorial platform Art reoriented had been engaged in deep conversations – and a lot of travelling – with 23 contemporary middle eastern artists, living both within the region and abroad. “it was a brilliant experience for us in terms of the dialogues and that is important for us as curators,” adds bardaouil; “A show has to be col- laborative – you are constructing a complex narrative using artworks as building blocks.” And when building something made from artworks, the whole becomes an artwork in itself – the bigger pic- ture, the blueprint, the all-encompassing. “curating is an art form,” agrees bardaouil, “till and i are artists at heart.” multifaceted and cutting-edge as Told/Un- told/Retold was, the curatorial approach cen- tred on the middle eastern tradition of storytell- ing – a look at what we know, what we thought we knew and what we foresee – and simultane- ously offered novel interpretations. the exhibi- tion challenged existing conceptions and allowed for travels through time, and judging by Art reoriented’s repertoire, also did what the duo clearly enjoy doing most: bringing to light the unseen, unknown and under-publicised. “curating involves research and con- textualisation to tell a story,” explains Fellrath, “a show is not about the curator; the cura- tor is only a conductor.” Told/Untold/Retold was not the first landmark exhibition which the duo had curated; it was preceded by, among others, ItaliaArabia in 2008, which coupled works by 20th-century italian artists with pieces by some of the middle east’s modern masters and sought to expose the reciprocal influences shared by both parties. in 2009, bardaouil and Fellrath curated Iran Inside Out , an exhibition of works by 56 iranian artists living in iran and abroad, at new York’s chelsea Art mu- seum, a show which addressed the similarities and differences of iranian-ness based on geographic locales. but it was Iran Inside Out ’s timing – coinciding with that country’s Green revolution – which generated the headlines, as well as the fact that it was the first exhibition of this genre and magnitude ever staged in new York, and mounted at a museum, no less. like all curators who tell stories through their shows, bardaouil and Fellrath share an aversion to the stigmas and stereotyping of regional art. “using a term as loaded as ‘middle east’ and putting it in the same sentence with the word ‘art’ causes scepticism in some circles,” explains bardaouil; “it’s fine to designate a geographic connotation to middle eastern art, but not the redundant religious, political or other con- notations that come with it.” it is this very philosophy which drives their approach to curating – it isn’t only what is said, but, rather, how it is said. “After all, one must be cautious with what messages are transmitted,” adds Fellrath; “We are trying to be as authentic as possible and we seek to raise questions.” in a continually ex- panding field of art study like curating, which bardaouil feels “is still taken so lightly”, the unwavering recommendation by academicians and scholars alike is to see and read on a con- tinuous basis. And when it comes to the genre of art from the region, which has suffered from a dearth of documen- tation, nothing is more pivotal than the training of the eye and the feeding of the mind. One of the cavities which leads to the misunderstanding or misinterpretation of middle eastern art is a lack of investiga- tion. “Attending two art fairs a year is not substantial enough to lead to proper re- search,” laughs Fellrath. the duo’s travels take them far and wide, particularly now, as they plan their next show, which deals with art as a form of documenting history. set to commence its tour in October at the bO- ZAr centre for Fine Arts in brussels and then continue to paris’s institut du monde Arabe in 2013, among other places, the exhibition’s focus is egypt and yet is totally un- related to that country’s recent political events. in fact, re- search on this project had begun years before Told/Untold/ Retold . the show’s focal point aims to illustrate how the influ- ence of egypt’s pharaonic, medieval and modern art histories had spread to the levant and europe over the centuries. “One way of exploring this is to chart out for viewers, through the use of archives, documents and visual evidence, the actual journeys that certain works made from their original site all the way to wherever they ended today and all the stops in between,” explains Fellrath. the duo’s exhibition highlights are remarkable: for example, Gustav Klimt exhibited alongside modern egyptian sculptor mahmoud mokhtar in 1928; paul Klee’s “visual language and formalistic style” changed after a visit to egypt in the 1920s; modern artist Georges sabbagh – also the first egyptian to study at the louvre – and his wife were close friends with Amedeo modigliani and his wife Jeanne Hébuterne; sabbagh painted a portrait of Hébuterne in 1919. “We’re looking at how artists from the region were in fact, contemporary in the way they were constantly negotiating their own cultural heritage as well as the diverse artistic practices they were en- countering elsewhere,” explains bardaouil; “there is a certain shift in the world and we’re looking at the writing of history – one can’t understand globalism without understanding what led to it, and this applies to art as well.” no doubt, the language of his story is one which has long been contested. Art reoriented’s upcoming show will pose new questions and suggest a novel way of reading art, but it will be the works themselves that tell the stories. “We’re interested in deconstructing and questioning the way that artworks can become agents in the dissemination of information,” says Fellrath, who, along with bardaouil, continues to lecture at universities all over the world. both share a love for installing exhibitions, but more importantly, are fearless when it comes to questioning and seeking change. “to express is to challenge; to challenge is to question and to question is to seek change,” concludes bardaouil. curAtOrs OF middle eAstern Art speciAl FeAture “To express is to challenge; to challenge is to question and to question is to seek change.” Sam Bardaoui