THE POWER 50 THE POWER 50 THE PO Welcome to the second annual Power 50 feature. In carefully selecting the most influential cultural protagonists of Middle Eastern art and culture, Canvas engages in a comprehensive survey of their achievements across the regional art scene. The process is a fascinating reminder of the wealth of talent and intellect we have at our fingertips. The 50 who make it onto our list are those who, over the past year, have made a positive impact on the Middle Eastern art scene, strived to make it grow and contributed to its mounting influence the world over. HH SHEIKHA salama bint hamdan al-nahyan Among numerous organisations spearheading efforts to position the UAE as the region’s cultural hub stands a woman behind her eponymous foundation, one dedicated to promoting charitable programmes in the fields of education, art, culture, heritage and the environment. HH Sheikha Salama Bint Hamdan Al-Nahyan may be the wife of the UAE Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, but she has certainly carved an independent reputation for Photography by Myrna Ayad. herself as a dedicated patron of the arts. Before sharing her passion for art with the local community through the establishment of her foundation in 2010, HH instilled art appreciation in her home; though she was heavily pregnant with her eighth child 17 years ago, she insisted on taking her family on a trip to HH SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID al-maktoum the Louvre. The fruit of HH’s commitment to the arts is exemplified in her daughter HH Sheikha Mariam Bint Mohammed Al- Nahyan’s position as CEO of her mother’s Patron of the region’s largest art fair, Art Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin foundation. HH Sheikha Salama is Chair Rashid Al-Maktoum is an avid supporter of the arts who established his of Abu Dhabi Art’s Host Committee eponymous Patrons of the Arts Awards in 2009 to recognise the efforts of and her foundation launched Art For All individuals and organisations that champion artistic activity. Last March, last October – a programme aimed at HH announced the launch of Dubai Modern Art Museum and Opera fostering understanding and appreciation House District – an ambitious project to be built on Emaar Boulevard between the public and Emirati artists. The in Downtown Dubai. The enterprise will also include two ‘art hotels’, Foundation is also the principal supporter leisure attractions, design studios and a residential complex in what will of Art Scene UAE – a book to be published provide a further boost to Dubai’s already thriving art scene. Last January by Canvas in November 2013, which will 20 miniature replicas of the Burj Khalifa painted by Emirati artists were document the events and activities that unveiled by Dubai Cares, HH’s initiative for primary education programmes have contributed to the growth of the in developing countries; one, by Emirati artist Abdul Kadir Al-Rais, was Emirati art arena – and of the UAE Pavilion auctioned by Christie’s for $35,000 and the remaining ones were acquired at the Venice Biennale. by various organisations in the UAE. 112 HRH PRINCE Image courtesy Getty Images. AL-WALEED bin TALAL AL-SAUD The billionaire tycoon has been in the headlines for funding hotel developments, establishing centres of Islamic study at the universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh, investing in major corporations such as Citigroup, News Corporation and Twitter, and managing the philanthropic arm of Kingdom Holding, his multi-billion dollar public holding company. HRH Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal is also – and has long been – a keen supporter of art and culture, and one who works constantly towards greater cultural understanding worldwide. In 2005, he contributed a staggering $23 million to the Louvre for the construction of a new space at the gallery to showcase one of the world’s most significant collections of Islamic art, which opened to much acclaim last September. The Prince had approached Louvre officials directly to kick-start this initiative, one that he regarded as being of prime importance for the Middle East and whose timing coincided perfectly with a renewed interest in the region’s culture and art. OWER 50 HE SHEIKHA AL-MAYASSA AL-THANI A few days before Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art opened in Doha in December 2010, HE Sheikha Al-Mayassa Al-Thani gave a TEDx talk entitled, Globalising the Local, Localising the Global. In it, she highlighted the importance of cultural integration but also drew attention to the fact that despite Qatar’s desire to become a “modern nation, at the same time, we are reconnecting and reasserting our Arab heritage.” Her statement echoed the thinking behind the Qatar Museums Authority’s (QMA) staging of Mal Lawal last September, an exhibition conceived by HE Sheikha Al-Mayassa and which presented an array of artefacts and antiques from 87 Qatari collectors. Through Mal Lawal, QMA not only demonstrated a longstanding collecting culture among Qatari nationals, but it also inspired future generations to take on similar practices. Last year alone, Doha hosted exhibitions for Louise Bourgeois, Takashi Murakami and Yan Pei-Ming – the first time these artists’ works were showcased in the Middle East. QMA also sponsored Damien Hirst’s retrospective at the Tate in London last April and this year will mark HRH PRINCESS the artist’s debut show in the region. The Tunisian ‘calligraffiti’ artist eL Seed JAWAHER BINT has begun designing four tunnels in Doha and work continues on the Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar, slated for a 2014 opening. The MAJeD BIN world anxiously waits as HE Sheikha Al-Mayassa – dubbed ‘the art world’s abdul aziz most powerful woman’ by The Economist – makes another move that will - send ripples across the international art arena. AL SAUD Known to visit every exhibition in Jeddah, HRH Princess Jawaher Bint Majed Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud is particularly valued for the time she spends with artists, many of whom call on her for advice and guidance. HRH is also appreciated for hosting cultural delegations in Saudi Arabia and has been instrumental in establishing the Al-Mansouria Foundation, which promotes Saudi and Arab artists both within the Kingdom and abroad. The Foundation spurred the expansion of the art scene in Saudi Arabia and internationally long before platforms such as Edge of Arabia and commercial galleries came to the fore, and today, it houses one of the most important collections of Saudi and Arab art. In 2011, the Foundation Photography by AR Al-Baker. Image courtesy Qatar Museums Authority, Doha. acquired a studio, the Al-Mansouria Atelier, for residencies at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, and has since hosted over 30 artists there, including Sami Al-Turki, Mahdi Al-Jeraibi, Mohammed Omar Khalil, Rafa Al-Nasiri, Faisal Samra, Khaled Farhan, Hani Zurob, Hana Malallah, Ayman Yossri Daydban and Sirine Fattouh. Last September Jeddah’s Athr Gallery showcased Ziad Dalloul’s first ever exhibition in the Kingdom – a proposal instigated by Al-Mansouria, which has published a series of books on Dalloul and produced a bilingual hardcover specially for his Jeddah show. THE POWER 50 hrh princess wijdan ali WIJDAN She may be a member of Jordan’s royal family, but HRH Princess Wijdan Ali is also a celebrated artist, prolific author, eminent art historian, ex-diplomat and founder of Jordan’s National Gallery of Fine Arts as well as the country’s Royal Society of Fine Arts. A strong advocate of empowerment through education, HRH Princess Wijdan completed her PhD in Islamic studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, going on to found the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Jordan, of which she is now Dean. Her art, found in the collections of reputed institutions across the world, fuses calligraphy with elements of Islamic art. She has also donated her own collection of 77 works to serve as the core of the Jordan National Gallery. Founded in 1980, the collection now includes over 2000 works, predominantly by artists from the Arab world, but also by some from Europe, the USA, Asia and Africa. Since its inception, the gallery has staged exhibitions both Image courtesy Sharjah Art Foundation. on its premises and also abroad, in the USA, China, Yemen, Spain, Australia, France and beyond. In 2012 it exported the show Reflections from Heaven, Meditations on Earth, which showcased 72 Modern calligraphic pieces by Arab artists, to the Mercati di Traiano in Rome and later to the Museo Valencia de la Illustracio I de la Modernitat. Last January, the gallery presented Between Desert and Sea, an exhibition of 55 works by Arab artists at Istanbul’s he sheikha Pera Museum. The gallery’s ongoing mission hoor al-qassimi was outlined in an interview given by HRH to the online magazine Nafas: “My greatest challenge is In her capacity as President of the Sharjah Art Foundation facing ignorance, be it in my society regarding the (SAF), member of the board of directors of New York’s importance of art, or abroad regarding my religion MoMA PS1 and trustee of Beirut’s Ashkal Alwan, HE and culture.” Sheikha Hoor Al-Qassimi has a hand in promoting Middle Eastern art all over the world. Under her directorship of SAF, Sharjah continues to strengthen its position as a platform for Contemporary artists through the residencies, commissions and public programming that the emirate offers. Al-Qassimi has led the Sharjah Biennial since 2003, steering it in a new direction, one focused on catering to the younger generation of artists and on supporting their works. An artist in her own right, she has also co-curated Sharjah Biennial editions alongside Peter Lewis, Jack Persekian, and this year, Yuko Hasegawa. © Canvas Archives. Al-Qassimi carefully straddles the balance between her dual roles – she has recently showcased her work at the Nevada Museum of Art and was a member of the selection committee for the 2012 Berlin Biennial. 115 ahmad & 50 POWER 50 50 POWER 50 abdul monem alserkal Only six years ago Dubai’s Al-Quoz wasn’t known for much more than its industrial capacity, a place where trucks and warehouses populated a barren neighbourhood. Although a cultural scene had begun to flourish with the likes of The Courtyard, The Third Line and B21 (now known as Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde), no one really knew what the fate of a few galleries in warehouses would be. Fast forward to the present and with a little navigational proficiency, one will find one of Dubai’s most important cultural districts. Alserkal Avenue, a block of warehouses housing some of the city’s most prominent Above: Ahmad Bin Eisa Alserkal. Below: Abdul Monem Bin Eisa Alserkal. Photography art galleries, is the brainchild of brothers POWERTHE OWER THE Abdul Monem and Ahmad Bin Eisa Alserkal – art patrons and collectors who are passionate about seeing their endeavour by Sofia Dadourian. Images courtesy Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. grow. Since 2007, the Emirati brothers have given Dubai’s cultural landscape the space to mature organically. Alserkal Avenue is slated for a 2014 expansion, which will include more space for galleries already scrambling to make it onto the waiting list. The additional 46,000 square metres will also include artist studios and event facilities. With the brothers always tirelessly supporting the local art scene, it is a rare occasion when they and their father, Eisa, are not attending an exhibition opening. ARIF NAQVI The regional art scene found a kindred spirit in Arif Naqvi, one looking to reward risk- takers with the world’s most expensive art prize. His name is now synonymous with the Abraaj Group Art Prize (AGAP) – a $500,000 award divided between five artists from the MENASA region, based on their proposals for new artworks. The founder and CEO of private equity fund The Abraaj Group is a seasoned art collector and remains an influential figure on the Dubai art scene. Naqvi made the decision to sponsor Art Dubai from the very start, making The Abraaj Group a staple partner of one of the region’s most important Contemporary art fairs. AGAP recipients have included Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Jananne Al- Ani, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Zoulikha Bouabdellah and Kader Attia among many other Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian Image courtesy Palace Photo and Delfina Foundation, London. Contemporary art forces. A panellist at the 2012 Art & Patronage Summit, Naqvi spoke passionately and optimistically about the importance of empowering potential and the strength of artists as entrepreneurs, urging the creation of an environment where “artists don’t feel curtailed by what they’ve done but by what they’d like to do.” With Naqvi’s strong beliefs in the power of patronage as a critical element of artistic development in the region, artists can rest assured that they’ve got a powerhouse on their side. DELFINA entrecanales Sometimes great things come in small packages, such as Delfina Entrecanales. The petite Spanish-born philanthropist decided to establish a foundation to bridge the many gaps between East and West in response to tensions in a post-9/11 world. Since 2007 her namesake London-based non-profit organisation has provided residencies for numerous artists from the Middle East and North Africa, including Khosrow Hassanzadeh, Susan Hefuna, Abbas Akhavan, Ziad Antar, Hrair Sarkissian and Wael Shawky. The roots of the Delfina Foundation, however, go back over two decades, to when it was called the Delfina Studio Trust and welcomed over 400 artists, 13 of whom are now Turner Prize winners. At 86, Entrecanales’s drive is unwavering: she has recently acquired a space adjoining the Foundation’s existing premises so she can host more artists, and at 424 square metres, this will be London’s largest residency © Canvas Archives. project space when it is unveiled later this year. Great things really do come in small packages, like Entrecanales’s CBE medal, awarded to her last December as part of the Queen’s birthday honours list. She is a Dame, but she is also godmother to many artists. 117 THE POWERTHE 50 THE POWER THE 50 © Canvas Archives. RICHARD ARMSTRONG NAGUIB SAWIRIS The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is one of the UAE capital’s most hotly anticipated When Van Gogh’s Poppy Flower – worth an estimated $55 million – went Saadiyat Cultural District projects, and the missing from the Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Cairo in 2010, it man at the helm is a highly respected and was Orascom Telecom tycoon Naguib Sawiris who stepped up to the plate influential figure on the international art and offered $175,000 for information that could help track down the stolen scene. A former curator, Richard Armstrong painting. The art patron, whose art collection includes pieces by Abdel Hadi is described by many as a modest, inspiring El-Gazzar, Ferdinand Parpan, Gérard Leroux and Mohamed El-Sharkawi, and honest mentor. In his capacity as among others, is also a philanthropist. He established the Sawiris Foundation Director of the Solomon R Guggenheim in 2001 to provide economic and social aid to Egyptians, and also runs the Foundation, Armstrong oversees the prestigious Sawiris Cultural Award, established in 2005, which grants prizes organisation’s international programmes. rewarding artistic creativity totalling over $100,000 each year. With plans to Receptive to the region’s Contemporary build a museum to showcase his collection, Sawiris is a man to watch. and Modern artistic production, he is a regular at Art Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art, often spotted visiting stands and bringing curators along to discover what the region has to offer. Armstrong recently established the Middle East Guggenheim Circle, a group dedicated to organising conversations, private gatherings and visits. He has also been instrumental in the appointments of Reem Fadda, the Guggenheim’s Associate Curator of Middle Eastern art, as curator of the UAE Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale, and of Suzanne Cotter, curator of the Guggenheim Abu Image courtesy Getty Images. Dhabi project since 2010, as co-curator of the 2011 Sharjah Biennial. No doubt once the 450,000 square foot Guggenheim Abu Dhabi – the largest Guggenheim in the world – opens its doors, Armstrong will be there to encourage the development of Abu Dhabi as a cultural destination. 118 SAM bardaouil & till fellrath Nothing beats a good story – a tight, thoroughly researched, well-presented narrative punctuated by historical facts, minute-but-essential details and new information all packed with a punch. Imagine saying all that through exhibitions, and consistently too, not to mention accompanying rich texts savoured by academics and enthusiasts alike. This is the stuff that Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath are made of. Among other things, the duo’s curatorial strategy offers viewers new ways of looking at art, which in turn, contest prevailing perceptions. Now that’s power: the ability to change minds. Take for example, their small-scale exhibitions, such as Rock, Paper, Scissors at Leila Heller Gallery in New York last July. Here, they juxtaposed the works of nine very different artists – including Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock (rock), Contemporary Iranian Hadieh Shafie (paper) and ‘Spiderwoman’ Louise Bourgeois (scissors) – through an artistic take on the popular hand game. Then there is, of course, their groundbreaking Tea With Nefertiti, which debuted to strong critical acclaim at © Canvas Archives. Doha’s Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art last November. It is also the first museum show exported from the Arab world to tour internationally (visiting the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Valencia Institute of Modern Art, and Bozar: Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels this year). This curatorial powerhouse will also JESSICA MORGAN curate Lebanon’s second Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale, presented through the works of Akram Zaatari. As Bardaouil and Fellrath travel the world excavating hitherto undiscovered The Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art at the Tate, information, they strengthen their roles as cultural diplomats Jessica Morgan has organised some major shows during with good stories to tell. her time at the London institution: John Baldessari, Martin Kippenberger and Gabriel Orozco, among others. This year, she’s gone East and brought a pioneering Lebanese Abstractionist to the Tate – Morgan has been an instrumental figure in bringing the Saloua Raouda Choucair retrospective to Europe, signalling the first time a Middle Eastern artist has been the subject of a major survey at the gallery. Morgan is on the Art Dubai Curatorial Advisory Board and on the Abraaj Group Art Prize selection committee. Her passion for Middle Eastern art goes back to her time as a curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Chicago, where, in 1997, she organised the first US survey of the work of Mona Hatoum – an artist considered to be one of the most important Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath. © Canvas Archives. Contemporary practitioners from the region. Since joining the Tate in 2002, Morgan has also become a member of the Middle East and North Africa Acquisitions Committee, which aims to increase the institution’s collection of Middle Eastern art spanning from 1960 to the present. Today, the Tate’s holdings include works by Hatoum, Akram Zaatari, Hani Rashid and Walid Raad among others. Often spotted making the rounds at all the major regional art exhibitions and fairs, Morgan has her ear firmly to the Middle Eastern ground. 119 YUKO Hasegawa There are three significant ‘firsts’ to the 11th Sharjah Biennial: it is the first time since its seventh edition that a non-member of the Sharjah Art Foundation has been selected as curator; it is the first time in a decade that a non-Middle Easterner is holding the curatorial reins; and it is Japanese-born Yuko Hasegawa’s first show in the Middle East. A professor at Tama Art University in Tokyo, she is also Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo and has worked with other biennials: as Artistic Director of the 2001 Istanbul Biennial, co-curator of the 2002 Shanghai Biennale, Artistic Advisor at the 12th Venice Architectural Biennale and co-curator of the 29th São Paulo Biennale. A prolific writer, Hasegawa has curated shows in Spain, Brazil and Japan and has served as a jury member in organisations such as the Hugo Boss Prize at the Guggenheim and the Future Generation Art Prize at the Pinchuk Art Centre. Her curatorial strategy for the Sharjah Biennial proposes a dialogue in which Hasegawa hopes to engage audiences through surveying art that is devoid of the ‘isms’ that often impact perception. Over 100 artists, collectives, filmmakers, architects, musicians and performers will participate in Re:emerge, Towards a New Cultural Cartography, which will present over 35 new commissions. © Hisashi Kumon. Image courtesy Sharjah Art Foundation. 120 VENETIA PORTER Some would argue that she is more Middle Eastern than most, which is partially true: Venetia Porter was born and raised in Beirut, is a fluent Arabic speaker and holds degrees in Islamic Art History from Oxford and Durham. Her Middle Image courtesy Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. Eastern-ness is rooted in her passion and thorough understanding of the region’s art – not to mention her efforts in weaving the Middle East’s rich artistic output into carefully curated exhibitions. The soft- spoken, larger-than-life figure has been working at The British Museum since 1989 and was the curator behind the 2008 Word Into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East, a groundbreaking show that focused on Arabic script. She is credited as one of the pioneers who have secured Contemporary Middle Eastern art’s place on the international stage. Last year, Porter broke ground once again when she curated Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam, an exhibition two years in the making, which saw her travel back and forth to Saudi Arabia to study this sacred Muslim ritual. Porter tapped into private and public collections to present the Hajj from a modern artistic perspective, fulfilling the museum’s founding principle to make collections available BULENT and approachable to “the studious and curious eczacibasi […] both native and foreign”. Porter also oversaw the establishment of an acquisitions committee A deep-rooted appreciation for the arts runs in the focused on the Middle East at The British Museum. Eczacıbaşı dynasty, one of Turkey’s most influential Endowed with a hefty dose of modesty, she has families and long recognised for their patronage of been quoted as describing her vision as, “It’s not the arts. Apart from managing 39 companies under brave. Just do it. It’s pretty easy.” the Eczacıbaşı Group, billionaire Bulent Eczacıbaşı’s commitment to the art scene in his homeland is © Canvas Archives. unwavering. Almost three years ago this prominent patron, whose personal collection comprises over 1000 works, took over the reins of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), established by his late father in 1973. IKSV is the umbrella organisation under which Contemporary Istanbul, the Istanbul Biennial and the Turkish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, among others, all reside. In his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of IKSV, Eczacıbaşı restructured a financially OWER 50 ailing organisation and secured its positioning as one that fosters the growth of Turkish art locally and internationally. He also introduced the genre of design through the establishment of the Istanbul Design Biennial last October. Today, the fairs, events and activities held under the auspices of IKSV continue to go from strength to strength. THE POWERTHE 50 THE POWER THE 50 andree Sfeir-semler andree ‘Trailblazer’, ‘powerhouse’ and ‘pioneer’ are just some of the words synonymous with this Lebanese-born dealer, who operates galleries in Beirut and Hamburg. It may be one thing to amass an enviable roster of some of the region’s leading cutting-edge artists, but it is something else altogether to consistently develop their careers. A swift glance at the achievements of artists in Andrée Sfeir-Semler’s stable is telling: no less than six – Walid Raad, Akram Zaatari, Anna Boghiguian, Wael Shawky, Etel Adnan and Rabih Mroué – participated in the last dOCUMENTA; Rayyane Tabet was a Special Prize winner of the Pinchuk Art Centre Future Generation Art Prize in 2012 and is one of the Abraaj Group Art Prize winners this year; Yto Barrada showed at © Canvas Archives. Fotomuseum Winterthur; Raad’s current Preface to the First Edition is the artist’s first in a series of three collaborations with the Louvre, and Akram Zaatari participated in exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Chicago’s saleh barakat Museum of Contemporary Art. This year, Zaatari represents Lebanon at the Venice Biennale Those who have visited Agial Art Gallery in Hamra know and will stage a solo at New York’s MoMA in that aside from finding a treasure trove of artworks, there May. Sfeir-Semler’s artists also participate in is a walking and talking encyclopaedia of Modern and the 11th Sharjah Biennial and in exhibitions Contemporary Arab art, one who has the unique ability to celebrating regional art in Marseilles, which is transport listeners to specific times and places. No one tells 2013’s European Capital of Culture. Her guidance a story quite like Saleh Barakat does. Since its inception over is key – a quick word with any artists or curators two decades ago, Agial has become a landmark institution in who work with her reveals their deep admiration Lebanon, presenting the works of a diverse set of artists from and respect for a woman who knows good art across the Arab world. Barakat’s ultimate aim is simple: to when she sees it and pushes the confines of educate the world about the wealth of Arab art – a mission appreciating conceptual practices in the region. that has seen him play instrumental roles in a number of high-profile projects. He has been influential in the field of Modern Arab art through co-curating Shafic Abboud and Art From Lebanon with Beirut dealer Nadine Begdache at the Beirut Exhibition Center last year. Barakat’s Saloua Raouda Choucair exhibition in 2011 was an overdue survey of the pioneering Abstract artist’s works, and one which caught the attention of the Tate, which is set to stage a retrospective of her works in April. Barakat will also curate the first in a series of exhibitions that explore Abstraction in Modern Arab art at Kuwait’s Contemporary Art Platform in March. The Modern may be his forte, but scouting Contemporary talents Photography by Myrna Ayad. is another of his strong points – he trailed the mud huts of Syria’s Al-Hasakah and found Sabhan Adam; zigzagged the labyrinthine refugee camps of Sabra and Chatila and discovered Abdulrahman Katanani and spotted Ayman Baalbaki’s work in Jabal 98, a group show staged in 1998 in Tripoli, Lebanon. 122 1964. Mixed media on wood. 60 x 35 x 15 cm. Photography by Myrna Ayad. Nadine Begdache with a work by Shafic Abboud. Le Cinéma de Christine. nadine Begdache mona khazindar Her appreciation for Modern Lebanese art stems from her mother, Janine Rubeiz, a Last year, the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) marked its 25th anniversary stalwart figure in Lebanon’s cultural scene and, in celebration, staged 25 Years of Arab Creativity, a show which tours to in the 1960s who founded Dar El-Fan, the Abu Dhabi in March. The woman at the helm of this landmark institution and country’s first salon-style artistic venue. The its pledge to promote Arab culture is Saudi-born Mona Khazindar, who has ravages of war didn’t halt Rubeiz’s passion and worked for IMA since its establishment in 1986, and is also its first woman she continued to operate Dar El-Fan from her Director General. Khazindar is injecting new life into the institute: last March, apartment, assisted by her daughter Nadine IMA put on a highly controversial show, The Body Revealed, which explored Begdache, who met some of Lebanon’s leading nudity in Arab art in a bid to dissipate stereotypes. Earlier this year and in cultural figures there. After Rubeiz’s death in response to the ongoing conflict in Syria, the institute auctioned 101 artworks, 1992, Begdache founded a gallery named after raising over $150,000 in aid for victims within the country and for those who her mother through which she showcases have been forced to flee. In April IMA welcomes Tea With Nefertiti from Doha’s Modern Lebanese art. It is her unrelenting Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art– the first exhibition to be exported from belief that the wealth, depth and breadth of the Arab world. Though she lives in the heart of Paris, Khazindar has her finger art from this genre should be shared with on the pulse of the Middle Eastern art scene and works to reinforce IMA’s the Lebanese and general public at large. In international role: later this year, she will co-host an academic conference co- support of this conviction, last year Begdache organised by Mathaf and the Institut National de l’Histoire de l’Art. co-curated three exhibitions, celebrating Modern Lebanese art at the Beirut Exhibition Center: Shafic Abboud, Art From Lebanon and Huguette Caland (the first two with Saleh Image courtesy Art & Patronage Summit. Barakat and the last with the artist’s daughter, Brigitte Caland). Her passion for the Modern has not left her oblivious to the Contemporary, however. On the contrary, Begdache dared to present two live performances, which attracted crowds to her booths at Art Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art: Marya Kazoun’s They Were There at the former and Mazen Kerbaj’s Don’t Feed the Artist at the latter. 123 Image courtesy The Third Line, Dubai. ramin salsali It has been almost two years since Ramin Salsali opened the doors to his eponymous museum in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue. During this period, the Iranian-born patron has expanded his collection’s holdings in the genres of Contemporary Middle Eastern and Western art. Indeed, his impact on the regional art scene is not restricted to purchasing power, but rather extends to his patronage through the commissioning of works by the likes of Pantea Rahmani and Reza Derakshani – both of whose shows mark their debut in the Middle East. In addition to sitting on the boards of organisations such as the Sheikha Manal Young Artists Award, Art13 and Art Dubai, Salsali has been honoured thrice by the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al- joana hadjithomas Maktoum Patron of the Arts Awards. An astute networker and businessman, Salsali is constantly on & khalil joreige the go. Contemporary archaeologists Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige have come a long way since their first solo show, Beirut: Urban Fictions, at Paris’s Institut du Monde Arabe in 1997. Unofficial spokespeople for the dreams of a Lebanese society of yore – now relegated to distant, faded memories – the artist duo has taken to reminding a tortured Lebanese society about its proud history. Tinged with the painful remnants of the Lebanese Civil War and the country’s continued strife, Hadjithomas and Joreige’s work is a response to their homeland’s turmoil. With The Lebanese Rocket Society: Part III, IV, V, they unearthed a forgotten 1960s project, which saw a group of students from Beirut’s Haigazian University create and launch rockets – an unprecedented event in the Arab world. This eclipsed episode in Lebanese history came to Dubai with the artists’ solo show at The Third Line last year, and will be on show in Paris’s In Situ Gallery and New York’s CRG Gallery this spring. The Lebanese Rocket Society film will open in Paris and Beirut in March and April respectively, after showing at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival last year, where it won the Best Documentary Film award. In 2012, Ashkal Alwan held How Soon is Now: A Tribute to Dreamers, the first comprehensive exhibition of the duo’s work in © Canvas Archives. Lebanon at the Beirut Exhibition Center. The pair is the subject of a monograph published by JRP/Ringier and continue to share their passion for “interrogating reality”, which is what brought them together many years ago. 124 THE POWER 50 mohammad hafiz & hamza serafi Just a day before the vernissage of Edge of Arabia’s We Need to Talk in January 2011, the show’s curator Mohammad Hafiz was as cool as a cucumber, despite the clandestine powers-that-be that were threatening the exhibition’s staging, not to mention his own pre-show anxiety. His sangfroid was mirrored by one of the show’s participating artists, Hamza Serafi, who would casually stroll over his World Carpet installation and rearrange its plastic warning signs. The show was a big deal – for Saudi Arabia, the world and the impressive number of cultural figures who had jetted in from Europe, the Middle East and the USA. It was a landmark exhibition, and while Edge of Arabia deservedly takes credit for its debut on home turf, it is Hafiz and Serafi who have, prior to We Need to Talk and thereafter, exemplified what it really is to strategically champion Contemporary Saudi art. With a foot in his family’s retail business, Hafiz, along with Serafi, who has long been a mentor to Saudi artists, founded Athr Gallery: the Kingdom’s first progressive art space. The pair stage carefully curated exhibitions of an ever-increasing stable of emerging talents and some of the Kingdom’s finest artists – also working to place pieces in important collections, shows and biennials alike. They also hold talks, publish catalogues, participate in international art fairs, engage in philanthropic activities and keep their cool in a country pigeon- holed for its insularity. Athr is a twin-engine on turbo speed, driven by a sincere passion shared by two men and a commendable team whose belief is simple: Saudi art’s got major horsepower. Mohammad Hafiz and Hamza Serafi with a work by Raouf Rifai. Darawichs. 2011. Acrylic on canvas. 140 x 180 cm. Image courtesy Athr Gallery, Jeddah. 125 ISABELLE den eyndevan She is one of those dealers who strikes the right balance between employing a sharp business mind and applying a creative approach. None of Isabelle Van Den Eynde’s plans are haphazard. They are strategic and thought-through, especially when the stakes are high. So, when the Belgian-born gallerist put on I Put It There You Name It last March, audiences ooh-ed, aah-ed and gasped. Here © Canvas Archives. was an exhibition by cohabitants Hesam Rahmanian and brothers Ramin and Rokni Haerizadeh in which the artists replicated their home within the gallery space. That meant that about 80 per cent of the works YASMIN ATASSI 50 POWER 50 on show were not for sale, during one of the 50 POWER 50 year’s peak commercial periods: Art Week, Art is in this 31 year-old dealer’s DNA, which includes when collectors and museum groups alike Gene F for Fearless – just look to her maternal aunt, the flock to the emirate. Van Den Eynde may have Damascus gallerist Mona Atassi, for reference. It was opted for an ingenious exhibition over a more one thing for Yasmin Atassi to inherit one of Dubai’s profit-making one, but the serious museum oldest galleries, Green Art, from her late mother Mayla interest and prolonged acclamation were part in 2007, but it was another thing altogether to move it of her strategy. Last June, her gallery was one to Alserkal Avenue in 2010 and dramatically transform of two Gulf spaces to participate in Art Basel, its programming. From a space that promoted where she sold out with Rokni Haerizadeh’s Modern Arab art, Atassi’s robust roster now includes works. In March, Van Den Eynde dares yet Contemporary Turkish, Iranian and Lebanese artists, again through her participation in The Armory and most recently, those from Pakistan, Venezuela and Show with a ‘black cube’: works in her booth Hungary. A voracious reader and a freshman publisher, will only be visible by torch light. she presented Brute Ornament, edited by Murtaza Vali last February, that ran alongside an exhibition of the same name. Atassi’s Gene F prompted her to apply to Art Basel last year and the fair’s acceptance letter hangs in her office today. One of only two Gulf galleries to participate in the world’s most important POWERTHE Contemporary art fair, Atassi became mesmerised OWER THE by the work of Alessandro Balteo Yazbeck and Media Farzin. She went on to present their Chronoscope, 1951, 11pm at the first Moving Image Fair last October, where it won the Moving Image Award and is now part of the Tate collection. © Canvas Archives. Photography by Myrna Ayad. ANTONIA CARVER In a feature she penned for Artinfo.com last year, Antonia Carver noted: “Today’s art world is also resolutely global – and this is a new reality for many in the West – which means that time zones never sleep, that it’s as important to attend biennials and fairs in Gwangju, Dubai, Hong Kong and Kochi as it is those in London, New York or Paris.” If Carver’s schedule is anything to go by, travelling the globe to attend fairs and biennials, meeting artists at myriad exhibition openings and putting together the region’s biggest MANAL art fair, it sounds like the Art Dubai Fair Director has al-DOWAYAN adapted well to the reality of today’s art world. A mother of three, Carver is at the helm of the Middle It is something to drum up enough interest on social East’s most eagerly awaited and often-oversubscribed networking sites and encourage hundreds of people to art fair, which, in its last edition, attracted the contribute to an artwork, but Manal Al-Dowayan did just attendance of 75 museum groups. Since she was this and more across three cities in Saudi Arabia. Esmi appointed Fair Director in August 2010, Carver has (My Name), a large-scale installation of prayer beads that introduced more non-commercial activities to Art features the names of Saudi women who participated Dubai, such as the country-focused curated section, in Al-Dowayan’s call for action, was inspired by a Saudi Marker, and the A.i.R Dubai project for artists in custom forbidding the very utterance of a woman’s name. residence. Despite holding one of the busiest jobs on Even men lined up to write their daughters’ names on the the regional art scene, the soft-spoken former editor- maple wood beads. Esmi premiered at Edge of Arabia’s at-large of Bidoun is the incarnation of grace under fire. We Need to Talk exhibition staged in Jeddah last January, where it stood out – bold, proud and poetic, much like the artist behind it. An excellent orator, Al-Dowayan has spoken at various venues over the last year and has also completed several residencies. Her works – all imbued with nostalgia, nationalism and feminism – have jetted between museum and gallery shows in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dubai, London and Lucerne in 2012 alone. She is not a fan of being exoticised as a Saudi female artist in the media; rather, for her, being Saudi is one thing and being a woman is another – a delicate balance which she treads well. This skill came through powerfully in her talk last December at the conference Harnessing 21st Century Solutions: A Focus on Women, hosted by the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Fittingly, photographs from Al-Dowayan’s I Am series, which features Saudi working class women, © Canvas Archives. currently hang in the William J Clinton Presidential Library. Keizer. El Fan Mesh 7aram (Art Is Not A Sin). 2011. Spray paint, acrylic and sand. Image courtesy ArtTalks, Cairo. artists of tahrir This listing is not dedicated to a single person, but rather to a movement – the artists of Tahrir – whose creative outburst following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 continues to awe and inspire. The rebellion that brought an end to Hosni Mubarak’s decades-long regime unleashed an outpouring of expression by Egyptian artists across all disciplines and ages. These artists went beyond demonstrating in Tahrir – they protested through art and translated their emotions into installations, performances, video, photography, graffiti and more. The nature of their practice has broken new ground, not solely in its medium but in its focus too: the tackled subjects span political, religious and ideological beliefs – topics which, prior to the revolution, were conservatively addressed and their expression limited to painting and sculpture. On walls and streets, in commercial and non-profit spaces, post- revolution art has left Cairo dealers unable to keep up with this artistic explosion. Here’s to the artists of Tahrir, those many fearless and creative individuals who adhere so passionately to the ‘all for one and one for all’ dogma and continue to speak out against oppression. 128 THE POWER 50 JACK PERSEKIAN An indefatigable supporter of Palestinian and Photography by Lana Kurtz. Image courtesy Leila Heller Gallery, New York. Arab art worldwide, Jack Persekian moved back home from Sharjah to Jerusalem, where he is now the head curator of the Palestine Museum, due to open in 2014. Last year, he spearheaded the efforts behind Qalandiya International, a biannual festival which showcases Contemporary Palestinian art alongside international work. The Palestinian- Armenian former director of the Sharjah Art Foundation and artistic director of the eighth and ninth editions of the Sharjah Biennial rallied seven Palestine-based institutions to bring exhibitions, film screenings, book launches, musical performances and curatorial tours to cities across Palestine. The event, a happier call to fame for a city notorious for leila heller its Israeli checkpoint, spread across Nazareth, Hajja, Jamma’in, ‘Abwein, Birzeit, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Qalandiya, Jerusalem, Gaza and Imagine being a dealer promoting Middle Eastern art Dhahiriya. In a land riddled with checkpoints in New York post-9/11. It has been a tough job, but and logistical roadblocks, this was no mean Leila Heller has pulled it off. The Iranian-born Brown feat. Currently a visiting professor at the Royal University graduate – who has worked with the likes College of Art in London and a member of of Andy Warhol and Jeffrey Deitch – is a cultural island the 13th Istanbul Biennial Advisory Board, in the Big Apple. After operating a space on Madison Persekian is also the Founding Director of Avenue for 25 years, Heller added a second location in Anadiel Gallery and the Al-Ma’mal Foundation late 2011 – a 325-square-metre space in Chelsea, on for Contemporary Art, both in Jerusalem. the same block as the Pace and Marlborough galleries. A fierce networker, her vernissages see the likes of Christian Amanpour, Bob Colacello, Her Majesty Farah Pahlavi, Tom Wolfe and Eleanor Coppola in attendance. She has also invited artists and curators, including Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, Shirin Neshat and Ashok Adiceam to curate shows at her space. Last year alone, Leila Heller Gallery participated in nine art fairs – in New York, Miami, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Los Angeles, among others – and has flown the flag for Middle Eastern art at all of them. Dubbed by some admirers as an ‘Energizer Bunny’, Heller has been instrumental in numerous initiatives that have sought to promote the region’s art. In just one year, 2012, she placed works by the likes of Marcos Grigorian, Ayad Al-Kadhi, Shoja Azari, Pouran Jinchi, Shiva Ahmadi, Reza Derakshani and Hadieh Shafie in museums such © Canvas Archives. as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Brooklyn Museum and the San Francisco Art Museum. ROSE ISSA For over three decades, this Iranian/Lebanese writer, curator and film producer has championed Middle Eastern art from her base in Europe. Famous for her unrelenting passion Image courtesy The American University of Beirut. and commitment, Rose Issa is a stalwart figure in the promotion of the region’s art and one of its greatest movers and shakers. In 2008 she consolidated her efforts into a projects space in the heart of London, and last October moved its headquarters to new premises on Great Portland Street. Aside from 50 POWER 50 50 POWER 50 running her gallery, which showcases works by emerging and established regional artists, Issa also has a hand in publishing and advises a string of reputed institutions on their SAMIR SALEEBY acquisitions and exhibitions. She is credited for giving the likes of Chant Avedissian, Monir For decades, retired physician Samir Saleeby sat on a Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian and Ayman goldmine of Modern Lebanese art. Part of his collection Baalbaki seminal showcases in the European had been passed down from his relative, Khalil Saleeby, art market and outside London, has curated known as the father of Modern Lebanese art who shows presenting Middle Eastern art in cities pushed the boundaries of conservative art practices at including Beirut, Liverpool and Moscow. She the time, painting nudes and using his wife as his muse. has just published a book on the late Modern Over the years, the art-appreciation bug in the family Iranian artist Sohrab Sepehri and this year led the ophthalmologist to collect seminal works by sees Issa release two more monographs, Modern artists including Saliba Douaihy, César Gemayel, on Moroccan Hassan Hajjaj and Armenian/ Omar Onsi, Robert Khoury and Mustafa Farroukh. Egyptian Avedissian. Some of the paintings from the collection comprised Le Corps Découvert, a groundbreaking exhibition © Canvas Archives. staged at the Institut du Monde Arabe last year, which explored representations of the body in Modern and POWERTHE OWER THE Contemporary Middle Eastern art. Some time ago, and very much in the spirit of patronage, Saleeby decided to share his incredible collection. Not convinced with donating his trove to government institutions, last May he bequeathed his collection of over 60 artworks to his alma mater, the American University of Beirut (AUB). In doing so, Saleeby galvanised the formation of a national art collection in Lebanon and helped instigate the creation of a museum at the university. A charming and determined man, Saleeby attached two conditions to his donation: the space is to bear his parents’ name and must be easily accessible to the public. The Rose and Shaheen Saleeby Museum at AUB is slated for a 2020 opening and will include a special entrance off Bliss Street, so visitors can bypass the university’s Main Gate security. Hisham and Khaled Samawi with a work by Safwan Dahoul. Dream 29. 2010. Acrylic on canvas. 190 x 190 cm © Canvas Archives. CYRIL ZAMMIT Perhaps what is so refreshing about Cyril Zammit is his genuine enthusiasm when discussing pieces at Design Days Dubai. The French-born Fair Director brought over 20 international design galleries, including reputed spaces like Carpenters Workshop Gallery from London and Paris, Milan’s Nilufar and New York-based R 20th Century, to exhibit in the region’s very first design fair. It was a risk, but Zammit was up to the challenge. The fair’s follow up edition in March during Art Week will see a 30 per cent increase in participating galleries and a host of additional programming. The inaugural fair may have been a commercial success, making approximately HISHAM & $3.5 million, but its impact went beyond its financial achievements: Zammit introduced a new platform KHALed samawi to art appreciation in the region and added design to Dubai’s positioning as a cultural destination. Recent years have witnessed Ayyam Gallery hold the torch His directorship of the fair sees him jet around the for Contemporary Syrian art through an expansion plan globe, flying the flag for Design Days Dubai, but that saw its directors, Khaled and Hisham Samawi, establish more importantly, Zammit has given a new voice to branches in Dubai, Beirut and briefly in Cairo. The gallery’s budding Middle Eastern designers. roster now includes artists from other parts of the Middle East – a venture mirrored in their auctions, which have tapped into a young collector base in the region. In the first quarter of 2013, Ayyam extended its reach to not one, but two strategic locations: London and Jeddah – developments that will no doubt see the gallery expand its existing artist base. As Syria writhes in the throes of political unrest, the Samawis have kept the flame of their homeland’s art alive during some of the country’s most trying times. When the violence erupted in towns on the outskirts of Syria’s big cities, the cousins turned their Damascus space into studios where refugee artists could continue to work. As the violence escalated, they secured the safe passage of a number of their artists and their families to Beirut and Dubai. In relocating their headquarters from © Canvas Archives. Damascus to Dubai, the Samawis have also managed to move thousands of artworks out of harm’s way. 131 © Canvas Archives. rita aoun-abdo Truth be told, one cannot get very far on the Abu Dhabi eileen wallis Much as cultural institutions across the region are to be praised for presenting exhibitions, artists and events, a critical part of their communication relies on the science art scene without knocking on her door. Thanks to Rita of Public Relations. The concept of art PR is a relatively Aoun-Abdo, the last five years have seen Abu Dhabi new phenomenon in the Middle East, growing in parallel Art develop into one of the region’s leading art fairs, with the region’s art scene. Enter Eileen Wallis, Managing showcasing museum-quality works presented through Director of The Portsmouth Group: an American-born some of the world’s blue-chip galleries alongside regional firecracker who cuts through the rather convoluted web of spaces. Many reported that the fair’s last edition was its predictable press releases filled with jargon and generally strongest – the combination of galleries in the Norman devoid of real information. Wallis always gets straight to Foster-designed pavilion as well as those in Manarat Al- the point and seamlessly manages the communication Saadiyat, lent the fair a coming-of-age feel that has helped channels between her clients and the media, both locally reinforce Abu Dhabi’s claim to be at the frontier of a new and abroad. Her roster includes Christie’s Middle East, Abu cultural territory. Aoun-Abdo, Executive Director of Abu Dhabi Art, Design Days Dubai and the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company upcoming Birth of a Museum exhibition. Her wicked Cultural Department and her team have rallied an sense of humour notwithstanding, Wallis understands outstanding cast of cultural figures in their campaign to – and collects – Contemporary Middle Eastern art and is put the UAE capital on the international art map. When the thoroughly familiar with who’s who on the regional art Louvre and the Guggenheim finally open their Abu Dhabi scene. However hectic the mother-of-two’s schedule may doors, Aoun-Abdo’s influence will be in little doubt. be, she attends every vernissage, auction and cultural event in Dubai and can give you the price and background of an artwork faster than any dealer can. © Canvas Archives. 132 fulya erdemci Fresh from curating the 2011 Turkish Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale, Fulya Erdemci is readying herself for the 13th Istanbul Biennial later this year. The former Director of SKOR, the Foundation for Art and Public Domain in Amsterdam, Erdemci will curate the next edition after being appointed by the Advisory Board of the Istanbul Biennial, which includes personalities such as dOCUMENTA (13) artistic director Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev and Jack Persekian. The seasoned curator and writer returns to the biennial after serving as its director from 1994–2000, at a time when the spotlight on Turkish Contemporary art has never been brighter and when the biennial itself is going from strength to strength. Erdemci curated the Istanbul section at the 25th Biennale of São Paulo in 2002, was a member of the curatorial team at the Second Moscow Contemporary Art Biennial in 2007 and also co-curated the Fifth Biennial of Art in Public Space in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2008. OWER 50 Image courtesy Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. Claudia Cellini and Sunny Rahbar. Image courtesy The Third Line, Dubai. 50 POWER 50 50 POWER 50 claudia& cellini sunny rahbar Their founding mantra was to establish a space to broaden the platform of Middle Eastern art. Its name – The Third Line – is a formulation from a poem by Iranian Sufi mystic Shams Tabrizi and was chosen as a metaphor for what POWERTHE OWER THE remains to be. In the almost eight years since its inception, Claudia Cellini and Sunny Rahbar have promoted their artists through their gallery’s participation in numerous international art fairs – often being the first and only gallery from the Middle East at fairs such as Artissima, Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Cologne, FIAC, Frieze New York and Frieze London. This year, The Third Line is the only gallery from the Gulf to participate in Art Basel and it does so through the works of Laleh Khorramian. With a sharp eye for talent, Cellini and Rahbar have assembled a star-studded roster featuring some of the region’s hottest names – Youssef Nabil, Hassan Hajjaj, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige and Farhad Moshiri – all of whose careers The Third Line has propelled through shows, the strategic placement of their works in reputed institutions and the publishing of monographs. These unstoppable women have gone beyond the pure gallerist role and extended their efforts as consultants to organisations such as the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and the UAE Pavilion for the Venice Biennale. fady jameel While efforts have been made in recent years to highlight the treasure trove of public artworks on Jeddah’s corniche, none are as magnanimous as a project steered by Fady Jameel. Under the auspices of the Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiative (which sponsors Edge of Arabia, patronises the Jameel Gallery at the V&A and the Jameel Prize), he brought in London’s Plowden and Smith in early 2012 to commence restoration on sculptures by some of the world’s most celebrated artists – Moore, Vasarely, César, Calder, Pomodoro and Miró. The port city’s open-air museum comprises some 400 works acquired between 1970–80 as part of an initiative steered by then- Mayor of Jeddah, Dr Mohammed Said Farsi. Decades of wear and tear have left these masterpieces, locally recognised as landmarks, in poor condition. Approximately 40 of these works will be placed in a sculpture park set to open later this year. In addition, two books on Jeddah’s public art collection – in separate English and Arabic editions – are scheduled for release in October, to be published by Booth Clibborn. walid raad He may be notorious for not wanting to have his photo taken, but it has become increasingly difficult for Walid Raad to remain incognito. The Lebanese-born artist has just staged an impeccable solo show at Beirut’s Sfeir-Semler Gallery and another at the Louvre – the first in a series of projects over a three-year period. Preface to the First Edition is a specially designed installation that sees Raad tackle the concept of the ‘universal museum’. He also took part in dOCUMENTA (13), elaborating on a body of work that has been in progress since 2007; Scratching on Things I Could Disavow focuses on the continuous theme of how political traumas in the Middle East affect artists’ abilities to collect and remember their cultural heritage, thus erasing a reference. With his works in the Image courtesy The Third Line, Dubai. collections of The Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Centre Pompidou and numerous other institutions, Raad is admired for creating art out of historical events in the Middle East, whilst analysing the infrastructure for the arts in the Arab world. 135 negar azimi New York-based Negar Azimi is famous for her multi-layered writing style, which contextualises Middle Eastern art within political and art-historic frameworks. Always interesting and educational for enthusiasts on either side of the pond, her articles and essays on Middle Eastern art also offer Western audiences an introduction into a largely unknown milieu. Her strategic perspective stems from her degrees in politics from Stanford and Harvard, but her familiarity with Contemporary Middle Eastern art is also deeply rooted in her capacity as Senior Editor of Bidoun. Although primarily a publication that covers art and culture from the Middle East, Bidoun has been positioned by Azimi and her team © Canvas Archives. as a general arts platform that presents books, talks, educational programmes, a comprehensive library and other related events. Azimi herself has contributed to Artforum, Frieze, Harper’s, The Nation and The New York Times Magazine, in addition to dina nasser- books such as the Vitamin P series. Her articles weave historical fact, political ramifications, economic issues dina nasser khadivi and Contemporary art concepts in a way that begins with a macro outlook but slowly zooms in on a If asked to check her occupation on a form, ticking one box multitude of micro elements. is near impossible for Dina Nasser-Khadivi. Though officially an art consultant, her many roles include engaging in philanthropic activities and supporting cultural education programmes. Even if her plate is full – which it always is – Nasser-Khadivi will seldom refuse opportunities to promote regional art to wider audiences. One of her distinctive traits is the fierce pride she takes in her Iranian heritage – a passion she channels through the many hats she wears and her unwavering belief in art’s power to transcend barriers. This year, Nasser-Khadivi makes her debut as a curator with Baku-based non-profit organisation YARAT at the Venice Biennale through a collateral event that will present art from the Caucasus – Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Iran and Georgia. Since the inception of Christie’s Middle East in 2006, hers has been a regular face at the Dubai auctions, manning the phones for the many artworks which she has consigned and found buyers for. In 2008, after years with Christie’s, she Photography by Myrna Ayad. founded DNK Art Consulting, through which she advises international clients (Christie’s included) and manages the collections of established patrons. Nasser-Khadivi is credited with inspiring a younger generation of collectors – many of whom have been featured in this magazine through its Young Collectors editions. 136 THE POWER 50 kaelen wilson-goLdie Although in recent years, Middle Eastern newspapers have expanded their cultural sections to reflect the region’s growing art scene, it takes a qualified arts writer to be able to critique an exhibition effectively and profile an artist accurately, let alone draw references to the wider contexts of art history or be knowledgeable in the fields of Modern and Contemporary regional art. Kaelen Wilson-Goldie is one such writer. Her words go a long way on the Middle Eastern art circuit – in Canvas, Bidoun, Frieze Artforum, The Daily Star, The National and a host of other publications, as well as books, the Beirut-based writer has made a name for herself as a critic to watch. Informative, wry, witty and graced with a light touch of sarcasm, Wilson-Goldie’s reviews have earned her a respected reputation among curators, dealers and artists alike. Her editorials cut to the chase in a region still largely lacking professional art journalists. Wilson- Goldie’s astute analyses aside, her sharp eye was employed last year when she was selected as a judge on the inaugural John Jones Art on Paper Award at Art Dubai. This year sees her contribution to Avant- Gardes of the 21st Century; a Phaidon publication that presents the artistic scene of 12 international cities, with Wilson-Goldie focusing on Beirut. Image courtesy Kaelen Wilson-Goldie. written by 50 myrna raniahawazen THE POWER ayad habib alnuweiri
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