My most enduring memory of Dr Ramzi Dalloul (1935-2021) was at a dinner I hosted in my house in Dubai back in October 2014. I posed a question to Dr Dalloul asking him: “Can you tell us your philosophy behind collecting Arab art?” What I received was a 15 minute speech, parts of which are etched in my memory. Read more »
Articles
Blue Collar: Depiction of Workers in Modern Arab Art
Since at least the 1950s, Arab artists depicted workers in paintings, sculptures, posters and more recently, in new media and installations. Workers from different industries were not only painted as central figures, they were also depicted with dignity. Read more »
How Expo 2020 Dubai will bring the world together again
After the world heals from the Covid 19 pandemic, Dubai has the gargantuan task of bringing nations back together in a celebration of humanity through Expo 2020. Read more »
Uncovering a lost Sudanese masterpiece
The groundbreaking 2001 exhibition The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945-1994 finally introduced non-Western modernities on a larger scale into leading Western museums. The exhibition included works by 50 or so artists, including El Salahi, a native of Sudan who was born in 1930 during the Anglo-Egyptian colonial era. Read more »
In defence of Abraaj, a champion of art
Over the past few months, a steady drip of devastating news emanated from Abraaj Capital, the once venerated regional financial giant that is now in liquidation. In this article, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi discusses how the regional art industry is left poorer by the departure of an institution that collected works and commissioned new ones. Read more »
The Modernist
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is among the leaders of a cultural shift that over the last decade has brought modern and contemporary art from the Arab world to global attention. He talks to AramcoWorld about his work with the Barjeel Art Foundation in generating cultural awareness of modern Arab art. Read more »