• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi

Writer & Founder of Barjeel Art Foundation

  • Articles
  • Videos
  • AJ+
  • Events
  • Cultural Majlis
  • Public Engagements
  • Press
  • About

Arts & Culture

Articles / Ibraaz / March 31, 2014

Beyond the Odalisque: a perspective on Algeria’s cultural scene

A few months ago, a controversy erupted after I suggested in an article for Al Monitor that Gulf cities are slowly replacing the traditional Arab capitals of Beirut, Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus as centres of culture in the Arab world. The premise was based on the underinvestment in culture – museums and galleries in these abovementioned cities and by association the production and display of art, is diminishing, while it is expanding in the Gulf cities where museums are being built and cultural programmes developed. Algeria’s art scene, abundant with talent and a rich history of modern and contemporary art, can provide a counter-balance to the burgeoning Gulf art scene. Read more »

Articles / Al Monitor / January 25, 2014

Regional strife destroying historical Arab treasures

Sadly, over the past few decades, much of the heritage of the Arab world has come under threat or has been destroyed. During the 1990-1991 Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, the National Museum was ransacked and looted. Even today, hundreds of treasures remain lost, possibly forever.  Read more »

Articles / Qantara.de / December 13, 2013

Can Mathaf Restore a Pan-Arab Artistic Identity?

In 2010, Mathaf (the Arab Museum of Modern Art) was opened in the Gulf state of Qatar. In his essay, I provide an overview of pan-Arabism in recent decades and looks at what this museum can do to restore a pan-Arab cultural identity that has been neglected and in some cases even vilified for decades. Read more »

Press / Tharawat Magazine / December 12, 2013

Of Politics and Art – The Barjeel Art Foundation

With a quarter of a million Twitter followers and dozens of political articles published on notable news sites such as the Huffington Post, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi may well have established himself as one of the most resonating voices on current affairs in the Arab world. Rising to fame through his coverage of political unrest in the Middle East, Al Qassemi is increasingly representing the region by way of an ever widening platform and his audience thankfully follows his insightful analysis of current affairs. Due to his constant exposure to the public eye, many may believe that they know who Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is and what he stands for. But how much does a 140-character tweet reveal about a person? To understand what motivates this young Emirati to reach out to the world in the way he does, it is advisable to take a closer look at his great passion for the arts. Read more »

Articles / Al Monitor / November 22, 2013

Correcting misconceptions of the Gulf’s modern art movement

On Oct. 25, after a brief visit to the region, a Wall Street Journal writer declared, “The Arabic-speaking part of the Gulf has essentially no indigenous tradition of visual or plastic arts.” It isn’t the first time that the modern art movement in the Gulf was dismissed by those who don’t know better. In fact, modern art as defined in the West stretches back several decades across the Gulf with multiple generations of artists. Read more »

Articles / Nafas Magazine / August 1, 2013

محمد كاظم: تجاوز الحدود الجغرافية

An Arabic language interview in which Sultan discuss the UAE’s participation in the Venice Bienalle with Mohammed Kazem, an Emirati pioneering artist. Read more »

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 22
  • Page 23
  • Page 24
  • Page 25
  • Page 26
  • Page 27
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Headshot of Sultan Al Qassemi

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is an Emirati columnist and researcher, and is the Founder of Barjeel Art Foundation.

Browse by Topic

GCC / UAE / Media / Arab World / Egypt / Arts & Culture / Arab Spring / Reform / Science and Technology / Economy / Refugees  
Browse all topics →

Browse by Publication

The National / Al Monitor / Gulf News / Open Democracy / Egypt Independent / Foreign Policy / The Huffington Post / CNN / The Guardian / The New York Times / Al Jazeera / The Independent
Browse all publications →

Browse by Year

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Footer

Contact

c/o Al Saud Building, 3rd Floor
Al Mina Road, Al Jubail,  Sharjah, UAE
+971 6 556 6555
info@barjeelartfoundation.org

About Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is an Emirati columnist and researcher whose articles have appeared in The Financial Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Globe and Mail, as well as other notable publications. Al Qassemi is also a prolific commentator on Arab affairs on Twitter.

Learn More

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2025 Sultan Al Qassemi · All Rights Reserved · Sitemap