Here is the full text of the book I published in 2013, called ‘Contemporary Art in the Gulf – an Introduction’.
And here is the Table of Contents:
7: Foreword
11: Contemporary Art in the Gulf
29: A Cultural History of the Arabian Peninsula
47: Saudi Arabia
69: Kuwait
87: Bahrain
99: The United Arab Emirates
119: Qatar
129: Oman
137: Where the Gulf is Heading
Article published in Issue #47 of Afkar / Ideas published in October 2015 by the European Institute of the Mediterranean in Barcelona / French version / Spanish version
Ahmad Angawi: Ottoman Map of Mecca (detail), 2012
Art and Soft Power in the Gulf
Recently, there has been much news and debate about how the Gulf States are acquiring the icons of global culture, such as famous paintings, works by star artists, and even whole museums. This is seen as the exercise of ‘soft power’, defined by Joseph Nye as ‘the ability to get what you want through attraction, rather than coercion or payments’. One may wonder then, which objectives direct the Gulf’s investments in art? And, are they being achieved? Continue reading
Historic consciousness in the UAE and in the other GCC states goes back only a few centuries, at most; this is how far back most prominent Emirati families can reliably trace their genealogy.
What happened in these lands before the advent of Islam is as alien to the current population, as if it had happened on another continent. Continue reading
Photo taken in the ruins of the city of Al Ukhdood (ancient Najran) by Abdelkarim Qassem
One of the premises of the ‘Searching for Ancient Arabia’ research project is the cultural diversity of the Arabian Peninsula; one of the research hypotheses being that this pluralism—well evident in ancient history—was smothered by subsequent narratives and historical developments, but that it could be a great asset for the future development of the Gulf region, particularly in artistic and cultural terms. Continue reading
View of the excavated Portuguese fort with the sea behind it, and the palm groves between the two. One of the beautiful sceneries we encountered during our research. Continue reading
A workshop will be held for all those interested in participating in this research project at the Downtown Campus (off Hamdan Street) of NYU Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 25 February, from 18:00 to 20:30.
For details about the workshop and registration see the bottom of this page.
Introduction to the research subject
“Only a small proportion of the lore of the Arabs has come down to you. Had it reached you in its entirety, much scientific and literary knowledge would have been yours”
I’m about to start a FIND fellowship at New York University Abu Dhabi called ‘Searching for Ancient Arabia’ and I’m looking for artists, curators, critics and scholars to participate in this research project.
Finally, after a year and a half working on project proposal and funding, followed by nearly a year intensive research and writing, the Gulf Art Guide is online. Some of the cities (Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Muscat, Doha and Manama) are covered by my co-author Neil van der Linden. The rest is written by me, and I worked a lot on website layout, design, functionalities and editing and proofreading the whole site.
I first looked forward to the day the Gulf Art Guide would finally be finished and online, as a day of relief. But the same evening that it went online I realized that it is like a baby: now I will have to nurture it, help it get over infancy diseases, and help it grow up. No time to celebrate!
The essay, which you can download here, provides an unusual take on the Gulf art scene.
We have over 1000 likes on our Facebook page, which is a good way to keep abreast of what’s going on in the Gulf Art World.
A version 1.1 is being prepared for release in the summer of 2013.
I’m participating in a program called ‘Art of the Revolution’ in De Balie in Amsterdam, with a presentation of how social and cultural developments are behind the art that is emerging in the Gulf countries (with a focus on Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Kuwait). My presentation will provide a counterpoint to the usual overview of how governments in the region are creating massive cultural districts with imported skills and talent, by examining the artists themselves within their context.
After my presentation there will be a discussion
See www.debalie.nl/art for more information about the program. Highlights are a performance by Tashweesh and a concert of Zeid and the Wings, later in the evening.
My presentation is on Saturday December 10 at 3 pm.
I will also present some works by the Syrian artist Mahmoud Dayoub (see my following post) in the Balie cafe
Ayman Yossri Daydban: I wanted peace but prepared for war (from his Subtitles series, 2009)