Contemporary Art in the Middle East
Thursday 22 January 2009,
14:00-18:00
Tate Britain
Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
Friday 23 January 2009,
10:30-18:00
Tate Modern
Bankside
London SE1 9TG
The symposium revolves around five discrete sessions: Defining the Middle East;
Writing and Translation; Art Now – Recent Exhibitions; Tradition and Modernity;
The Politics of Space.
The distinguished group of panelists includes Anas Al-Shaikh (artist and curator), Oreet Ashery (artist and fellow at Queen Mary University), Negar Azimi (senior editor, Bidoun magazine), Yto Barrada (artist and founder of Cinemathèque de Tangers), Pat Binder (artist, curator, publisher, Nafas Art Magazine), Gerhard Haupt (art-historian, curator, publisher, Nafas Art online magazine), Stuart Comer (curator, Tate Modern), Suzanne Cotter (chief curator, Modern Art Oxford), Catherine David (chief curator, Direction des Musées de France), David Elliot (artistic director, Sydney Biennale), Dr Khalid Khreis (director, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman), Vasif Kortun (curator and director, Platform, Istanbul), Rahraw Omarzad (editor, Gahnama-e-Hunar and founder, Centre for Contemporary Art, Afghanistan), November Paynter (independant curator), Jack Persekian (artistic director, Sharjah Biennial & director, Al Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art), Khalil Rabah (artist and director, Riwaq Biennale, Ramallah), Michael Rakowitz (artist), Dina Ramadan (art historian and critic), Andrew Renton (director of curating, Goldsmiths College), Zineb Sedira (artist), Nada Shabout (associate professor Art History, University North Texas), Abdul-Raheem Sharif (founder, The Flying House, Dubai), Wael Shawky (artist), Suha Shoman (founder, Darat al Funun, Amman), Christine Tohme (curator and founder of Ashkal Alwan) Issa Touma (artist, curator & founder of Le Pont Art Organization and Gallery, Aleppo, Syria), William Wells (director,Townhouse Gallery, Cairo), Eyal Weizman (director, Centre for Research Architecture) (tbc).
The symposium is organised by Tate and the International Curators Forum in association with NAFAS online magazine. It is supported by the Arts Council and the World Collections Programme, a collaborative initiative between six UK organisations which aims to develop greater access to their collections and expertise by building partnerships with organisations in Asia and Africa.
