As a side note, Lebanon is seen by many as an exception to these mass demonstrations to bring down the old guard, as it struggles to form a government, stuck as it is between the status quo of the March 8 and March 14 coalitions/politicians. And when obedient partisans do take to the streets, it’s more often than not in support of one of the two distinct alliances ruling the country in different guises for almost as long as the country existed, and thus, in the words of historian Faisal Devji, cancel each other out. Further south-east near the Persian-Arab Gulf, recent Gulf and international media have released news bulletins regarding the tracking down and detention of bloggers, activists, and even academics demanding free elections and the creation of political parties in these autocratic emirates.
Irrespective of the type and interest of the work shown here, note how Ministries of Foreign Affairs mandate their cultural centers in Arab cities, often perpetuating their colonial legacy as the new cultural outpost. Paris and London being two such epicenters, with the French Cultural Centers and British Councils.
For instance, consider the 1970 Biennial of Alexandria, the 1974 First Arabic Biennial of Baghdad, and the 1975 Biennial of Arab Countries of Kuwait, to name a few examples of state-sponsored interests and promotion of art in the so-called Arab region.
See →.
Hanan Touqan, “Boat Rocking in the Art Islands: Politics, Plots and Dismissals in Sharjah’s Tenth Biennial,” Jadaliyya, May 2, 2011, see →.
Okwi Enwezor, “Spring Rain: Okwi Enwezor on Ai Weiwei and the Sharjah Biennial,” Artforum (Summer 2011), see →.
See →.
For example, note the strange, but not unpredictable wall text (or, rather, the blatant disclaimer) used in an Emily Jacir exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2009 stating that “SFMOMA is committed to exhibiting and acquiring works by local, national, and international artists that represent a diversity of viewpoints and positions. Works of art can engender valuable discussion about a range of topics including those that are difficult and contested, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Additional information about Emily Jacir’s Where We Come From, including a list of frequently asked questions, is available at the information desk.” See Tyler Green, “SFMOMA installed unusual wall-text in Emily Jacir gallery,” →, and →.
Kirsten Scheid, “What we do not know: Questions for a study of contemporary Arab art”, ISIM Review 22 (Autumn, 2008).
Slavoj Žižek, Living in the End of Times (London: Verso, 2011), 473. Doug Ashford and Naeem Mohaiemen, “Naeem Mohaiemen and Doug Ashford Dialogue,” in Naeem Mohaiemen, Collectives in Atomised Time (Calaf: IDENSITAT Associació D’Art Contemporani, 2008) 50.
Ursula Biemann and Shuruq Harb, “Ibraaz Platform 001,” June 2011, see →.