A Journey Through Modern Political Art in the Arab World
Tuesday, April 18, 2023 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm CET/GMT+1Grisebach
You are cordially invited to join us for the first Berlin Liberal Arts Talk featuring the lecture A Journey Through Modern Political Art in the Arab World by Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi on April 18, 2023. In the tradition of liberal arts education, this new lecture, jointly established by Bard College Berlin and Grisebach, will address the importance of artistic work in our world, both with a view to history, the present, and the future – be it creative, philosophical, political, or social.
This talk shall survey the political underpinnings of Arab art in the 20th century and the socio-political conditions that shaped cultural production in the region. Whether it is under the Baathist regimes of Syria and Iraq, or under Egypt’s pan-Arabism championed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, painting and sculpture, as well as music, film, and literature have been employed by various governments as a tool of soft power to propagate their policies to the public not only in their respective states but throughout the region and beyond. Despite this widespread government patronage of the arts, many artists have chosen to challenge the authorities through subversive movements and practices. By focusing on creative practices and the strategic use of the arts, this presentation will shed light on an important dimension of the modern history of the Arab world and other parts of the Middle East. The event will take place at Grisebach, Fasanenstraße 25, 10719 Berlin. Doors will open for registration at 6:30 p.m. The lecture starts at 7:00 p.m. After the talk, at 8:30 p.m., a reception with light refreshments will allow us to continue the conversation.
This event requires advance registration. Please register here by April 9, 2023.
Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi is an acclaimed Emirati columnist and researcher on social, political, and cultural affairs in the Arab Gulf States. He is also the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, an independent initiative established in 2010 to contribute to the intellectual development of the art
scene in the Arab region. He has taught Politics of Modern Middle Eastern Art at New York University, Yale University, Georgetown University, Boston College, The American University at Paris, Columbia University, and at Bard College Berlin, where he currently teaches. Al-Qassemi is also a Spring 2023 fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg, The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin.
Email: [email protected]