Following recent events in Tunis, Ibraaz is republishing an open letter from the Kamel Lazaar Foundation that announces its unequivocal support for the National Museum of Bardo, Tunis, and denounces the act of terrorism that targeted it on Wednesday, 18 March 2015. The Foundation and its initiatives, including Ibraaz, will be going ahead with plans to hold its annual JAOU conference there in May (see below), following on from successful symposia already held there in 2014 and 2013.

This month, Ibraaz is also publishing essays around our Platform 008 theme by Tirdad Zolghadr and Suzanne Gauch, interviews with Jonas Staal and Taus Makhacheva, projects by Makhacheva, Malak Helmy, and Santiago Mostyn, as well as reviews from Barcelona and Bologna.

An Open Letter

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

 

The Kamel Laazar Foundation offers its unequivocal support to the National Museum of Bardo, Tunis, and denounces the act of terrorism that targeted it on Wednesday, 18 March 2015. An open letter from the Kamel Lazaar Foundation is republished here, in English, French, and Arabic.

 

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Essays

Atmosphere

Tirdad Zolghadr

In this essay, Tirdad Zolghadr addresses the topic of the 'Global South' by considering the issues, themes, and concepts that arise out of the 5th Riwaq Biennale in Palestine. Read more

Mobile Maghrebs: Contemporary Cinema from North Africa

Suzanne Gauch

Suzanne Gauch examines contemporary North African cinema and offers a perspective on its evolving contexts. Read more

Interviews

A New World Summit

Jonas Staal in conversation with Stephanie Bailey

Jonas Staal, founder of The New World Summit, discusses the project's origins, present, and aims for the future. Read more

From Central Asia to the Caucasus

Leeza Ahmady in conversation with Taus Makhacheva

Leeza Ahmady and Taus Makhacheva discuss a range of topics, from Russian wedding banquets and body builders, to object-making in the Caucasus. Read more

Projects

Istanbul Microphone Men

Santiago Mostyn

Santiago Mostyn offers a series of intimate portraits of Istanbul cloth-sellers via outtakes from interviews he conducted with them. Read more

19 a Day

Taus Makhacheva

On 14 September 2014, Taus Makhacheva and wedding photographer Shamil Gadzhidadaev crashed 19 weddings in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Read more

On the Back of Sleep

Malak Helmy

In this tale of love and loss, Malak Helmy considers a realm 'somewhere on the back of sleep' where a 'territory of that other wakefulness' lies. Read more

Reviews

Tout va bien?

Jens Maier-Rothe

A review of Too Early, Too Late: the second in a series of exhibitions produced in a joint venture between Bologna's yearly art fair and the Ministry of Culture. Read more

Past Disquiet

Samah Hijawi

Samah Hijawi reviews Past Disquiet, Narratives and Ghosts from the International Art Exhibition for Palestine, 1978, at MACBA, Barcelona. Read more

Publications

Dissonant Archives: Contemporary Visual Culture and Contested Narratives in the Middle East, edited by Anthony Downey (IB Tauris, 2015)

Featuring writing, interviews and original art work – reproduced in full-colour – by internationally renowned academics, curators, activists, filmmakers and artists, Dissonant Archives: Contemporary Visual Culture and Contested Narratives in the Middle East launches on 30 May 2015 at JAOU Tunis 2015 at the National Museum of Bardo, Tunis. Read more

In April, Ibraaz will publish its final instalment of Platform 008, with contributions from Lara Khaldi, Naeem Mohaiemen, Timothy Cooper, Stephen Sheehi, Franco 'Bifo' Berardi, Vangelis Vlahos, Bisan Abu Eisheh, and Eric Baudelaire, amongst others.

Exploring the genealogies of performance art in North Africa and the Middle East, Ibraaz will launch Platform 009 in May, 2015.  For more more information, see here. This will coincide with the JAOU conference  at the National Museum of Bardo, Tunis, taking place from 28 to 31 May 2015.

We will also launch Dissonant Archives: Contemporary Visual Culture and Contested Narratives in the Middle East, edited by Anthony Downey (I.B.Tauris, 2015). This volume, the second in our Visual Culture in the Middle East series, will include contributions from Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, John Akomfrah, Jananne Al-Ani, Meriç Algün Ringborg, Héla Ammar, Burak Arıkan, Ariella Azoulay, Vahap Avşar, Sussan Babaie, Alessandro Balteo Yazbeck, Timothy P.A Cooper,  Joshua Craze, Laura Cugusi, Ania Dabrowska, Nick Denes, Chad Elias, Media Farzin, Mariam Ghani, Gulf Labor, Tom Holert, Adelita Husni-Bey, Maryam Jafri, Guy Mannes-Abbott, Amina Menia, Shaheen Merali, Naeem Mohaiemen, Mariam Motamedi Fraser, Pad.ma, Lucie Ryzova, Lucien Samaha, Rona Sela and Laila Shereen Sakr (VJ Um Amel).