1. Illustrator Nada Dalloul and artist Faten Kanaan respond to a
series of vintage film posters. Page 34.
Volume II • Issue 06 • Summer 2012
Current Affairs Culture New Media
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Sarah Kanbar analyses the
situation in Lebanon in relation to
neighbouring revolutions.
Page 16.
From London, Sheyma Buali
sits with London Palestine Film
Festival’s Nick Denes. Page 40.
Danah Abdulla grabs coffee with
performance artist Joseph Shahadi
in Brooklyn to talk about his
practice, performance art, and
more. Page 95.
Leila Khatib takes us on a tour of
Art Dubai...the hipstamatic way.
Page 128.
Kifak Inta?
Art & Design
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MA 80MAD

2. 8 8 D O S S I E R K A L I M AT K A L I M AT D O S S I E R 8 9
ART &
DESIGN
ARABIAN SOHO
text & photos: ALEX AUBRY
playing with the notion of comfort/discomfort.
An evening of experimental perfor-
mance and music was also one of the projects
that took place, in collaboration with Traffic.
All participants were UAE based and consisted
of poets, curators, musicians and academics. One
the highlights was Hala Ali, a Saudi artist/poet
who performed a daring piece about the art
world in the region. Apart from Hala’s piece, it
was a little too experimental for me and it left
me feeling confused.
The Global Art Forum, a curated panel
of talks which happens every year at Art Dubai
this year started at the Mathaf Museum of Mod-
ern Art in Doha (which, after a day moved on
to Art Dubai) Global Art Forum (GAF) 6 had an
outstanding programme lined up, curated by Shu-
mon Basar with talks by LACMA Director Michael
Govan, the ever famous and always present Hans
Ulrich Orbist of the Serpentine Gallery, Georgina
Adam, Douglas Coupland, artists Shezad Dawood
and Wael Shawky, Jack Persekian as well as film
producers Anna Lenna Vancey and Sophie Fiennes.
Roughly a year after the Arab Spring, GAF’s focus
theme was “The Medium of the Media” and focused
on how artistic practice corresponded with social
media under various circumstances, stemming
from the events of last year.
In its fourth edition, Abraaj Capital Art
Prize (ACAP), featured winning artists Raed Yas-
sin (Lebanon), Wael Shawky (Egypt), Risham
Syed (Pakistan), Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil
Joreige (Lebanon), and Taysir Batniji (Palestine)
and was curated by Nat Muller. The prize is based
on unrealised projects proposed by the artists
themselves – once the prize is announced; the
artists work closely with the curator to then create
the work, which is then featured at Art Dubai.
Artists had to work with the given title “Spectral
Imprints” – the highlight piece was Raed Yassin’s
China, which consists of several porcelain vases
that illustrate events in Lebanon’s Civil War. The
end result is aesthetically pleasing, however,
with an Arab struggle depicted on these delicate
vases, you cannot help but feel sadness, as there
seems no end to human struggle.
One of the changes of Art Dubai this
year was the new and alternative branding, a
somewhat refreshing take on usual contemporary
art fair identity. It’s almost Cath Kidston meets
Victorian-Era floral designs – my friend points
out that it matches my wallet. She’s right. It’s all
very cool, and it’s nice to see a difference from
the conventional and minimalistic fair branding.
Regardless of the clique that is inevi-
tably ingrained within contemporary art fairs,
Art Dubai really does stand out from the rest.
It feels authentic and genuine. It’s not (always)
about what party you can get into, or whom you
rub shoulders with but it’s about the art. There
are no doubt irksome elements of art fairs, yet
one can overlook this at Art Dubai because of
its palpable quality. Even the irritating conver-
sations of sales and the need to brand artists
didn’t take away from the talent on view. Whilst
few spoke of the unabashed truth of collectors
and gallerists profiting through destitution and
struggle of the artists of the uprising, Art Dubai
was a success and concluded with a positive vibe
through the art world.
Much, much further down the road, in
Bastakiya, an area of “old” Dubai that has been
preserved to maintain the feel of what Dubai used
to be, was the SIKKA Art Fair, a much more low
key and longer running event within Art Week.
The fair consisted of twenty-three commissioned
artists, all of which are regionally based. Per-
formances also took place within the intimate,
traditional setting. The pace was gentler; taking
more time to stroll amongst the artworks.
Walking into one of the pitch-black
rooms, there is a deep bass beat – this is Magdi
Mostafa’s sound installation. Sensors flash on
the walls in response to the beats and it’s so
loud I feel like I need to leave the space. I later
hear that the sounds are a collection of three
years worth of recording from washing machines,
pipes, and boilers. The artist was also featured
at Art Dubai, and is one of AIR Dubai’s resident
artists – the programme partnered up with the
Delfina Foundation, Art Dubai, Dubai Culture
and Tashkeel.
Also using a washing machine within his
work, Firas Audeh’s Displacement is the machine
itself – awkwardly placed on its own in one of
the traditional houses, permanently spinning.
I wonder if there’s a relationship between the
two artists works or if it’s just a coincidence. I
conclude it’s probably the latter.
There are so many interesting projects,
talks and performances that took place that it’s
impossible to see everything – and by the end of
the week, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride
for the region and the way it has developed. Art
Week provides much more than a platform for
education and artistic discourse, it pushes away
the negative stereotypes that the region too often
faces in the media and replaces it with a much
more organic and integrated view of art, culture
and heritage. I can’t help but think about what
next year might entail, because without a doubt,
it will be even bigger and better.
ART DUBAI
T
he impact of independent gal-
leries and non-profit arts or-
ganisations in the Gulf region
is all too often eclipsed by the official face
of culture; whether a new mega-museum
project or safe exhibitions that do little to
raise pressing social, economic or environ-
mental questions. Yet on the tiny island
Kingdom of Bahrain, a contemporary art
scene has long been nurtured through in-
dependent galleries established by a group
of pioneering women.
In the last decade, Adliya, a leafy
residential neighbourhood in Bahrain’s
capital Manama, has become a unique
destination for art and design. Along its
streets former villas built in the 60s and
70s have been transformed into galler-
ies displaying cutting edge art, chic cafés
and haute dinning destinations. It is also
home to the Al Riwaq Art Space, arguably
one of the most influential art galleries
in town and Bahrain’s only not-for-profit
contemporary arts organisation.
Since opening its doors in 1998,
Bayan Al Barak Kanoo uses her sharp curato-
rial eye to showcase the work of artists who
have something to say about contemporary
life in the Middle East. “Even if people walk
in and don’t like what they see, it’s the
gallery’s responsibility to challenge and
expose individuals to diverse points of view,”
explains Bayan, who regularly travels to
international art fairs.
Beginning life in a converted townhouse, Al Riwaq has since emerged from an extensive renovation. Today it has doubled the size of its gallery
space, in addition to an in-house café and research library. “It was important to create a place that fosters a sense of community and encourages dialogue
between the public and the art on display,” notes Bayan, who commissioned a group of emerging Bahraini artists to create site specific installations
throughout the neighbourhood, in order “to bring more people into contact with Bahraini artists in their daily lives.”
AL BAREH - “Yusuf” exhibition by Iraqi artist Nazar Yahya
LA FONTAINE

3. 9 0 D O S S I E R K A L I M AT
Far from overlooking the current malaise
gripping the country, Al Riwaq’s current show
examines the social, political, and economic
history of the capital Manama. Viewed through
the prism of art installations that employ video,
historic photographs and old documents; the
exhibit pieces together the history of a cos-
mopolitan society going through much soul
searching. One intriguing piece on display is
a map of the capital stitched together with
swatches of traditional fabric, each representing
a neighbourhood within the city.
To hear Bayan Kanoo speak is to get a
crash course in art history with an Arab slant.
“During the 1970s, when the first oil boom was
driving major economic and social transforma-
tions in the Gulf, many governments, in par-
ticular Kuwait and Iraq, were funding the arts
extensively. It was a period of liberalism that
produced a number of noted visual artists, play-
wrights and performance artists. Today, the arts
receive little funding unless it’s proven to have a
direct financial benefit,” explained Bayan, who
recently participated in a panel discussion in
London on artist residencies.
Al Riwaq is something of a rarity in
the Gulf for offering two artist-in-residency
programmes, and education continues to play a
key role in her mission for the gallery. “As a com-
munity we need to find ways to not only support
artists creating critical and thought-
provoking work, but also increase an
appreciation for the arts amongst the
general public,” explains Bayan, whose
gallery also organises film screenings,
workshops and lectures.
Hayfa Al Jishi, the Managing
Director and Principal Curator at the
Al Bareh Art Gallery, also believes the
arts can play a role in examining issues
affecting the region. In March, the
gallery hosted a screening of “Gouli
Ya Helow,” by Bahraini filmmaker Mo-
hammed Janahi, which explores the
relationship between a group
of affluent students and a
blind musician who must
support his poverty-stricken
family, while April saw the
launch of In the Shadow of
her Voice, a book by Saudi
author Muna Al Yousif on
the role of women in Saudi
society.
Since establishing
Al Bareh over fifteen years
ago, Hayfa has converted two adjoin-
ing houses into a “living space” for
culture on the island. In addition
to exhibitions featuring the work of
contemporary artists from across the
region, Dar Al Bareh is also home to a
library, café and a diverse programme
of workshops, panel discussions and
art residencies.
After graduating from McGill University
in Montreal, Canada with a degree in Electrical
Engineering, she became a manager for Reuters
in the Gulf, a portfolio manager for a Japanese
bank and a financial controller for a branding
agency. These diverse experiences have also
included stints living in Montreal and London. A
few years after her return to Bahrain, she opened
Dar Al Bareh with the intention of transforming
Bahrain’s art scene. “In my experience Arab art-
ists are often underappreciated and as a result
there are many talents that go undiscovered.
I want to try and change that by creating a
platform for them,” explains Hayfa.
Although she is committed to promot-
ing the work of established and emerging Arab
artists in Bahrain, she also has her eye on the
international art scene. “The art market has
become increasingly global today,” she notes.
“We’ve participated in Art Dubai and we are even
considering opening a space there to tap into the
city’s vibrant art scene,” continues Hayfa, who in
2010 became the first gallery in Bahrain to show
at the Zoom Contemporary Art Fair in Miami.
Beyond Manama’s tall skyscrapers lies another hidden cultural
gem in the area’s Al-Awadiya neighbourhood. It is there that one will
find a cluster of 19th
century merchants’ homes that have survived the
developers’ wrecking ball. The La Fontaine Centre of Contemporary Art is
housed in one such mansion.
Beyond the building’s thick façade, boasting wind-towers and
meshrabiya-clad windows, lies a warren of spaces housing an art gallery,
a luxurious spa, and an award-wining organic restaurant. Where Al Riwaq
has positioned itself as a not-for-profit, Fatima Alireza was intent on
establishing a for-profit arts organisation.
Although she’s passionate about sharing art and culture with the
widest possible audience, Alireza explains that she also has to be pragmatic
when it comes to generating funds to sustain La Fontaine. Now over 150
years old, the house itself has been through several metamorphoses that
have mirrored Bahrain’s own cultural and social transformation in the 20th
and 21st
centuries.
Built in the early part of the 19th
Century by Alireza’s grandfather,
an established pearl merchant, the two-storey family residence was even-
tually abandoned in the 1950s, when prominent families began moving
into modern villas. In the following decades it would serve as a school,
restaurant and the home of a Texas oilman. While vacationing in Bahrain
in 1996, the French designer/artist Jean Marc Sinan stumbled upon the
Alireza mansion along Hoora Avenue and decided to restore it.
While researching her late father Yousif Akbar Alireza in 1999,
Fatima heard that his house was being restored. Inspired by Sinan’s work,
she decided to collaborate with him on the creation of a cultural centre.
Taking three years to complete, La Fontaine finally opened its doors on
May 28, 2002. The result is a series of earthy and sophisticated interiors
that wrap around courtyards with gurgling fountains. The thick walls have
been plastered in traditional gypsum, while warm wood accents and sleek
light fixtures give the spaces a contemporary edge.
Since its inception, Fatima Alireza has managed to lure priceless
collections of historic artefacts as well as the work of cutting-edge artists,
photographers and designers. Past exhibits have included “The Doors to
Yemen: 3,000 Years of Art and Civilisation,” as well as a retrospective of
Iraqi/Dutch painter Nedim Kulfi’s work.
An avid traveller, Alireza meets many of her artists at biennales in
London and Vienna. “When I first started approaching artists about show-
ing at La Fontaine, many of them didn’t even know where Bahrain was on
the map, and they were often too sceptical to even consider exhibiting
there,” she recalls. “But when they saw the calibre of exhibits I was putting
on with no outside support, I quickly gained credibility in their eyes,”
says Fatima, whose most recent exhibit featured the work of Dallas-based
Pakistani artist Simeen Farhat.
In addition to exhibitions, La Fontaine also offers an extensive
programme of outdoor performances and concerts during Bahrain’s con-
siderably cooler months. These have included a mesmerising performance
by a group of Twirling Dervishes from Istanbul. While in an adjoining
courtyard, Fellini’s La Dolce Vita was screened not far from La Fontaine’s
monumental fountain.
“Art can serve a critical role in bringing people together in the 21st
century, and it was important to create a space where we could experience
different arts and cultures,” explains Fatima, who together with her peers
is carving out a place for Bahrain on the world’s cultural map.
LA FONTAINE - Exhibition of
Pakistani artist Simeen Farhat
Café at Al Riwaq Art Space
AL RIWAQ - An artist’s mural in Adliya