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WRITING
INTHISISSUE
Benjamin Delpon de Vaux is
Marketing and Communications
Manager at Loft Art Gallery in
Casablanca and pens this issue’s
Showcase (page 192) about a
1963 painting by Moroccan artist
Mohammed Melehi. After studying
business in France, de Vaux
returned to Morocco, where he
had grown up. With an inclination
towards photography aand the
visual arts, he joined Myriem and
Yasmine Berrada, directors of Loft
Art Gallery to foster his interest in
North African culture, particularly
that of Morocco. He was also
involved in the recent exhibition Le
Maroc Contemporain at the Institut
du Monde Arabe in Paris.
Dubai-based writer Rachel Bennett
profiles Iranian artist Abbas
Akhavan on page 178. Since 2010,
she has written extensively on
art and design in London and the
Middle East and her writings have
appeared in publications including
Wallpaper* online, and FADwebsite.
Having completed a degree in
English Language and Literature
from the University of Oxford,
she worked as a communications
strategist and consultant to clients
in the lifestyle industry, including
100% Design, David Collins Studio,
GraphicDesign& as well as real
estate developers and international
hotel companies. She currently
works at the Dubai Community
Theatre & Arts Centre and
maintains her blog
www.thebeattokeep.com
Eda Kehale Argun writes this
issues Canvas Destinations guide
on Istanbul. She studied Economics
and Art Theory and Practice at
Northwestern University and
has held various positions in
finance, strategy and marketing at
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Pfizer
and Habitat. Since 2010, Argun has
been working as Senior Consultant
to Christie’s in Turkey. She currently
sits on the advisory board of
ArtInternational Istanbul and is
an ambassador toYoung Modern,
Istanbul Modern’s young collectors
programme. She is also a 2015 jury
member for Mamut Art Project, an
art fair in Istanbul that focuses on
providing young artists with the
opportunity to showcase their work to
young and established collectors alike.
Erin Joyce meets Taymour Grahne,
founder of his eponymous New York
space for a profile on page 154. An
art critic and independent curator,
Joyce has held editorial positions at
GOOD Magazine, ULTRA:EXTRA and
Aslan Media Inc. She has also profiled
artists such as Nick Cave, Berndaut
Smilde, Adel Abidin, Wafaa Bilal and
Ala Ebtekar and served as a consultant
for South by Southwest (SXSW). Joyce
has contributed to publications such as
Hyperallergic, Salon, Art Wednesday, SHFT
and the Modern Art Iraq Archive. She
holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History
from the University of North Texas, a
diploma in Contemporary Art from the
Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London and
a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from
Johns Hopkins University.
Also writing in this issue areVenetia Porter and Ayla JeanYackley.
Joobin Bekhrad reviews Parviz
Tanavoli’s first museum show in
the USA on page 114. Founder
and Editor of REORIENT Magazine,
which focuses on Contemporary
art and culture from the Middle
East, Bekhrad has also contributed
to the Cairo Review of Global
Affairs, Encyclopaedia Iranica and
Songlines, among others, and
has written about artists such
as Ziad Doueiri, Mohammad
Rasoulof, Joana Hadjithomas
and Khalil Joreige. He obtained
a BBA in Marketing and Strategic
Management from York University
and focuses on visual art, literature,
music, film, as well as themes of
rock and roll and Orientalism in
his writings. Currently based in
Toronto, Bekhrad is the author of a
new translation of Omar Khayyam’s
poems from Persian into English.