The biggest biannual photography event in the USA is FotoFest. It is the birthplace of photographic careers; Just ask my good friend Thomas Kellner. But this year its all about Arab Photography, Video and Art but mostly its about and breaking down all our western assumptions about the Middle East. They did a great job bringing in a busload of artists to exhibit their work all over Houston. Hats off to the the folks at FotoFest who do it better than just about any other arts organization when it comes to opening minds and hearts through the power of ART.
Artist: HASSAN HAJJAJ
FotoFest has commissioned German curator Karin Adrian von Roques as
the Lead Curator for the Biennial. Ms. von Roques is known for her work,
over the past 20 years, bringing contemporary Arab art to international
museums and galleries throughout the world. She is working with FotoFest
Co-Founder and Senior Curator Wendy Watriss to organize the 2014 Arab
exhibitions.
“Our focus on Arab art was not motivated by opportunism related to the Arab
world’s current prominence in the media, but rather by a genuine conviction
that the U.S. and Western audiences should have the opportunity to hear from
more voices in the region and see the Arab world in more nuanced ways,” says
Ms. Watriss. “Finding high quality art from around the globe that engages with
the issues of our world is what FotoFest does.”via FotoFest
Want to see more? Check out these Arab Galleries:
- http://www.thethirdline.com
- http://www.atelier21.ma/en/
- http://www.athrart.com/
- http://www.taymourgrahne.com/artists/hassan-hajjaj
FOTOFEST 2014 BIENNIAL ARAB ARTISTS
(alphabetized by last name with country of origin)
| Ebtisam AbdulAziz (UAE) Khalil Abdul Wahid (UAE) Ammar Al Beik (Syria) Manal Al Dowayan (Saudi Arabia) Shadia Alem (Saudi Arabia) Reem Al Faisal (Saudi Arabia) Sadik Alfraji (Iraq) Tarek Al-Ghossein (Palestine/Kuwait) Boushra Almutawakel (Yemen) Khalifa Al Obaidly (Qatar) Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Bin Ahmad Al-Thani (Qatar) Jowhara AlSaud (Saudi Arabia) Sama Alshaibi (Iraq) Karima Al Shomely (UAE) Sami Al-Turki (Saudi Arabia) Tammam Azzam (Syria) Lara Baladi (Egypt) Hicham Benohoud (Morocco) Ayman Yossri Daydban (Saudi Arabia) Shady El-Noshokaty (Egypt) Ayman El Semary (Egypt) Lalla Essaydi (Morocco) Mounir Fatmi (Morocco) Lamya Gargash (UAE) |
Abdulnasser Gharem (Saudi Arabia) Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (Lebanon) Khaled Hafez (Egypt) Hassan Hajjaj (Morocco) Rula Halawani (Palestine) Nermine Hammam (Egypt) Hazem Harb (Palestine) Hazem Taha Hussein (Egypt) Georges Fikry Ibrahim (Egypt) Noel Jabbour (Palestine) Ahmed Jadallah (Palestine) Mohamed Kanoo (Bahrain) Mohammed Kazem (UAE) Huda Lutfi (Egypt) Maha Malluh (Saudi Arabia) Ahmed Mater (Saudi Arabia) Hassan Meer (Oman) Samer Mohdad (Lebanon) Youssef Nabil (Egypt) Ayman Ramadan (Egypt) Steve Sabella (Palestine) Faisal Samra (Saudi Arabia) Wael Shawky (Egypt) Camille Zakharia (Lebanon) |
Contemporary Arab Art & Photography at FotoFest 2014
