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Inaugural Pan-Arab exhibition features 17 artists
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Public Opening on September 14, 2019; ongoing public programming includes artist talks and film screenings
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to announce the launch of the MEI Art Gallery on September 14, 2019. Located near Dupont Circle, the new non-commercial space is the only gallery in the nation’s capital dedicated to showcasing contemporary art from the Middle East. With a focus that spans from Morocco to Afghanistan, the gallery aims to support Middle Eastern artists and foster cross cultural dialogue.
“We want to provide a platform for the Middle East’s leading and emerging artists to engage with US audiences and the local DC community,” said Kate Seelye, vice president for arts and culture at MEI. “With thoughtfully curated and accessible exhibitions, free talks and film screenings, it’s a welcoming place for people to discover a new perspective on the region and to celebrate its rich culture.”
The inaugural exhibit, Arabicity | Ourouba, spans two decades of contemporary art from the Arab world, curated by renowned London-based curator Rose Issa. The show, which runs through November 22, features seventeen leading artists who resist stereotyping, challenge the perceived confines of their identity, and reshape the parameters of their artistic traditions.
Across various media, from painting and sculpture to installation and video, the artists draw upon wide ranging influences, such as pop culture, folk art, sufi poetry, everyday found objects and the global environmental movement. Together the works in the exhibition reveal the potential of art to both explore personal, national, regional and international realities and to transform subjective narratives into universal ones. Featured artists include Adel Abidin, Chant Avedissian, Ayman Baalbaki, Said Baalbaki, Khaled Barakeh, Anas AlBraehe, Tagreed Darghouth, Hassan Hajjaj, Fathi Hassan, Susan Hefuna, Abdul Rahman Katanani, Youssef Nabil, Mahmoud Obaidi, Khalil Rabbah, Raeda Saadeh, Batoul S’Himi and Sharif Waked.
“The exhibition touches on themes of memory, identity, war, reconstruction, displacement, and a host of other issues affecting the region at this critical time with sensitivity, depth, beauty, and even humor,” said Lyne Sneige, MEI’s director of arts and culture. “The diverse works on view convey not only the challenges and problems facing the region, but also the incredible humanity, richness, and resilience of its artists and people.”
The gallery opens to the public on Saturday, September 14 from 7pm-12am, in coordination with the DC-wide art festival, Art All Night. The event will feature Middle Eastern-style dabke dancers, DC-based DJ Muath spinning rai, chobi and other Arabic dance beats, a pop-up hosted by Adams Morgan bar The Green Zone, and an on-site calligrapher who will create unique mini-artworks for guests in real-time.
MEI will also hold an invitation-only VIP opening the night before on September 13, at which curator Rose Issa will be joined by participating artist Mahmud Obaidi for a conversation with moderator and MEI non-resident scholar and arts expert, Sultan Al Qassemi, about the contemporary Arab art scene. The evening marks the global launch of Issa’s new book, Arabicity, co-edited with Juliet Cestar and published by Saqi Books London. Including essays by the economist and historian Georges Corm, curator Michket Krifa and artist Etel Adnan, the book reflects on four decades of contemporary Arab art and features over 200 works by more than 35 artists. A signing will follow the talk.
On Friday, October 25, MEI will host the first panel discussion in a series of events focused on engaging the local DC community with artists from the Arab world. The discussion will focus on cultural production in the Middle East and today’s creative landscape in light of the region’s evolving geopolitical realities and the emergence of new power centers in the arts. It will feature Laila Hourani, Ford Foundation, Cairo; Manal Ataya, director general of the Sharjah Museums Authority and Syrian artist, Khaled Barakeh, whose work is featured in Arabicity | Ourouba. Documentary film screenings this fall will include Ghost Hunting (Dir. Raed Andoni, 2017, 94 min, Palestine) on Wednesday, October 16 and For Sama (Dir. Waad al-Kateab, 2019, 95 min, Syria) on Friday, November 8.
The gallery is a key addition to the newly renovated Middle East Institute, which has promoted understanding between the people of the Middle East and the United States since 1946. The MEI Art Gallery complements a robust policy program and an educational center featuring language learning, regional studies and a library of 20,000 volumes on the Middle East.
Located at 1763 N Street NW, Washington, D.C., the MEI Art Gallery will be open to the public on weekdays from 10am to 5pm and will host up to five shows each year.
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For more information visit: www.mei.edu/arts-culture
Join the conversation at @meiartsculture on Twitter and @middleeastinst on Instagram with the hashtags #MEIart #Arabicity #MEIartistofthemonth
To register, request interviews, or receive press images, please contact Katrina Weber Ashour at katrina@krwaconsulting.com
For further information, please contact Donald Fantozzi, MEI media relations manager, at dfantozzi@mei.edu or 202-785-1141 ext. 241.
Press Enquiries
Katrina Weber Ashour | katrina@krwaconsulting.com | +19176018618
About the Middle East Institute
Founded in 1946, the Middle East Institute (MEI) is the oldest Washington-based institution dedicated solely to the study of the Middle East. It is a non-partisan think tank providing expert policy analysis, educational and professional development services, and a hub for engaging with the region's arts and culture. Led by a mission to increase knowledge of the Middle East among citizens of the United States and to promote a better understanding between the people of these two regions, MEI encompasses a Policy Center, a source for non-partisan expert analysis seeking solutions to the region’s most challenging issues; an Education Center, offering classes, academic resources, and professional development services to foster regional understanding; and an Arts & Culture Center, D.C.’s only gallery dedicated to contemporary and modern art from the Middle East.
The Middle East Institute’s Arts and Culture Program facilitates cross-cultural understanding by promoting the work of Middle Eastern artists, hosting them in conversation, and connecting them with American counterparts. Current and future programming includes conversations and panels with Arab artists; screenings films, documentaries, and videos followed by discussions and analysis; art exhibitions and installations highlighting contemporary Arab artists; and networking events connecting artists and new audiences aimed at building people-to-people ties and increasing understanding of the region. The newly launched MEI Art Gallery will exhibit socially engaged art from the Middle East and serve as a platform for diverse communities to begin a cross cultural dialogue around the power of the arts to transcend difference and to drive social change globally.