Reinterpreting history and memory: Contemporary art of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Key information
- Date
- to
- Time
-
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Venue
- Brunei Gallery, SOAS
- Room
- Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre (BGLT)
- Event type
- Conference & Event highlights
About this event
This British Academy international conference will explore how history and memory is reflected through contemporary art in the MENA region, and art’s association with broader social and intellectual practices.
It will examine the possibility of challenging the present through the reinterpretation of history, exploring the enduring and collective impact of recent traumatic memories. The focus will be on art closely linked with activism, both within the region and among the global diaspora, examining the strategies used by artists to critically reimagine both the distant and recent past; a past that no longer exists but continues to haunt the present.
The conference also explores how these artworks challenge and address current affairs in the context of historical narratives. By bringing together academics and professionals from diverse disciplines, the conference will provide an interdisciplinary framework for studying contemporary art, shedding light on the connection between art discourse, politics, and culture in the MENA region today.
Image: Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige - From the Wonder Beirut The Story of a Pyromaniac Photographer series, 1997-2006 | Courtesy of the artists.
Programme
The conference programme and speaker abstracts and biographies are available to download:
- Conference programme (PDF, 157KB)
- Paper abstracts and speaker biographies (PDF, 253KB)
Speakers
Speaker | Institution |
---|---|
Dr Charlotte Bank | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
Dr Isabelle de le Court | Independent scholar |
Professor Hamid Dabashi | Columbia University |
Professor Iftikhar Dadi | Cornell University |
Dr Hamid Keshmirshekan | SOAS |
Vasif Kortun | Research & Curatorial Advisor, Mathaf, Doha |
Driss Ksikes | HEM Research Center, LCI Education, Rabat |
Professor Siobhán M Shilton | University of Bristol |
Dr Zeina Maasri | University of Bristol |
Serubiri Moses | Hunter College, CUNY |
Dr Ismail Nashef | Doha Institute for Graduate Studies |
Professor Silvia Naef | University of Geneva |
Dr Sarah Rogers | Middlebury College |
Dr Nada Shabout | University of North Texas |
Dr Wendy Shaw | Independent scholar |
Professor Sarah Wilson | The Courtauld Institute of Art |
Convener
Registration
- General Admission: £25
- Concessions: £10
Please purchase your tickets via Eventbrite.