1. Conferences and debates

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Aula Árabe 3.16. Post-Petroleum Museum and soft power, between crisis and “second life” Play

Aula Árabe 3.16. Post-Petroleum Museum and soft power, between crisis and “second life”

Published at 59 22,,, 22 2022
On Monday 28 March, the sixteenth conference of the Aula Árabe Universitaria programme will take place in Madrid, given by the art curator Morad Montazami. The session will also be available on Casa Árabe's Youtube channel in Spanish and English. After the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies, the National Museum of Iraq was looted in 2003. In the ensuing chaos, over fifteen thousand items were stolen from Baghdad's collections of ancient artefacts, not even counting pieces pilfered from archaeological sites in the vicinity. 16 years after the theft, more than half the loot has since been tracked down, recovered and returned to the museum's collection, where the items can now be viewed by the Iraqi public. The first photographs of the damage show Iraq's pre-Islamic cosmopolitan heritage (Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian etc.) reduced to dust and ashes. In enlightening contrast, the “digitized” version of Mesopotamia and pre-Islamic arts at the Louvre Abu Dhabi represents a reenacting mirror of that archaeological heritage. Crossing the looks of archaeologists, 3D engineers, as well as the customs agents who contributed in recovering the objects, how can we account for soft power museums and nomadic collections in this critical context ? The curator, editor and art historian Morad Montazami will be giving this conference, organised by Casa Árabe in collaboration with the Degree in History of Art and the Master's Degree in History of Spanish Art, UCM. Presented by Susana Calvo, lecturer in History of Art at the university. Moderated by Nuria Medina, Casa Árabe's Cultural Programmes Coordinator. Morad Montazami is an art historian, a publisher and a curator. As director of the platform Zamân Books & Curating, he is committed to transnational studies of Arab, Asian and African modernities. He published several essays on artists such as Zineb Sedira, Walid Raad, Latif al-Ani, Bahman Mohassess, Michael Rakowitz, Éric Baudelaire... He was a curator for Bagdad Mon Amour, Institut des cultures d’Islam, Paris, 2018; New Waves: Mohamed Melehi and the Casablanca Art School, The Mosaic Rooms, London; MACAAL, Marrakech; Alserkal Foundation, Dubai, 2019-2020; Monaco-Alexandria. The Great Detour. World-Capitals and Cosmopolitan Surrealism, Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, 2022. Photo: Joanne Farchakh-Bajjaly, National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad: the looted museum, 2003. Copyright JFB Further information: https://en.casaarabe.es/event/post-petroleum-museum-and-soft-power-between-crisis-and-“second-life”-from-the-iraqi-national-museum-of-baghdad-to-the-louvre-abu-dhabi Credits for the images shown in the presentation: Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeckin collaboration withMedia Farzin.Detailof Alexander Calder’sperformingmobile Orange Fish (1946) atthe TehranMuseum of ContemporaryArt, 2008. Fromthe series‘Cultural Diplomacy: An Art WeNeglect’ (detail), 2007–09. Photo:Ehsan Behmanesh.CourtesyofGalerie Martin Janda, Vienna Collection Petite Planète, éd. Seuil, numéro Iran, 1957 Design graphique et concept de Chris Marker M. Nakhai, Le Pétrole en Iran, éd. Félix, 1938 Anonymes, Faculté des Beaux-arts de l’Université de Téhéran occupé par les groupes étudiants marxistes, 1970-1980 modernité Musée de la Défense sacrée, Téhéran, 2014, Photo Sajed Avini Musée de la Défense sacrée, Téhéran, 2014, Photo Sajed Avini Joanne Farchakh-Bajjaly, Pillages du Musée de Bagdad, 2003 Catalogue du Musée de Bagdad, Département des antiquités, 1975-1976 Catalogue du Musée de Bagdad, Département des antiquités, 1975-1976 (salle centrale) LostTreasuresfromIraq database, Universityof Chicago, Oriental Institute, 2003-2008 Vues d’exposition Bagdad mon amour, Institut des cultures d’Islam, Paris, 2018 LatifAl Ani (Irak), HatjeCantz, 2017 LatifAl Ani, publié dans Iraq Petroleum, années 1970 LatifAl Ani (Irak), HatjeCantz, 2017 Mohamed Melehi, Biennale de Bagdad, 1974 JilaDejam, TehranMuseum of ContemporaryArt, Iran, 1977-1979 Louvre Abu Dhabi, Emirats Arabes Unis, 2017- Manifestation contrele mal logementdevantle muséedu Louvre, Paris, 2019

ALL VIDEOS IN THIS CATEGORY

  • Arab and African Migration Towards the EU: Seeking a social focus. Panel 3 + Closure (FRENCH)Show video

    Arab and African Migration Towards the EU: Seeking a social focus. Panel 3 + Closure (FRENCH)

    2017.07.11. Casa Árabe and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Tunisia and Madrid, in coordination with the Labor Union Network of Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Migrations (RSMMS), organized this seminar, which analyzed the social facet of Arab and African migration towards the EU. With the participation of the main social role-players and institutions involved in fighting for labor dignity and dealing with migrations, the seminar seeks to provide a balanced, constructive, realistic analysis of this topic. Panel 3: Migrations in the EU: Current state of affairs With the cooperation of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) + European and African labor union organizations. Closure: Ebert Foundation in Tunisia More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/arab-and-african-migration-towards-the-eu-seeking-a-social-focus
    Published at 58 25,,, 18 2018
  • Arab and African Migration Towards the EU: Seeking a social focus. Panel 2 (FRENCH)Show video

    Arab and African Migration Towards the EU: Seeking a social focus. Panel 2 (FRENCH)

    2017.07.11. Casa Árabe and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Tunisia and Madrid, in coordination with the Labor Union Network of Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Migrations (RSMMS), organized this seminar, which analyzed the social facet of Arab and African migration towards the EU. With the participation of the main social role-players and institutions involved in fighting for labor dignity and dealing with migrations, the seminar seeks to provide a balanced, constructive, realistic analysis of this topic. Panel 2: Migrations within a global context. With the cooperation of the Office in Spain of the International Organization of Migrations (IOM) + European and African labor union organizations. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/arab-and-african-migration-towards-the-eu-seeking-a-social-focus
    Published at 57 25,,, 18 2018
  • Arab and African Migration Towards the EU: Seeking a social focus. Opening + Panel 1 (FRENCH)Show video

    Arab and African Migration Towards the EU: Seeking a social focus. Opening + Panel 1 (FRENCH)

    2017.07.11. Casa Árabe and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Tunisia and Madrid, in coordination with the Labor Union Network of Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Migrations (RSMMS), organized this seminar, which analyzed the social facet of Arab and African migration towards the EU. With the participation of the main social role-players and institutions involved in fighting for labor dignity and dealing with migrations, the seminar seeks to provide a balanced, constructive, realistic analysis of this topic. Opening session Greetings and interventions by the General Director of Casa Árabe and Secretaries General of the labor union organizations of Spain. Panel 1: The fight for labor dignity: forced labor. With the cooperation of the Office of the International Labor Organization in Spain (ILO) + European and African labor union organizations. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/arab-and-african-migration-towards-the-eu-seeking-a-social-focus
    Published at 56 25,,, 18 2018
  • Human Rights Council: Taking stock and identifying challenges for 2018-2020Show video

    Human Rights Council: Taking stock and identifying challenges for 2018-2020

    2017.11.12. Casa Árabe and the Human Rights Office of Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation organized this conference as part of the 69th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The event was presented by Pedro Martínez-Avial, the General Director of Casa Árabe and moderated by Adela Díaz, Director of the Office of Human Rights, with speeches by Juan Ignacio Morro, the United Nations Director General of Human Rights; Shalva Tsiskarashvili, Vice-President of the Human Rights Council; Walid Doudech, the Permanent Representative Ambassador of Tunisia to the United Nations Office in Geneva, and Esteban Beltrán, director of the Spanish section of Amnesty International. As occurs each year, on December 10 we celebrate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation is focusing this year’s celebration on the Human Rights Council. Last October 16, Spain was chosen to become a member of this main body for defending and promoting Human Rights around the world, for the time period of 2018-2020. Becoming a member of the Human Rights Council can be seen as an acknowledgment of a State’s commitment in this arena and also provides an opportunity to contribute actively to the Council’s development and work. The round table discussion will attempt to take stock of events and foresee the main challenges to be faced by the Council looking ahead to the upcoming years, from different perspectives: from that of a current member State, that of a future member State and that of the structure of the Council itself and civil society. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/human-rights-council-taking-stock-and-identifying-challenges-for-2018-2020
    Published at 21 13,,, 17 2017
  • The State of Qatar’s Policies on International Cooperation and Social Work (ARABIC)Show video

    The State of Qatar’s Policies on International Cooperation and Social Work (ARABIC)

    2017.23.11. The objective of this conference was to show the efforts made by Qatar’s government on international cooperation, the culture of peace and the rejection of violence. The event was presented by the General Director of Casa Árabe, Pedro Martínez-Avial, and included interventions by Tariq Al-Ansari, an ambassador and the Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Amal Al-Mannai, CEO of the Qatar Foundation for Social Work. This conference is an attempt to demonstrate the efforts made by the State of Qatar in the field of international cooperation as an important part of its foreign policy, to pass the culture of peace on amongst today’s generations and prepare responsible leaders for the future on dialogue and the rejection of violence. Therefore, the leaders of the State of Qatar have attempted to play an active role in strengthening their position in the political, development and social arenas. These efforts are framed within the strategy of international cooperation led by Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of the National Vision for Qatar of 2030 which seeks to promote a global association for the creation of safe, peaceful societies headed by institutions which are able to protect stability and serve the different parties in society, with the goal of achieving the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals based on the principles agreed to in the Millennium Declaration, along with the State of Qatar’s social responsibility in terms of humanitarian aid. The scope of action of Qatar’s Foundation for Social Work is social work at the local, regional and international levels. To do so, it has designed policies and strategies for social action, thereby allowing it to consolidate prior achievements, create effective alliances, strengthen the bonds of cooperation and build bridges for coordination with the proper governmental entities, as well as with the most important public and private institutions worldwide, because it wishes to become a role model in the field of social work. This foundation is of a consultative nature on the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/the-state-of-qatar’s-policies-on-international-cooperation-and-social-work
    Published at 11 12,,, 17 2017

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