1. Conferences and debates

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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

Talk with the Emirati director Nujoom Alghanem (ARABIC)

06/02/2017. Nujoom Alghamen met with the public on the occasion of this screening of her documentary "Nearby Sky" (Samma Qarribah)(United Arab Emirates, 2014, 95 min.). The screening was part of the film series "New filmmakers from the United Arab Emirates", curated by Alejandra Val Cubero and organized by Casa Árabe, which introduces a new generation of directors who have come onto the scene over the last decade. About "Nearby Sky" (Samma Qarribah)(United Arab Emirates, 2014, 95 min.). Fatima Alhameli was the first Emirati women who owns camels to get her camel signed up for a contest and take part in camel auctions in the United Arab Emirates. Despite all the difficulties and challenges encountered when attempting to demonstrate that she could compete in one of the most male-dominated fields, Fatima’s desire to win a race or contest remains the only way to make up for her failures and overcome them. Fatima’s story is reflected in a unique way in this film, which shows the path she has chosen and the challenges she has faced both socially and personally. Right when Fatima begins to lose hope, an unexpected reward comes into her life. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/new-filmmakers-from-the-united-arab-emirates

Published at 07 15,,, 17 2017
The act of collecting through the eyes of Mohsen Yammine (ARABIC)

06-01-2017. Conversation between the collector, Mohsen Yammine, and the director of the Arab Image Foundation of Beirut Marc Mouarkech. This talk was held on the occasion of the inauguration of the exhibition “An Uncanny Impulse: The Mohsen Yammine Collection at the Arab Image Foundation of Beirut” as part of the PHotoEspaña festival. The opening event for the exhibition took place in the form of a conversation with both guests on the art of collecting and its relationship with photography. More specifically, they discussed how the context of the war in Lebanon and the country’s contemporary history have been closely linked to the work by this collector in particular. Similarly, we got to take a closer look at the work performed by the Arab Image Foundation, which, over its twenty years in existence, has been an essential institution for preserving the visual memory of the Middle East. Throughout all these years, indispensable names in the region’s photography, including Fouad El Khoury, Akram Zaatari, Samer Mohdad and Zeina Arida have undertaken a series of research projects along with Mohsen Yammine, delving even further into this unique private collection. The collector’s viewpoint and decisions have therefore been combined with those of the Foundation members throughout these years to select and build a collection that would be added, on loan, to the collection of the Arab Image Foundation. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/the-act-of-collecting-through-the-eyes-of-mohsen-yammine

Published at 53 15,,, 17 2017
Testimonies by victims of ethnic and religious violence in Iraq (ARABIC)

05-23-2017: Casa Árabe hosted this conference, with testimonies given by the Bishop of Kirkuk, the Archbishop of Basra, Archbishop of Aleppo, a Member of the Iraqi Parliament and artist Naseer Shamma. The human rights situation faced by minorities in Iraq remains alarming in political, civic and cultural terms. Ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq, as well as other vulnerable populations, continue to deal with the threats of violence, discrimination, exclusion and the denial of their property rights. The consequences are a deterioration in social cohesion and national unity, and an inability to overcome sectarian violence. Instead of being contained, this pandemic has actually expanded to other countries like Syria and Egypt. Because of the threats and violence based on religious and ethnic identities, the members of minority communities are still fleeing from their countries in search of safety and protection. This series of testimonies will be given as part of the conference on ethnic and religious violence organized by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation on May 24, 2017. Participating in the event were the Bishop of Kirkuk, Yousif Mirkis; the Archbishop of Basra, Habib Al Nawfali; Yonadam Kanna, Member of the Iraqi Parliament and a member of the Syrian Christian community, Jean Clément Jeanbart, Archbishop of Aleppo and administrator of the Melkite Greek Church; and Naseer Shamma, a UNESCO Peace Ambassador. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/testimonies-by-victims-of-ethnic-and-religious-violence-in-iraq

Published at 19 09,,, 17 2017
Iraq Today: Prospects for peace and stability (ARABIC)

05-25-2017:The Embassy of Iraq in Spain and Casa Árabe organized this conference by Iraq’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Al Jaaffary. The event was presented by Pedro Villena, the General Director of Casa Árabe. Iraq is an important focal point for stability in the Middle East. In the words of veteran journalist Patrick Cockburn, it is in Iraq where “the Middle East’s tectonic plates run into each other.” Since the First Gulf War held such a prominent place in the international news, and more specifically since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, with ithe reconstruction of Iraq’s institutions by one government after the other and the uprise of organized extremism, the country has become a point of reference for evaluating advancements and setbacks in the region. The country’s infrastructure has been recovering in some regions, as society remains divided by insecurity and mistrust. Though Daesh is losing the war militarily, Iraq faces many challenges in the near future: defeating sectarianism to restore the country’s social fabric, improving governance and creating jobs to deter recruitment into militias, and reducing the high levels of corruption, as well as others. Iraq’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Al Jaafari, will be discussing the prospects for peace and stability in his country at Casa Árabe. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/iraq-today-prospects-for-peace-and-stability

Published at 17 09,,, 17 2017
(9) Media, revolution and power (ARABIC)

International Forum "A decade of transformations in the Arab world". 04/25/2017 The information and culture revolution "Media, revolution and power". Bouziane Ahmed Khodja, journalist at RTVE; Waad el Kateab, syrian jorunalist and producer. Moderated by: Karim Hauser, Casa Árabe.

Published at 10 29,,, 17 2017