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

  • The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Socio-economic impact and humanitarian aidShow video

    The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Socio-economic impact and humanitarian aid

    Casa Árabe and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with the cooperation of Acción contra el Hambre (Action against Hunger) and Save the Children, have organized a round table discussion titled “The Regional Dimension of the Syrian Refugee Crisis (I): Socio-economic impact and humanitarian aid.” The objective was to analyze and make evident the regional dimension of the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian conflict, as well as the socio-economic impact it is having on the neighboring countries. It included interventions by Michael Kingsley-Nyinah, director of the UNRWA office in Syria; Jean-Raphäel Poitou, geographic director for the Middle East at Acción contra el Hambre (Action against Hunger); David del Campo, director of International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid at Save the Children, and a representative of Doctors Without Borders (pending confirmation). The debate was moderated by the journalist Carla Fibla. More information: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/the-syrian-refugee-crisis-socio-economic-impact-and-humanitarian-aid
    Published at 54 11,,, 15 2015
  • Geopolitics and Arab Societies: Keys to upheavalShow video

    Geopolitics and Arab Societies: Keys to upheaval

    On the occasion of the presentation of the books “Islamic State: Geopolitics of chaos” and “What Is Left of the Arab Uprisings?: Activists, changes and essentials,” three journalists analyzed the current situation. The round table included talks by Reem Khalifa, an activist and founder of the newspaper Al Wasat in Bahrain; Javier Martín, delegate of the Efe Press Agency in North Africa and author de “Estado Islámico: Geopolítica del caos” (“Islamic State: Geopolitics of chaos”) and David Perejil, a journalist and the editor of “¿Qué queda de las revueltas árabes?: Activistas, cambios y claves” (“What Is Left of the Arab Uprisings?: Activists, changes and essentials”). The event was presented by Karim Hauser, who is responsible for the Governance Area at Casa Árabe. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/geopolitics-and-arab-societies-keys-to-today’s-upheaval
    Published at 05 22,,, 15 2015
  • The sacred art of Kufic calligraphy: an aesthetic reflectionShow video

    The sacred art of Kufic calligraphy: an aesthetic reflection

    Valérie González, an expert on Islamic visual culture, gave this conference in Casa Árabe. One of the most important forms of artistic expression in Islam is Kufic calligraphy. It was precisely in this form of writing that God’s word in the Qur’an was taken down with devotion at the beginnings of Islam’s history. Valérie González analyzed the role played by writing and calligraphy, and more specifically Kufic writing, as artistic paradigms in Islamic logocentrism at this conference. She examined masterpieces of Kufic calligraphy used in different media, such as books, architecture and objects created by artists, to show how the sacred human act of setting down Divine Revelation in writing gave rise to a sublimating visualization that transcended beyond just religious art. A special emphasis was placed on the Samanid ceramics of the tenth and eleventh centuries, whose wonderful calligraphic decoration blurs the border between the ordinary and the extraordinary, so deeply rooted within the West’s aesthetic consciousness. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/the-sacred-art-of-kufic-calligraphy-an-aesthetic-reflection
    Published at 27 22,,, 15 2015
  • #ArabSpring four years later. Session 4Show video

    #ArabSpring four years later. Session 4

    Seminar on “Citizen entrepreneurship, political participation and artistic expression among Arab youths.” SESSION 4: ARTISTIC EXPRESSION AND CULTURAL MANIFESTATIONS “Creativity and spaces for freedom.” Malu Halasa, writer and editor of the book “Syria Speaks” “The walls speak: art in the streets.” Anahi Alviso, a researcher at the Centre Français d’Archéologie et de Sciences Sociales de Sanaa (CEFAS) “People’s theater and collective memory.” Jaouad Essounani, director of the company Dabateatr Moderated by: Nuria Medina, Coordinator of Culture and New Media, Casa Árabe More information: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/arabspring-cuatro-anos-despues
    Published at 06 17,,, 15 2015
  • #ArabSpring four years later. Session 3Show video

    #ArabSpring four years later. Session 3

    Seminar on “Citizen entrepreneurship, political participation and artistic expression among Arab youths.” SESSION 3: MOVEMENTS AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS “The importance of discontent: Arab faces and perceptions of injustice.” Middle East Center, associate researcher, Carnegie-Middle East Center “Activism and human rights.” Mohammed al Maskati, consultant and defender of Human Rights, The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights “Mental health in countries affected by conflicts.” Sally Toma, psychologist, therapist and activist. Kazeboon Moderated by: Leila Nachawati, a professor of Communication at the Universidad Carlos III and co-founder of the portal Syria Untold. More information: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/arabspring-cuatro-anos-despues
    Published at 04 17,,, 15 2015