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

  • Conference: "The Transition in Egypt After June 30th" by Ambassador Ayman ZaineldinShow video

    Conference: "The Transition in Egypt After June 30th" by Ambassador Ayman Zaineldin

    The Ambassador of Egypt in Spain, Ayman Zaineldin, analyses the Egyptian political transition that began in January of 2011, in light of the recent events which culminated on June 30, 2013. The event took place on Thursday, September 12, at 9:00 p.m. in the Casa Árabe Auditorium in Madrid (at Calle Alcalá, 62). Amb. Zaineldin offered a conference at which he reviewed what has taken place in his country since the so-called Arab Spring and up to the current moment. During his speech, Zaineldin was accompanied by Charles Powell, Director of the Elcano Royal Institute and Vice-President of the Spanish Transition Foundation, and Jesús Núñez Villaverde, the Co-Director of the Institute for Studies on Conflicts and Humanitarian Action (IECAH). For more information: http://en.casaarabe.es/news/the-transition-in-egypt-after-june-30th
    Published at 37 12,,, 14 2014
  • Conferencia sobre la intervención en Mali [V.O. inglés y castellano]Show video

    Conferencia sobre la intervención en Mali [V.O. inglés y castellano]

    Casa Árabe y FRIDE organizon, el martes 25 de junio en Madrid, la conferencia "Los desafíos para la seguridad en el Sahel y la trampa de la intervención en Mali", que impartió Anouar Boukhars, investigador visitante de FRIDE y del Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. La conferencia fue comentada por Jesús Nuñez, codirector del IECAH (Instituto de Estudios sobre Conflictos y Acción Humanitaria), y presentada por Eduardo López Busquets, director general de Casa Árabe y Barah Mikail, Investigador Senior de Oriente Medio y Norte de África en FRIDE. Más información: http://www.casaarabe.es/noticias-arabes/show/conferencia-sobre-la-intervencion-en-mali
    Published at 37 12,,, 14 2014
  • "The Role of Women in Twenty-first Century Egypt", by Nawal Moustafa [English/Spanish]Show video

    "The Role of Women in Twenty-first Century Egypt", by Nawal Moustafa [English/Spanish]

    On Thursday, September 19, journalist and entrepreneur Nawal Moustafa offered this conference in Madrid, at which she spoke about the situation of Egyptian women at the present time. Along with Moustafa, an Ashoka social entrepreneur and founder of the "Association for the Children of Imprisoned Women" in Egypt. Taking part in the event was Ana Sáenz de Miera, the Director of Ashoka Spain, and Karim Hauser, who is responsible for Casa Árabe's Governance program. As a result of what we now call the Arab Spring, women's participation in processes of change is a topic which has been debated from many different perspectives. Egypt, like Tunisia, is a country in which the role of women has been instrumental in terms of social mobilization. Given the current turmoil in the region, what is the outlook for Egyptian women's challenges and prospects in the twenty-first century? For more information: http://en.casaarabe.es/news/the-role-of-women-in-twenty-first-century-egypt
    Published at 37 12,,, 14 2014
  • Conference: "Collecting and Curating Islamic Art in the 21st Century", by Tim StanleyShow video

    Conference: "Collecting and Curating Islamic Art in the 21st Century", by Tim Stanley

    Tim Stanley, Senior Curator for the Middle East at the Victoria and Albert Museum, offered this conference on Thursday, November 7 at our headquarters in Madrid. Participating in the event were Santiago Saavedra, the director of Ediciones El Viso, Guillermo de Osma, an art historian and gallery owner, and Eduardo López Busquets, the General Director of Casa Árabe. For more information please visit: http://en.casaarabe.es/news/collecting-and-curating-islamic-art-in-the-21st-century
    Published at 36 12,,, 14 2014
  • 3/6 Foro ElcanoTerrorismo Global: sur de Europa [V.O español/inglés]Show video

    3/6 Foro ElcanoTerrorismo Global: sur de Europa [V.O español/inglés]

    18 de noviembre de 2013. 18:00 horas. Evolución de la amenaza y desafíos contraterroristas en el sur de Europa Panel I Presidente: Rafael Estrella, vicepresidente, Real Instituto Elcano • La amenaza del terrorismo yihadista en Portugal. Hacia una Estrategia Nacional Contraterrorista. Hermínio Matos, investigador permanente, Centro de Investigación del Instituto Superior de Ciencias Policiales y Seguridad Interior de Portugal (ICPOL), Lisboa • La amenaza del terrorismo yihadista en Francia. Philippe Migaux, investigador y profesor, Sciences Po, París • La amenaza del terrorismo yihadista en Italia. Lorenzo Vidino, Senior Fellow, Center for Security Studies, ETH, Zurich • Estructura organizativa del terrorismo yihadista en España Javier Jordán, profesor titular de Ciencia Política, Universidad de Granada Más info: http://www.casaarabe.es/noticias-arabes/show/i-foro-elcano-sobre-terrorismo-global-“terrorismo-global-y-mediterraneo-occidental”-2
    Published at 36 12,,, 14 2014