Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, United Arab Emirates-based columnist, prominent commentator on Arab affairs and founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation will speak at the BA on Wednesday, 30 November at 1 pm.
Mr. Al-Qassemi’s talk will discuss the political undertones of iconic artworks of the 20th century in the Arab world.
From the Baathist regimes of Syria and Iraq to Egypt’s pan-Arabism under President Gamal Abdel Nasser, paintings and sculptures in addition to film and performance have been employed by various governments as a tool of soft power to propagate their policies to the public not only in their respective states but throughout the region and beyond. Despite this government patronage of the arts, many artists have chosen to challenge their authorities through their art practices. This talk is an attempt to shed light on an often neglected dimension in the modern history of the Arab world.
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is also an MIT Media Labs Director’s Fellow, an independent initiative established to contribute to the intellectual development of the art scene in the Arab region.
The event is going to be held at the Small Theatre at 1:00 pm.