My plans for establishing a contemporary art department at the ethnographic...
The Tropenmuseum was looking for a contemporary art curator, and I applied. They asked me what I would do were I to get my job. As with the vacancy of director for De Balie (see below, in Dutch) I got...
View ArticleThe final chapter of the modernist dream
Why the art sector cannot justify its continued existence The idea that societies could be reformed (modernized) through general access to culture, also high culture, was part of the modernist project...
View ArticleJeddah about its own art scene
This is part of a catalogue I wrote to accompany the new solo show by Ayman Yossri Daydban at Athr Gallery. The book was launched yesterday Voices from Jeddah Discussion of the Saudi Art Scene today...
View ArticleA visit to the National Museum of Riyadh
The National Museum of Riyadh is a very interesting museum designed by the Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama (figs 1 & 2). It was inaugurated in 1999. It is located on the grounds of the Murabba...
View ArticleAfghanistan in Documenta 13
Note: a very different, one-page graphic version of this article was published in the Belgian art magazine A Prior #23; see the article here. Another article about this subject was published in the...
View ArticleGulf Art Guide online
Finally, after a year and a half working on project proposal and funding, followed by nearly a year intensive research and writing, the Gulf Art Guide is online. Some of the cities (Abu Dhabi, Sharjah,...
View ArticleAn Encyclopedia of National Representation: Review of the Venice Biennale, 2013
Although I came to Venice to test and explore an artist’s project that fundamentally critiques the system of national representation at the Biennale, I must admit I enjoyed the national pavilions much...
View ArticleHow the collection of the National Museum of Afghanistan survived the civil...
My contribution to the “Art Trafficking and Restitution” roundtable organized by Walk of Truth at the Peace Palace in The Hague 16 September 2013 Ladies and Gentlemen, In the late 1970s, when Kabul...
View ArticleWhat I would do if I became director of De Appel in Amsterdam
De Appel is the intellectual powerhouse of Amsterdam’s art world – or maybe it isn’t anymore, but it still has that reputation. It’s a non-commercial art space that offers a high-level (and...
View ArticleSearching for Ancient Arabia in Bahrain
View of the excavated Portuguese fort with the sea behind it, and the palm groves between the two. One of the beautiful sceneries we encountered during our research. Summary Between 8 and 11 April I...
View ArticleTrip to Najran: Reflections on Saudi Cultural Heritage Policies
Photo taken in the ruins of the city of Al Ukhdood (ancient Najran) by Abdelkarim Qassem One of the premises of the ‘Searching for Ancient Arabia’ research project is the cultural diversity of the...
View ArticleArt and Soft Power in the Gulf
Article published in Issue #47 of Afkar / Ideas published in October 2015 by the European Institute of the Mediterranean in Barcelona / French version / Spanish version Art and Soft Power in the Gulf...
View Article