In Memoriam: Tarek Al-Ghoussein
January 17, 1962 - June 11, 2022
Our thirteenth issue is dedicated to artist Tarek Al-Ghoussein, and his students. The tribute includes contributions by Emily Jacir, Jack Persekian, Tina Sherwell, Lamya Gargash, Lila Nazemian, Munira Al Sayegh, Kevin Mitchell and Ala Younis.
Tarek’s work is unmistakably recognizable and holds a deserved international recognition. Inspired by the New Topographics movement he often referenced, Tarek’s iconic images and projects belong in art history lessons. Contemporary photography studies will remember him as an authentic artist who stayed true to and mastered his craft.
A note about the cover: this iconic image was chosen by Salwa Mikdadi, who described it as otherworldly amongst the fog wondering whether the traveler was arriving or leaving, the start or the end of a journey.
Featured photographers in this issue are: Amina Kadous, Naela El Assaad, Arif Alnomay, Sarah Smahane, and Hareth Yousef who carry images through a broader sense of time, land, and memory.
Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Hami Rohah Gassar), (2015). Digital print, 60 x 80 cm. Courtesy of The Third Line, Dubai.
Hoda Afshar, from the Speak the Wind series, (2015-2020). Courtesy of the artist.
A River Flows Downstream
June 14 - October 13, 2023
Curated by Roï Saade, presented in partnership with the Arts and Culture Center at the Middle East Institute.
A River Flows Downstream explores the concept of a journey along the river into the disparate world of ecosystems in different space and time.
While drifting downstream through the various works on display, the viewer is invited by each of the eight participating artists into their lived world to witness the inhibed shifting ecological and cultural landscapes. Through the lens of each artist, the photography exhibition narrates the diversity and complexity of these ever-changing landscapes, interconnected by their reliance on the abundance of water.
Film Program Co-presented by ArteEast and Tribe: What Existed Yesterday Might Disappear Tomorrow
October 12 - 18 2022
“What Existed Yesterday Might Disappear Tomorrow” is a film program co-presented by ArteEast and Tribe, curated by Hind Mezaina, Tribe’s Moving Image Editor.
The screening is part of the legacy program Unpacking the ArteArchive, which preserves and presents over 17 years of film and video programming by ArteEast.
There will be one in-person screening in Dubai at Alliance Francaise on Wednesday, October 12, and the films will be available to watch online worldwide between October 13 - 18 on ArteEast’s Unpacking the ArteArchive platform.
Learn more.
Web Editor’s Letter
By Dalia Hashim
March 11, 2022
What is a photography, film, and video magazine worth to us these days? Those of us engaging in the meditative practice of archiving know that it has never been more pressing to etch our own narratives into the cold metal plate of history. Amid a plethora of social representations about us, the Arabs, and our art, we have toiled to provide here an indelible index, a cornucopia of creative force and dedication, that can be undeniable and iterative.