![The "South West Bank" show at Palazzo Mora [Naima Morelli]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3287.jpg?fit=1067%2C800&ssl=1)
My first report from Venice. Besides the controversy around the closed Israeli Pavilion, in this article for Middle East Monitor I look at three shows representing different facets of Palestine at the 2024 Venice Biennale
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Over the past three years, there has been a shift in perception around the Saudi Arabian art scene, and at this year’s Desert X AlUla, artists benefitted from freer expression.
I have review the art festival for the German webmagazine Qantara.
Here is the link to the article
Read More![Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha [Naima Morelli]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/030941cf4fa69dd0-photo.jpg?fit=1067%2C800&ssl=1)
With shows that range from political stances to introspective research, Doha’s Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art proves itself to be one of the most authoritative voices for Arab narratives and the Global South in art.
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My piece on the light art festival Noor Riyadh has just been published on Al-Monitor.
“Standing in the middle of the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, a swarm of drones creates delicate constellations on the horizon. A virtuoso is playing the piano on a stage, complementing the 3,000-drone performance conceived by Studio Drift — an artist duo formed by Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta — called ‘Desert Swarm’.”
Here is the link to the article
What is the role of art in times of conflict? I wrote a piece about it for Middle East Monitor, centered on the art light festival, Manar Abu Dhabi, curated by Reem Fadda and Alia Zaal Lootah from 15 November 2023. The festival runs to 30 January 2024.
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My latest story: “Contemporary Libyan art is looking back at its recent and ancient history”, has just been published on the beautiful Hadara Magazine.
I spoke with curator Najlaa Elageli, artists Tewa Barnosa, Shefa Salem and many others.
Starting this year, Abu Dhabi is building a contemporary art scene tending to the local community, positioning itself as the main taste-maker in the discourse on the Global South in the Middle East.
I wrote a piece based on my latest trip to Abu Dhabi last month for Middle East Monitor.
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The exhibition “Hijrah: In the Footsteps of the Prophet” and the documentary “In the Footsteps of the Beloved” are embracing historical and scientific evidence, signalling a change in Saudi Arabia. I wrote about it for Middle East Monitor.
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I wrote once again on the Myanmar art scene for the webmagazine Southeastasia Globe. It’s my first collaboration with them, and it was great to put together a piece which included a number of interviews to artists and other figures in the art world such as Chaw Ei Thein, Louis Ho, Moe Satt, Bart Was Not Here, Nathalie Johnston, Ilaria Benini and Richie Nath.
Most of them had to flee the country, but they were able gave me a picture of the developments of the art scene over the last few years, and how these were abruptly stopped by the recent military coup.
Finally my piece on the Venice Biennale 2022 has been published by Plural Art Mag. While the piece was written in the aftermath of the opening, it came out just now, given the webmagazine’s editorial schedule.
The article is a report, as well as an overview, and it is focused on the Southeast Asian presence, which this year was much smaller compared to previous years.
A couple of months ago I have interviewed for Global Comment two of my favourite graphic novel authors, the creative couple Teresa Radice and Stefano Turconi. The interview has just been published; we delved into the creative process behind their most interesting work.
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The Australian webmagazine Artshub has just published my new piece titled “Why Singapore is the new gateway for the Southeast Asian art scene”
I had a steady collaboration with this amazing platform in the past, which started when I was actually living in Melbourne and carried on throughout the different changes of base.
It was interesting to connect my three years of research on the Singapore contemporary art scene with what I could appreciate last month during the Singapore Art Week.
Of course, my piece is very positive because it’s no mystery that I love Singapore and I have a lot of faith in the way things are developing there.
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Naima Morelli is an arts writer and journalist specialized in contemporary art from Asia-Pacific and the MENA region.
She has written for the Financial Times, Al-Jazeera, The Art Newspaper, ArtAsiaPacific, Internazionale and Il Manifesto, among others, and she is a regular contributor to Plural Art Mag, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye as well as writing curatorial texts for galleries.
She is the author of three books on Southeast Asian contemporary art.
Reach out: contact [at] naimamorelli.com
