Naima Morelli

Archive
Research

My interview with Vietnamese artist Trần Trọng Vũ has just been published on ArtAsiaPacific’s website.

I met the artist for his big show at A2Z gallery in Paris last October, and we did the interview half in French, half in English! Phew! It was fun, and the artist was extremely generous and kind – his work, ça va sans dire, is incredible!

Some of you know that my next cohesive research will be in Vietnam. I will spend one month there, most likely next year, so this interview adds a big piece to my understanding of art coming from the country!

Here is the link to the interview

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A gallery display featuring several small art works hung in a row, which appear to show variations of an image of Christ

My second piece for the Financial Times looks into three independent art spaces in Singapore.

The article is for a special supplement focused on Southeast Asian art, coming out in conjunction with the Singapore Art Week.

Here is the link to the piece

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The Financial Times has just published two articles of mine on a special supplement focused on Southeast Asian art, coming out in conjunction with the Singapore Art Week.

In this first piece I highlight the presence of Mynmar art at the art fairs in Singapore this January. It’s part of my ongoing investigation on Myanmar art within the current complicated political scenario of the country

Here is the link to the piece

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My series on the behind-the-scenes of arts writers’ lives for Plural Art Mag continues with a conversation with Kim Tay.

Tay is a long-standing founding member and Gallery Director of The Artling, an online gallery, art consulting firm, and web magazine.

Here is the link to the piece

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How a burgeoning Myanmar art scene came to sudden unrest

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.

Here is the link to the piece

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Morocco's Btissam Sadini (L) competes against Serbia's Jovana Prekovic in the women's kumite -61kg elimination round of the karate competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 6, 2021.

In this story for Al-Monitor I spoke with four Moroccan female martial arts athletes about cultural stereotypes and how to inspire and empower future generations of female fighters.

Here is the link to the article

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Women artists are gaining more and more relevance and traction in the contemporary art scene in Oman. Although the history of Omani women in art is fairly recent, their work conveys their singular experience and perspective within a continuously evolving culture.

Their artworks are also truly innovative in terms of the use of new technologies and their aesthetics; they’re aligned with the latest trends in contemporary art, yet steeped in historical research. I wrote the story for Middle East Monitor

Here is the link to the article

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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.

Here is the link to the piece

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Two Libyan women walk past graffiti depicting Muammar Gaddafi

My first article for Al Jazeera has just been published. It’s called “The writers retelling Libya’s history through a feminist lens” and tells how Libya’s women novelists (but not exclusively them) are reframing the country’s stories in a post-Gaddafi era.

I worked on it for a long time, and it was very satisfying to get to write a longform piece with a bit more of a narrative style. Also, I got to know this county a little deeper, not just through its visual art but also through literature. For the piece I have interviewed, among others, writers Kawther Eljehmi, Maryem Salama, Manuela Piemonte Mahbuba Khalifa, and Mariza d’Anna, and publisher Ghassan Fergiani.

Here is the link to the piece

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I’m really happy to share this incredibly interesting interview with curator Patrick Flores, whose curatorial work and research I greatly admire, and never fails to expands my imagination and understanding of the role of contemporary art.

Also, it’s my first collaboration with ArtAsiaPacific. Being one of the most authoritative magazines about contemporary art in Asia, it’s a pleasure and an honour to have contributed with my writing!

Here is the link to the interview

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Nameer Qassim, “Enough”, 2020, Acrylic on canvas, 100x100 cm [Courtesy of The Palestinian Museum US]

Curated by Nancy Nesvet, head curator at the Palestine Museum in the US, the exhibition “From Palestine With Art” features 19 Palestinian artists from Palestine and across the diaspora.

“This is the strongest Palestinian presentation ever,” said Faisal Saleh, director of the Palestine Museum US. “In terms of the size, and the boldness of its pieces, it is a very significant, strong presentation. I think this is going to have a very big impact and get the Palestinian name out in a big way.”

I have reviewed the show for Middle East Monitor.

Here is the link to the piece

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Joseph Kai

For my new piece for Al-Monitor I speak with a comic book artist and a photographer/editor about the queer community in Lebanon – and in Beirut specifically – and how it has changed over time.

Here is the link to the piece

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