How did modern Arabic art develop? How did Arab artists contribute to the art scene in Paris? And how did Paris inspire these artists? These are some of the questions explored in a major new exhibition at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris next year.
Arab Presence: Modern Art and Decolonization, Paris 1908-1988 (April 5, 2024-August 25, 2024) will take a comprehensive, scholarly look at the influx of Arab artists to Paris during the 20th century, as France slowly withdrew from its colonies in the Middle East and North Africa, and the relations creatives that have developed. during that period.
More than 200 works by almost 130 artists, most of which have never been exhibited in France, include paintings, sculptures and photographs along with historical sound and audio-visual archives.
“Paris has often been described as an Arab capital,” says Morad Montazami, co-curator of the exhibition. “In the 20th century, it was a meeting point for Arabs and a place of shelter for many. There were many meetings and artistic exchanges through art schools, exhibitions and art salons”.
The show, which has been running for three years, aims to draw attention to a lesser-known, non-Western part of modern art history, as well as to underrepresented artists from the region. These include Mahmoud Saïd, Amy Nimr, Fatma Arargi and Jaber El Mahjoub alongside more internationally known artists such as Marwan Kassab Bachi, Huguette Caland and Saloua Raouda Choucair.
In addition to works owned by the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, loans come from French public collections such as the Institut du Monde Arabe and the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, as well as key Middle Eastern collections, including Mathaf in Doha ( Qatar); Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah (United Arab Emirates); the Ibrahimi Collection in Amman (Jordan); and the Museum of Modern Art in Cairo (Egypt). Many works also come from private collections and artists’ families and estates. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog of unpublished essays, research and archival materials.
The exhibition will be chronological and divided into four sections: Nahda (1908-37), Farewell to Orientalism (1937-56), Decolonizations (1956-67) and Art and Struggles (1967-88). Nahda, meaning “awakening” in Arabic, refers to a period of Arab cultural enlightenment; this chapter of the exhibition will look at the Western influence on Arab art through the schools of plastic arts, especially in Egypt, Lebanon and Algeria, and the great colonial exhibitions in Paris, including the most important, Colonial Exhibition of 1931.
The Art and Struggles section will show how artists have addressed political challenges and international conflicts in their work, such as the Vietnam War and the Palestinian cause. These works will have great resonance given Israel’s current offensive in Palestine.
It will also include the great poetic text The Arab Apocalypse (1980) by the late Lebanese artist Etel Adnan, who wrote at the start of the Lebanese civil war and reflects on the turmoil in the Arab world. The exhibition will include a sound installation of Adnan’s poetry, recited in different languages.
The show concludes with a presentation of Arab immigration to France over the years and includes Seismography of fightsa research project initiated by Zahia Rahmani that explores non-European critical and cultural journals as tools of resistance in anti-colonial and liberation movements.
Arabic presence it comes at a time when racism and Islamophobia are on the rise again in France. “This show is making a statement,” Montazami says. “It has a pedagogical role and encourages us to look at our shared history. There’s no way to deny them or undermine them.”
