Emerging from ‘The Kingdom of Silence’ | Beyond Institutions in Revolutionary Syria

Under the four-decade dictatorship of the Assad family, the arts in Syria were stifled. The totalitarian police state ruthlessly suppressed the expression of dissent and the public space was tightly controlled. The country was, according to leftist dissident Riad al-Turk, 'a kingdom of silence'. Artists and writers had to navigate the strict parameters of the permissible, or face often severe consequences. Permitted art was that which was uncritical, or acting in the service of the regime. It was distanced from the masses, served up for the consumption of a cultural elite.

Mapping the Possible: Syrian Organizations, Movements and Platforms

This project sets out to map just a few of the organizations that have been set up, led, imitated and supported by Syrian artists, facilitators and producers – both in host countries, and in post-revolution Syria. Where possible, I have named the founders, and noted where they are located. However where it is not clear who the founders are, or where those that work on the project don't want to be named, I have left the 'who' and 'where' labels unmarked.

Plotting in Egypt: Art People

For this artist project, Nile Sunset Annex asked 130 contemporary visual arts organizers and artists where and when, in Egypt, they have studied and worked over the past 25 years. By tracing institutional meeting points through talking to people and, as with much of Nile Sunset Annex's work, expanding outwards from a network of acquaintances the project resists any impulse to explain or interpret, prioritizing the visual and the lighthearted over claims of expertise. Although the resulting project is a totally non-comprehensive sample, it gives an idea of the scope of institutions around which artists, artworks and art events have been developing over the years.

The Saudi New Wave | Digital Landscapes and Future Institutions

Vladimir Bukovsky once summarized the Soviet Underground – Samizdat – using the following statement: 'I write it myself, censor it myself, publish it myself, distribute it myself, and spend jail time for it myself.' Indeed, Samizdat literally means 'self-publishing' in Russian. Samizdat existed during the reign of the Soviet Union, so naturally the publishing was executed on paper, and exchanged hands in physical form.

Digitalizing Social Change through Cultural Institutions in Saudi Arabia

Cultural institutions are more relevant and accessible than ever before. In Saudi Arabia cultural institutions using online innovations and alternative platforms have promoted unprecedented level of inclusivity and development. Cultural institutions are expanding their reach and engaging on a grassroots level in the development of the country's creative scene.

In conversation with Ala Younis | A Cultural Encyclopaedia of Iraq

Since 2013, writer and poet Hussam al-Saray has been putting together An Outline of Iraqi Culture 2003–2013, an encyclopaedia that documents forms and characteristics of a decade of Iraq's cultural production in the aftermath of 2003. His research involved traveling to different cities in and out of Iraq, as well as dialogues and reflections with the active practitioners, and a large number of contributions.

Recounting the Past, Present and Future

Jerusalem has never been an easy address but, since the increased tensions and violence of 2014, life has become more difficult. Showing art in these surroundings has its very own rules and framework, especially for a Palestinian organization. Since the building of the wall, Jerusalem has been isolated from its natural hinterland and deprived of economic and cultural exchange with Palestinians from the West Bank.