talk
Rethinking Modernism Through Arab Women’s Art
Lina Ramadan, Darat al Funun Fellow

Saturday 30 November 2024 | 6:30 PM | Beit al Beiruti

This talk offers an introduction to the movements and networks of influential Arab women artists who shaped Arab modernisms. Drawing from her ongoing PhD research, Ramadan explores how figures like Huguette Caland, Inji Efflatoun, and Tamam al-Akhal used feminist rhetoric and collaboration to craft powerful responses to colonial and nationalist narratives. By reexamining the historiography and intersections of art, and shared experiences of resistance, she reveals how these artists collectively navigated complex artistic landscapes and engaged in transformative transregional exchanges.

The talk is in English. 

The study reexamines artistic networks, daily practices, and women-led organizations to shed light on the broader historical discourse these artists have influenced. By revisiting these histories, it reveals how their legacies continue to shape contemporary artistic and political conversations. 

Image caption: Artists and members of the General Federation of Iraqi Women. The visiting group includes artists Chaibia Talal, Naziha Selim and Saloua Raouda Choucair. Circa 1970s, Hillah, Iraq. Courtesy of The Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation, Ras El-Matn. 

Lina Ramadan is a Palestinian-Lebanese writer and curator, specialized in modern and contemporary art. Her research centers on post-colonial MENA histories, women artists, and solidarities. Currently, she’s exploring independent and collaborative projects around the politics of seeing and feeling. She holds a BA in English Literature from Qatar University and an MA in Museum Studies from UCLQ. From 2016 to 2022, Ramadan served as an Assistant Curator at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha. Her recent curatorial projects include Ibi Ibrahim: Like Every Leaving Wasn’t A Country (June 2024); Taysir Batniji: No Condition is Permanent with Abdellah Karroum (2022-23); Kader Attia: On Silence (2021), Raqs Media Collective: Still More World (2019), among others. She’s the book editor of Madness of the Anthropocene: Thinking with an Image,(421 & KAPH, forthcoming) , including The Palaver Tree in Farid Belkahia: For A New Modernity (Ed. Gauthier, m. Centre Pompidou & Mathaf, 2021); Moments of Return in Avant-Garde and Liberation (forthcoming, Ed. Kravgna, C., Mumok Publications); Foreword for Yemen Art Now (forthcoming, Ed. Vartanian Collier, L & Ibrahim, I. Romooz Foundation). She is the recipient of the 421 Curatorial Development Program for 2023-24, and The Darat al Funun Dissertation Fellowship for Modern and Contemporary Arab Art 2024-25. Ramadan is pursuing her PhD at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna.

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