LECTURES
Silvia Naef, Zouina Ait Slimani, and Charlotte Bank
Artistic hubs in and of the Arab Region
3-5.6.24, LAWHA International Conference, Orient-Institut, Beirut
LAWHA’s international conference, which will be held in Beirut on 3, 4 and 5 June 2024, starts from the perception that Beirut of the 1950s to 1970s is often referred to as the Arab capital of culture, in its so-called “Golden Age” – a notion that is increasingly put into a wider perspective. We look at what makes cities draw artists and intellectuals over a period of time, and what makes things shift or change. We look at how, why and when things shift, and what role different cities have played over time. For whom has Beirut been relevant, and for whom not? What role did Baghdad play on a regional level? Has the Gulf succeeded in becoming a hub, and what are its pull factors? To what extent can a city outside the region, such as Berlin, act as an artistic hub of the region? The conference examines who different hubs speak to, and which actors and initiatives are central in attracting artists and intellectuals. It aims to conceptualize the pull and push factors of artistic hubs in and of the Arab region.
Manazir members Silvia Naef, Zouina Ait Slimani and Charlotte Bank will present three different case studies over the course of this international conference. Silvia Naef will give a keynote, tracing the notion of Arab Artistic Hubs from the twentieth to the twenty-first century. Zouina Ait Slimani will discuss the publication of Iraqi art criticism in Lebanon, particularly in the magazines al-Ādāb and al-Adīb. Meanwhile, Charlotte Bank will focus on a contemporary period, with particular emphasis on Artistic Negotiations of Queer Rights in Beirut's Protest Movement of 2019.