Beyond Ruptures includes works of Aref el Rayess, Jean Khalife, Samir Khaddaje, Samia Osseiran, Shafic Abboud, Said Akl, Akram Zaatari and Nesrine Khodr as a testimony and tribute to the cultural resistance led by artists, cultural workers, and art patrons, in the challenging environments Lebanon has presented over the years. Selected works in the timeline, mark important events in the lives of each artist, and act as time capsules showing different artistic practices shaped by violence.
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Artist Yto Barrada will transform the MoMA PS1 courtyard with a large-scale installation, her first major outdoor work is composed of colorful concrete blocks stacked into pyramidal towers whose lower levels visitors can sit on and explore, providing an interactive experience in the courtyard and a setting for PS1’s signature summer music series Warm Up. The sculptures’ formations draw inspiration from multiple histories of surmounting barricades and retooling architectures: the construction of human pyramids in Morocco, Moroccan Brutalism, and Barrada’s family lore.
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Dis-placed at Konschthal Esch, part of the Biennale 2024 – Architectures, d’Esch Capitale Culturelle, examines the notion of ‘loss of home.’ From September 2024, the second part of the exhibition will take place, featuring works by Taysir Batniji, Marco A. Castillo, Vajiko Chachkhiani, Haus-Rucker-Co, Sebastián Díaz Morales, Marlene Dumas, Guillaume Delaperriere, Omer Fast, Tirdad Hashemi & Soufia Erfanian, Samira Hodaei, Candida Höfer, Hiwa K, Lisa Kohl, Gregor Schneider and The Blaze.
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The dual exhibitions in Beirut showcase new and recent works from Walid Raad. In Karantina, two large-scale immersive video installations envelope viewers in trance-inducing images. These are accompanied by sculptural works and prints. Downtown, the artist presents a new multimedia installation that engages the 1983-84 bombardment of Lebanon by the USS New Jersey. The battleship’s arrival and actions in Lebanese waters were a direct consequence of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
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Archipelago: Visions in Orbit uses the metaphor of an archipelago—distinct yet connected islands—to explore diverse artistic perspectives. In response to societal fragmentation and geopolitical tensions, the exhibition highlights a shared cultural fabric while embracing complex differences. Featuring artists like Esther Teichmann and Jade de Montserrat, it examines themes of migration and belonging. Curated by MA Curating Art and Public Programmes students, the show reflects Whitechapel’s rich history of migrant communities and includes public performances and events.
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Navid Nuur (Tehran, 1976) is an artist who explores meaning through an approach that bridges art and alchemy. He uses natural transformation processes of materials, influenced by light, darkness or cold, to visualise immaterial phenomena – such as the flow of energy or the perception of time. In the Oude Kerk, Nuur’s works explore light, time and space, visible and invisible phenomena, and physical and chemical principles.
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Curated by Idil Tabanca, this exhibition features international artists and designers whose creations transcend traditional boundaries in painting, sculpture, installation, and furniture design, redefining the relationship between form and function. In an era where modern humans spend more than three-quarters of their lives indoors, nature feels more distant than ever. “Creatures of Comfort” explores works that create space for nature to re-enter our urban lives.
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The exhibition, presenting an up-to-date selection from the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection, focuses on how spiral cycles, which define human existence, are interpreted by contemporary artists. Evolving regularly since the 2000s through commissions and acquisitions, the collection provides viewers with an in-depth interaction with different formations, issues, and ways of seeing in today’s world, bringing together works by artists who navigate between the physical and virtual realms.
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Drawing inspiration from six of his father’s unpublished writings, Mohamad Abdouni embarks on an intimate journey, weaving together their shared fears in his latest work. Barren Seeds delves into the universal themes of isolation, the pursuit of love, and the elusive quest for belonging, all while reflecting on the inevitable solitude that shapes human existence.
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The exhibition stems from the vision, mission, and architecture of the Nuhad Es-Said Pavilion for Culture. At the crossroads of historical periods and diverse sensitivities, this exhibition presents a unique encounter between restored modern works from the Collection of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, cared for by BeMA, and modern and contemporary pieces on loan from artists and private collections.
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“An Epic of Kings” showcases 25 folios from the Great Mongol Shahnama, the most renowned medieval Persian manuscript. This exhibition highlights Iran’s national epic, completed by Firdawsi in 1010, and later commissioned by the Ilkhanid ruler Abu Sa‘id. The monumental illustrations depict key historical figures, like Alexander the Great and Sasanian monarchs, as role models for the Ilkhanids. For the first time, these artworks are displayed alongside contemporaneous pieces from China, the Mediterranean, and the Latin West, highlighting Eurasian cultural exchange.
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The artists presented in this exhibition examine concepts of departure, displacement, the complex nature of arriving somewhere and being uprooted, but they also consider the pivotal importance of meeting others and the notion of welcome. What brings us together and what drives us apart in exile focuses on the ways in which artistic expression reveals and illustrates the human experience of exile; it is a journey through time and space but has a particular focus on contemporary art too.
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Jumbled Alphabet showcases Nairy Baghramian’s Misfits series, celebrating imperfection and the creativity of things that don’t fit. Using materials like marble and resin, her abstract sculptures suggest body parts and explore connections between art and other fields. The exhibition includes hybrid works created in collaboration with other artists and features evolving drawings by visiting children.
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Truth, Old Past is a group exhibition that focuses on artists from diverse cultural backgrounds whose works project towards a utopian future of cultural transformation as a result of past experiences, which are often preserved and shared in the form of archives or oral traditions. Exploring the truth of the old past, we can learn from past mistakes, deepen an understanding of our roots, and appreciate the progress that has been made over time.
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In the exhibition from Palestinian-Danish video and installation artist Larissa Sansou, past, present and possible futures meet in a darkly expressive exhibition in which political but universally human topical issues interweave with imagined realities using the narrative methods of science fiction, documentary and opera. From the loss of the Palestinian people to the persistent threat of environmental catastrophe, the exhibition expands into studies of grief, memory and inherited trauma. Through her work, Sansour re-imagines the history of a nation on the brink of annihilation and of her homeland.
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Mohammad Barrangi’s The Last Rain in Wonderland blends Persian art aesthetics with themes of migration, transformation, and the climate crisis. Through murals, prints, and sculptures, Barrangi creates dream-like hybrids of women and animals, highlighting endangered Iranian wildlife like water buffalo. Lush, joyful backdrops contrast with the stark reality of displacement, emphasizing resilience and the urgency of action.
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Until This Elegy Ends by Joe Namy reflects on resilience amid the genocidal war in Palestine and Lebanon. Documenting ancient olive orchards in Deir Mimas, sound sculptures, and collaborations with Palestinian musicians, Namy traces survival through land, memory, and sound. His works mourn loss yet echo persistence, embodying memory as an active force against erasure and colonial violence.
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The future Art Mill Museum organised a major exhibition on art and architecture from Pakistan from the 1940s to the present day. Originated in Arabic, the word ‘Manzar’ (منظر) in Urdu can be translated to mean a scene, a view, a landscape or a perspective, highlighting the extraordinary vitality of the diverse art scenes in Pakistan and its diasporas.
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A solo exhibition by Lebanese artist Chafa Ghaddar’s which portrays a landscape in various acts. The sunset evokes a complex emotional response: a blend of grief for what is ending and anticipation for what is to come. Through the phrase “it kept setting,” Chafa Ghaddar seeks to extend this ephemeral moment, creating a sense of elasticity that defies finality and invites contemplation within the liminal space between beginnings and endings.
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In the exhibition, artists encourage us to view our cities and landscapes from a primarily four-legged perspective. Bringing together more than 40 artists and collectives, drawing from politics, history, economics and urbanism, the exhibition is a playful yet serious exploration of human-animal relationships in these shared geographies.
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The Azerbaijan National Museum of Art presents Sattar Bahlulzadeh: An Incredible Fairy Tale of Nature, celebrating the artist’s 115th anniversary. Featuring over 40 works, including newly acquired albums, the exhibition coincides with COP29. Known for his lyrical landscapes and Sufi-inspired color symbolism, Bahlulzadeh immortalized Azerbaijan’s beauty through a unique artistic lens, merging nature and philosophy.
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An ambitious new exhibition in Baku explores the intersection of technology, ecology, and human impact on the planet. Featuring international artists, it questions distinctions between nature and artifice, drawing on Timothy Morton’s Ecology without Nature and the Anthropocene concept. Through speculative digital works, it challenges perceptions, fostering reflection on planetary systems and inspiring action amid ecological crises.
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Barakat Contemporary presents Someone is Coming with a Flower, a solo exhibition by Iranian-American artist Nicky Nodjoumi, from November 13, 2024, to January 12, 2025. Featuring pre-1979 works and 60+ monotypes from his 1981 exile, these pieces blend political dissent, artistic expression, and personal history. The title reflects Nodjoumi’s hope for democracy, contrasted with the harsh realities following the Iranian Revolution.
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Monira Al Qadiri is an international artist whose practice explores topics as diverse as ancient history and the possibilities of new technologies, always with a critical yet playful point of view. Bozar presents her first solo exhibition in Belgium, titled The Archaeology of Beasts. Consisting of new digital creations commissioned for this occasion, Al Qadiri is taking a new visual turn, inspired by the Gods and Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. Interweaving ancient myths and recent facts connected to climate change, Al Qadiri’s works oscillate between humour and beauty, often with an underlying violence. For this exhibition she is asking us to reflect on who qualifies as Human and who as Beast.
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In her second solo exhibition at Aisha Alabbar Gallery in Dubai, titled “Superficial Transactions,” Emirati artist Eman Alhashemi presents a series of artworks and experiences, showcasing her rich artistic journey. In this exhibition, Eman presents a series of works that build on her previous experiences, appearing as annotations and reflections that encapsulate different phases she has undergone since the beginning of her career.
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This exhibition invites viewers to explore these hidden constraints on thoughts and bodies, challenging the boundaries that define societal conformity. Through symbolic works, “Invisible Walls” confronts how internalized fears, beauty standards, and cultural expectations restrict personal freedom and growth. It calls for a collective reimagining of a world where individuality is celebrated, and true freedom is possible.
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From Doha to Damascus, AI-backed tools are revolutionizing journalism, augmenting the creation, distribution and consumption of media. However, the motives behind AI’s use remain contentious, with concerns about deception, undermining public trust and perpetuating societal divisions. Through evidence-based storytelling, data visualization, case studies and artistic interpretations, the exhibition explores four key themes: Hindsight, Insight, Oversight and Foresight.
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