*CHAPTERS*
0:00 - Introduction
0:45 - Samia Halaby
1:36 - Mona Saudi
2:30 - Samia and Mona’s friendship
3:36 - The Rice Paper Scroll, capturing Mona’s home and studio
10:38 - Drawing in movement, cinematic creation
14:35 - Mona and the PLO
****** ABOUT IAAW ******
The Institute of Art in the Arab World (IAAW) at the Lebanese American University is dedicated to the advancement of contemporary and modern artistic production from the Arab world and its diaspora.The mission of the Institute is to promote interdisciplinary research on curatorial practices and artistic production that tackle social, economical and political issues. It aims to develop an archive of artistic activities that redefine the role of art within the Arab world, how it relates or does not relate to modernism as defined by the so-called western cannon, and how it operates within the historical circumstances and political discourses coalescing in and beyond the region in relation to political conflicts, pandemics, the environment, and other global issues.The IAAW also aims at establishing a dialogue between international scholars and the local community of scholars and artists through seminars, lecture series and other activities that trigger discussions at the intersection of art, post-colonial and gender studies in the aftermath of the Arab spring.
****** ABOUT LAWHA ******
LAWHA (Lebanon’s Art World at Home and Abroad: Trajectories of artists and artworks in/from Lebanon since 1943) is a research project hosted by the Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB) of the Max Weber Foundation. LAWHA investigates the forces that have shaped the emergence of a professional field of art in Lebanon within its local, regional and global context. The project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 850760).
****** MOVING BIOGRAPHY ******
Moving Biography was a summer school organised by LAWHA/OIB, the American University of Beirut and the Global (De)Centre in 2022, generously funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. The summer school brought together different perspectives to question disciplinary assumptions and decentre life writing. These podcasts are an outcome of the summer school.
****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region - past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.