History Otherwise: Women Modernists from the Arab World
This exhibition brings together over 100 women artists from the collection of the Barjeel Art Foundation.
Working across the 20th century in the Arab world and beyond, these artists actively engaged with the social and political realities of their time. Their work reflects on changing lifestyles, political shifts, urban development, decolonisation efforts, and shifting gender roles, while also pushing the boundaries of what modern art can be by incorporating vernacular materials and methods of making into their practices.
The exhibition begins with a selection of exhibition posters of these women artists, dating from the 1940s to the 1990s. This is a key part of the exhibition’s story - although many of these artists have been overlooked by art history and are only now beginning to receive greater attention and documentation, they were present and active participants in the artistic and cultural life of the region. They publicly exhibited their work, developed new artistic languages, formed groups and collectives, and contributed to the changing social, political and cultural landscape of the Arab world.
Curated by Suheyla Takesh and Rémi Homs, Barjeel Art Foundation
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