Fierce Grace | Curated by Mari Spirito | Majlis Talks

Majlis Talks, which this November will be curated by Mari Spirito, brings together artists, curators, researchers and art-world professionals for an evening of thoughtful and inspiring conversations. The majlis has always provided the necessary form to plant the seeds of connections; a common ground for discussion and sharing. From the majlis we begin a convergence of differences, mingling vantage points, allowing new questions to rise.

Starting at 4pm on 23 November 2023 and running across five sessions, this year’s Majlis Talks will see conversations with Duyu Demir, Stephanie Saade, Kaya Genc and more.

Fall 2023 Majlis Talks are titled Fierce Grace, after the term for knowledge gained through hardship. Human life is riddled beyond imagination, our capacity to create beauty is equal to our gruesome inhumanity. With awareness of ourselves as parts of a bigger whole, each speaker brings their expertise gained, partly, through experiences encompassing tyranny, betrayal and terrible loss, both personal and in mass. A succession of 5 back to back thirty minute talks are each introduced and prompted by Mari Spirito. Subjects range from attention to what goes unnoticed, un-learning social conditioning, futurism on rising seas, invisibility as a means of survival, and interconnecting across geographies. How could we keep our minds open within an increasing culture of fear? When it is time to go onward, what will we carry with us?

Audience participation is encouraged.

Programme Schedule

Session #1: We Are Stardust | By Stéphanie Saadé, Artist, Beirut, Amsterdam

Session #2: The Lion and the Nightingale | By Kaya Genç, Author, Istanbul

Session #3: Rivers Are Veins & Grief is the Conveyor Belt to the Present | By Marianne Fahmy, Artist, Cairo

Session #4: Abstractions, Intimations, Ruminations | By Duygu Demir, Curator, NYU Gallery, Abu Dhabi

Session #5: A Few in Many Places | By Mari Spirito, Director, Curator, Protocinema, New York, Istanbul


The Yard | 4PM_7PM