Majlis Talks, curated by Mahnaz Fancy, bring 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 28 February 2023 and running across six 25-minute sessions, this year’s Majlis Talks will see conversations with Fatima Ali, Lubnah Ansari, Loa Haagen Pictet, Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, Sara Raza, Rana Begum, Dr Cliff Lauson and more.

Schedule

4PM | Majlis Talks: Session One, Shifting the Paradigm

4.30 PM | Majlis Talks: Session Two, Threading Through Design

5PM | Majlis Talks: Session Three, The Art of Collecting

5.30PM | Majlis Talks: Session Four, Art and Landscape

6PM | Majlis Talks: Session Five, Orientalism Book Launch

6.30PM | Majlis Talks: Session Six, Play of Light and Space

The Majlis Talks sessions will take place at The Yard, Alserkal Avenue. To register for individual Majlis Talks, please click on the links above or if you would like to attend more than one talk kindly register here

About Mahnaz Fancy

Raised in Karachi, Paris, Abu Dhabi, and New York, Mahnaz Fancy is a cultural critic with more than 20 years of experience in leading non-profit institutions for the strategic development of contemporary cultural infrastructure in the MENASA region. After pursuing a PhD in Comparative Literature with a concentration on postcolonial studies at the University of Chicago, she led several New York-based non-profit arts organisations.

Mahnaz served as the executive director of ArteEast, the leading US-based organisation supporting the MENA creative community from 2011 to 2015, where she worked with local, regional, and international stakeholders from philanthropic, academic, and creative sectors. Most recently, she was the external relations and communications manager of the first major initiative for architecture in the region, the Sharjah Architecture Triennial from 2017 to 2022. Mahnaz has organised exhibitions, festivals, conferences, professional workshops, publications, and public education programmes and she continues to advise, write and speak extensively on the arts and their social impact.