Alternative Iran offers a unique contribution to the field of contemporary art, investigating how Iranian artists engage with space and site amid the pressures of the art market and the state's regulatory regimes. Since the 1980s, political, economic, and intellectual forces have driven Iran's creative class toward increasingly original forms of artmaking not meant for official venues. Instead, these art forms appear in private homes with trusted audiences, derelict buildings, leftover urban zones, and remote natural sites. While many of these venues operate independently, others are fully sanctioned by the state.

Drawing on interviews with over a hundred artists, gallerists, theater experts, musicians, and designers, Pamela Karimi throws into sharp relief the extraordinary art and performance activities that have received little attention outside Iran. Attending to nonconforming curatorial projects, independent guerrilla installations, escapist practices, and tacitly subversive performances, Karimi discloses the push-and-pull between the art community and the authorities, and discusses myriad instances of tentative coalition as opposed to outright partnership or uncompromising resistance. Illustrated with more than 120 full-color images, this book provides entry into unique artistic experiences without catering to voyeuristic curiosity around Iran's often-perceived underground culture.

Intimate accounts of Arabic modernist artists from Huguette Caland to Hamed Nada and Etel Adnan

Compiling testimonies from relatives, friends and students of Arabic modernist artists, and authored by Dubai-based writer Myrna Ayad, this volume celebrates the lives, careers and personalities of some of the region's pioneering figures. Featuring archival material and images of artworks and of the artists themselves--in their studios, at exhibitions, at social gatherings--the essays span the 1960s through to the 1980s, and discuss artists including Saloua Raouda Choucair, Huguette Caland, Helen El Khal, Etel Adnan, Margaret Nakhla, Menhat Hilmy, Gazbia Sirry, Naziha Selim, Madiha Umer, Jumana Al Husseini, Maliheh Afnan, Baya Mahieddine, Mounira Mously, Mona Saudi, Shafic Abboud, Aref El Rayess, Paul Guiragossian, Hamed Abdallah, Hamed Nada, Abdel Hady El Gazzar, Adam Henein and Rafa Nasiri.
Myrna Ayad (born 1982) is the author of Sheikh Zayed: An Eternal Legacy, Dubai Wonder and the National series Remembering the Artist.

The spirit of feasting in Islamic lands as seen in art and material culture

This catalog represents the first occasion that the burgeoning knowledge of food culture in this period has been employed to inform our understanding of Islamic art. Dining with the Sultan offers a pan-Islamic reach, spanning the 8th through 19th centuries and including some 200 works of art representing a rich variety of mediums. Across its 400 pages, and through an abundance of color plates and new scholarship, the publication introduces audiences to Islamic art and culture with objects of undisputed quality and appeal. Viewed through the universal lens of fine dining, this transformative selection of materials emphasizes our shared humanity rather than our singular histories.

Using Iran as an example of an ancient civilization with a sustained course of continuity all the way to the present time, this book moves towards a philosophical reflection on the relationship between what we see and feel today when engaging with art, literature and film and what we have otherwise deeply buried in the forgotten layers of our collective consciousness from time immemorial.

A vivid and compelling collection of quotations from the influential contemporary artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat

Neshat-isms is an exciting collection of quotations from award-winning Iranian-American visual artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat. Her experiences of loss and grief as an Iranian woman living in exile are central themes of her work in photography, video, and film. She is known for her outspoken advocacy for Iranian women and human rights, and for poetic and politically charged images and narratives that raise questions about power, religion, race, and gender. Gathered from interviews, talks, and writings, these powerful and thought-provoking quotations showcase the voice of one of the most important artists of our time.

• Through my work I have continued to defy and resist the Western clichéd image of Iranian women as passive victims. While acknowledging the repressive situation in Iran, I have continued to represent Iranian women as empowered, courageous, defiant, and rebellious.
• Every Iranian artist, in one form or another, is political. Politics has defined our lives.
• I've done a lot of work about women in a state of madness, where ultimately they find a kind of freedom.
• You can't demystify a myth.

Over the past decade, there has been a burgeoning interest in the realm of art activism within the Southwest Asia and North Africa region, shedding light on the political implications of aesthetic representation. Nevertheless, a critical inquiry into how political aesthetics can formulate both discernible and imperceptible resistance strategies in response to resurging authoritarianism and counter-revolution after the 2011 uprisings in the region remains conspicuously absent.

This book delves into a comprehensive examination of diverse art forms, ranging from street art and cinema to performance art, as well as music and theatre, scrutinizing the manifestations of aesthetic resilience at the epicentre of the political resistance against oppression and authoritarianism in Sudan, Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria. The editors employ a multifaceted approach to investigate artistic activism, encompassing analysis of visibility, ephemerality, and speech within the public sphere, the establishment and perpetuation of collective transnational solidarities, the portrayal of suppressed identities and narratives, and the innovation of alternative mechanisms for producing and disseminating art.

The Mughal school of miniature painting flourished in northern India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, chiefly under the patronage of the emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Rooted in a diversity of cultural, religious and artistic traditions, it became one of the richest and most productive schools in the whole history of Islamic art. In this beautifully illustrated book the author surveys the development of Mughal painting, from its early beginnings to the masterpieces created by the court studios for the books and albums of their demanding imperial patrons. He describes the historical setting in which the Mughal artists worked and the materials and techniques they used to create their brilliant effects. The paintings reproduced here cover the whole range of Mughal miniature art, from manuscript illustrations of biographical, historical or mythological works to courtly portrait albums, with both human and animal subject.

THULUTH is a game changing instructional book that aims to teach the art of Arabic Calligraphy in a truly comprehensive and step-wise method. The book looks to synergize traditional techniques of learning the art that have survived the test of time with contemporary learning methods that have proven to develop skills faster than ever. The result is a book that is not only an ultimate road map for absolute beginners but also a timeless guide for experienced calligraphers.

An abundantly illustrated look at how queerness is performed within artistic practice

Premodern archives from the Middle East show rich and diverse homoerotic worlds that were disrupted by the colonial imposition of Western models of sexuality. Andrew Gayed traces how contemporary Arab and Middle Eastern diasporic artists have remembered and reinvented these historical ways of being in their work in order to imagine a different present. Building on global art histories and transnational queer theory, Queer World Making illuminates contemporary understandings of queer sexuality in the Middle Eastern diaspora. The author focuses on the visual works of artists who create political art about queer identity, including Jamil Hellu, Ebrin Bagheri, 2Fik, Laurence Rasti, Nilbar Güres, and Alireza Shojaian.

Through engaging with these artists, Gayed is seeking to articulate a Western and non-Western modernity that works beyond the dichotomy of sexual oppression, stereotypically associated with the Middle East, versus sexual acceptance, attributed to North American norms. Instead, Gayed traces how diasporic subjects create coming-out narratives and identities that provide alternatives to inscribed Western models. Queer World Making reframes Arab homosexualities in terms of desire and alternative gender norms rather than through Western notions of visibility and coming out, narratives that are not conducive to understanding how queer Arabs living in the West experience their sexuality.

Mina'i, or polychrome overglaze, ware was made in Iran between the late 12th and the early 13th centuries. However, most pieces in museums have in fact been rebuilt, often from pieces of multiple different vessels with extensive plaster fill and modern overpaint. Only by closely examining unrestored archaeological sherds - genuine fragments of pots - can we build an authentic picture of what mina'i ware actually looked like. In this innovative book, Richard P. McClary studies sherds in collections around the world to help us to understand the production, decoration and distribution of the wares. He then examines the increased popularity of mina'i ware from the late-19th to the mid-20th century, with a focus on the dealers, collectors and curators, as well as the various types of faking, restoration, repair and conservation that has occurred over the last century.

Visualizing the collective imagination of Palestinian and Arab filmmakers across 75 years of exile, dispossession and displacement

In The dreams of the oppressed are the nightmares of the colonial world, Palestinian scholars Nadine Fattaleh and Kaleem Hawa engage in a wide-ranging conversation about Arab history, geography, art and cinema, weaving together theoretical and cultural texts to discuss the afterlives of violence, armed resistance and image-making in the Palestinian struggle. Their exchange centers on the 1987 film The Dream by Syrian filmmaker Mohammad Malas, which chronicles the dreams of Palestinians interviewed in refugee camps in Lebanon. Their discussion expands to consider a constellation of works from the past 60 years by filmmakers including Amiralay, Kassem Hawal, Hani Jawharieh and Jocelyne Saab.
Nadine Fattaleh is a Palestinian researcher, writer and translator from Amman.
Kaleem Hawa is a Palestinian writer and organizer living in New York City.

Tatreez, or Palestinian embroidery, is a treasured art form with roots that trace back to 2000 BCE, embodying an expression of Palestinian identity and serving as a rich, woven testament to collective cultural memory. Passed down through generations, tatreez is more than just a decorative craft; it holds stories of resilience, land, and heritage, capturing the experiences, hopes and emotions of the Palestinian people.

In Narrative Threads, curator Joanna Barakat brings this ancient tradition into focus within our contemporary era, examining both its history and how it continues to thrive and adapt. Barakat highlights how Palestinian embroidery inspires a wide array of artists - established and emerging - who incorporate its motifs and symbolism across various media, from painting and sculpture to ceramics, textile art, mixed media, film, photography, digital art, and street art. Through these diverse expressions, tatreez transcends cultural boundaries, connecting deeply Palestinian narratives with broader universal themes of endurance, love, and identity

Enhanced by 150 striking images and insightful essays by Dr. Tina Sherwell, Wafa Ghnaim, and George Al Ama, Narrative Threads offers a comprehensive look into how Palestinian embroidery remains a vital, evolving presence in the global art scene today, celebrating and reimagining this cherished tradition for new audiences worldwide.

A gorgeous visual history of Arabic calligraphy

This publication highlights the stages of the Arabic script's development since its very beginnings and the artistic relationship between calligraphy, contemporary art and artificial intelligence through an exceptional journey of knowledge, featuring Saudi and international master calligraphers, contemporary artists and designers.

Boullata takes the reader close to the struggle of those visionary, obstinate Palestinian artists who create so that their anonymous heroic land with its ancestral olive trees may survive.--John Berger

It is rare and exciting to find an art book full of persuasive, urgent visual imagery whose language and strategies are ultimately unfamiliar, whatever their surface appearance, to the complacent western eye. And it is refreshing to sense that the pull of much of the work derives from and points back to Palestinian culture itself, rather than being necessarily part of the self-conscious east-west discourse which so preoccupied Edward Said. As such it represents another advance in international understanding of Palestinian history and aspiration, but determinedly through the artist's eye.--Guardian UK

This diverse selection features pre-1948 paintings alongside contemporary media works, highlighting the political concerns of Palestinian artists and their unique contributions to modern Arab culture. Works by artists who live in Palestine are examined alongside those of artists from the Palestinian diaspora.

Kamal Boullata is a painter and writer. His writings on Palestinian art have appeared in numerous art and academic periodicals, and he recently edited Belonging and Globalisation: Critical Essays on Contemporary Art and Culture (Saqi Books).

A detailed study of the Great Mongol Shahnama, considered to be the greatest of all Persian illustrated manuscripts​

The Great Mongol Shahnama is widely considered to be the definitive version of Firdausi's epic poem, and the greatest of all Persian illustrated manuscripts. The paintings from this manuscript are held in private collections and institutions around the world, and have only been seen together in a single volume once since they were originally dispersed. This monograph reunites the paintings and reproduces them as 67 full-page, high quality color plates, alongside an analysis by leading scholar of Islamic art, Robert Hillenbrand. With newly commissioned photographs and insights into technical aspects of the paintings, The Great Mongol Shahnama is a comprehensive resource for those interested in Persian art and manuscripts.

Distributed for Hali Publications Ltd. and the FreerSackler, Smithsonian. Co-published by Hali Publications Ltd. and the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, and supported by Qatar Museums.

Exhibition Schedule:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC
(December 2020-June 2021)

Arabicity reflects on four decades of the aesthetic, conceptual, and socio-political concerns of contemporary Arab artists. Beautifully produced, it features over 200 artworks by 50 Arab artists including Bahia Shehab, Ayman Baalbaki, Hassan Hajjaj, and Raeda Saadeh, who explore their cultural heritage, and themes such as memory, destruction, and conflict, with great warmth, humour and visual poetry.

Whether through video art, painting, photography or installation, these artists challenge the confines of their identity, resist stereotyping, and reshape the parameters of their cultural traditions. In their diverse media and subject matter, their works reflect the pulse of the region. In chaos they discover what endures.

In southeastern Morocco, around the oasis of Tafilalet, the Ait Khabbash people weave brightly colored carpets, embroider indigo head coverings, paint their faces with saffron, and wear ornate jewelry. Their extraordinarily detailed arts are rich in cultural symbolism; they are always breathtakingly beautiful--and they are typically made by women. Like other Amazigh (Berber) groups (but in contrast to the Arab societies of North Africa), the Ait Khabbash have entrusted their artistic responsibilities to women. Cynthia Becker spent years in Morocco living among these women and, through family connections and female fellowship, achieved unprecedented access to the artistic rituals of the Ait Khabbash. The result is more than a stunning examination of the arts themselves, it is also an illumination of women's roles in Islamic North Africa and the many ways in which women negotiate complex social and religious issues.

One of the reasons Amazigh women are artists is that the arts are expressions of ethnic identity, and it follows that the guardians of Amazigh identity ought to be those who literally ensure its continuation from generation to generation, the Amazigh women. Not surprisingly, the arts are visual expressions of womanhood, and fertility symbols are prevalent. Controlling the visual symbols of Amazigh identity has given these women power and prestige. Their clothing, tattoos, and jewelry are public identity statements; such public artistic expressions contrast with the stereotype that women in the Islamic world are secluded and veiled. But their role as public identity symbols can also be restrictive, and history (French colonialism, the subsequent rise of an Arab-dominated government in Morocco, and the recent emergence of a transnational Berber movement) has forced Ait Khabbash women to adapt their arts as their people adapt to the contemporary world. By framing Amazigh arts with historical and cultural context, Cynthia Becker allows the reader to see the full measure of these fascinating artworks.

In the absence of a tradition of self-portraiture, how could artists signal their presence within a painting? Centred on late Timurid manuscript painting (ca. 1470-1500), this book reveals that pictures could function as the painter's delegate, charged with the task of centring and defining artistic work, even as they did not represent the artist's likeness. Influenced by the culture of the majlis, an institutional gathering devoted to intricate literary performances and debates, late Timurid painters used a number of strategies to shift manuscript painting from an illustrative device to a self-reflective object, designed to highlight the artist's imagination and manual dexterity. These strategies include visual abundance, linear precision, the incorporation of inscriptions addressing aspects of the painting and the artist's signature. Focusing on one of the most iconic manuscripts of the Persianate tradition, the Cairo Bustan made in late Timurid Herat and bearing the signatures of the painter Bihzad, this book explores Persian manuscript painting as a medium for artistic performance and self-representation, a process by which artistic authority was shaped and discussed.