imperial feminism
By Geeta Mohan: A historic event took place this month when a peace deal was signed between Iran and Saudi Arabia, brokered by China, taking the world by surprise. An agreement that could put China in a leading role in West Asia, a position once held by the United States of America.
But, it is not just West Asia, there are countries in many other parts of the world that have veered towards Beijing, much to the chagrin of states that have been either troubled or concerned about China’s territorial claims and increased aggression.
According to the March 10 agreement, both sides decided to re-establish relations and re-open embassies within two months. The deal was announced after four days of talks in Beijing.
Julian Siggers, director of the Penn Museum, says it's especially meaningful to have docents from Iraq and Syria, given that his institution owes its entire existence to artifacts legally excavated from there in the 1800s.
"This is a part of the world where not only do you see the first cities, but you see the first writing, the first irrigation, the first astronomy," he says. "I mean, we all have this enormous debt to these cultures of the ancient Near East. And of course that's where [the docents] are from and they're very proud of that."
The Global Guides also come from Mexico, Guatemala and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Clay Katongo arrived in North America 13 years ago after fleeing the DRC. He's a new Global Guide, whose tours concentrate on the spectacular Africa collection, replete with religious artifacts preceding the spread of Christianity and Islam.
But the upside for the museum is huge, Schott adds. The Global Guides have turned out to be invaluable when it comes to translating documents in Arabic, Spanish and other languages. They've helped curators on the ground doing research in Iraq. And at a moment when the tragedies of other countries can feel as remote as an artifact locked away in a glass case, hearing refugees' stories in tandem with artifacts from the past makes both feel more personal and present.
11/15/19 - We talk with Shirin Neshat about her solo exhibition at the Broad museum in Los Angeles. She's an Iranian-American artist who works in photography and film, using the personal to illuminate social change and political injustice in the Middle East and the United States.
Hyperallergic traveled to Cairo to see the When Arts Become Liberty: The Egyptian Surrealists (1938–65) exhibition organized by Sharjah Art Foundation Director Hoor Al Qasimi, Salah M. Hassan of Cornell University, Ehab Ellaban of Cairo’s Ufuq Gallery, and Nagla Samir of the American University in Cairo.
You can’t really understand what’s going on in the world, especially in the middle east and in China, unless you understand the first world war.
also movies about the western front that don’t feature Chinese workers and Brazilian soldiers are apocryphal.