Susan Hefuna

The Imperfect Chronology: Mapping the Contemporary II group exhibition is on at London’s Whitechapel Gallery, opening August 23 and running to January 8.

The exhibition features work by Sophia Al-Maria, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Etel Adnan, Marwa Arsanios, Ali Cherri, Manal Al Dowayan, Sadik Al Fraji, Susan Hefuna, Zineb Sedira, Iman Issa, Jumana Manna, and GCC.

The works are drawn from the Barjeel Art Foundation collection of modern and contemporary Arab art, and the final display of a year-long series at the Whitechapel will focus on the theme of what the press release calls ‘mapping geographies’ which examines “the notion of statehood and exploring how artists engage with the rapidly expanding cities of the Arab region.”

Visit the Whitechapel Gallery website for more details.**

Lawrence Abu Hamdan, The All Hearing, 2014. Video, 12:42 minutes. Image courtesy Galeri NON and Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah — Lawrence Abu Hamdan, ‘The All Hearing’ (2014). Video, 12:42 minutes. Image courtesy Galeri NON + Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.

Munich’s Museum Villa Stuck is bringing a group exhibition celebrating the diversity of art coming from the Gulf region with Common Grounds, running from February 12 to May 17.

Curated by Verena Hein, the show is intended as a sort of reckoning of the way in which the Western world manipulates and censors coverage of the Gulf region. Twelve artists, some of which are introduced to the German public for the first time, counter this exoticisation of the east through their work.

The exhibition title refers to the concept of “grounding” in communication theory, and the works featured test whether “communication partners” do in fact share common knowledge and whether a “global realignment”, as changes in the Gulf region are thought by some to be, is possible.

Participating artists include Iranian installation artist Parastou Forouhar, Tehran-raised Babak Golkar, Palestinian artist Hazem Harb, German-Egyptian artist Susan Hefuna and artist, writer nd Gulf Futurist Sophia Al Maria.

See the exhibition page for details. **

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Imperfect Chronology @ Whitechapel Gallery, Aug 23 – Jan 8

Common Grounds @ Villa Stuck, Feb 12 – May 17