A series of artist interviews from our archive.

Artist Interviews

A series of film discussions  from our archive, including interviews and reviews.

Film Discussions

A series of discussions from our archive about Design, Art and Culture including interviews with foundations, curators, as well as reviews about fairs and annual non-film related events.

Cultural Discussions

Architect and writer Todd Reisz joins Hind Mezaina for a discussion about his book Showpiece City: How Architecture Made Dubai and his exhibition Off Centre / On Stage that is accompanied by a book with the same title at Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai. 

You can find Showpiece City: How Architecture Made Dubai on https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=29960 and most other online bookshops.

Information about Off Centre / On Stage exhibition at Jameel Arts Centre can be found on https://jameelartscentre.org/whats-on/off-centre-on-stage/. The exhibition is on until March 21, 2022. 

The book Off Centre / On Stage was designed and published by Khatt Books and available to order online on https://www.khattbooks.com/shop/off-center-on-stage/

If you are in Dubai, you can find both books at Jameel Arts Centre and also online at https://shop.artjameel.org, plus Kinokinuya and Gulf Photo Plus.

Todd Reisz is an architect and writer living in Amsterdam. His work examines the global practice of architecture, specifically how the architect circulates technologies and cultural narratives. In addition to the two books about Dubai, he also co-edited Building Sharjah (https://www.ribabooks.com/building-sharjah_9783035622768#),  an archival investigation of Sharjah's vanishing twentieth-century landscape and includes a selection of essays and images from several contributors. 

You can find more of Todd's writings and subscribe to his newsletter on http://www.toddreisz.com and follow him on https://twitter.com/ToddReisz.

Interview With Todd Reisz

Hind Mezaina and Wael Hattar sit together after a podcast hiatus, to catch up on the state of art and culture across the UAE and beyond. 

They talk about life during (and post?) pandemic, art fairs, the accessibility of art, grassroots collectives that are co-opted by art fairs/commercial galleries, how the art scene in the UAE has not matured enough, the obsession with young artists, finding joy in art and more. 


Links to some of the things mentioned in the discussion:
https://www.akaretler.com.tr/Artweeks
https://www.theculturist.com/home/exhibition-wael-hattar-sold-out-at-rotanda-gallery.html 
https://tashkeel.org/exhibitions/wonder-land
https://maraya.ae/exhibitions/view/towards-time/121
https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/visa-and-emirates-id/dubai-cultural-visa 
https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/admissions/graduate/mfa-art-and-media.html

Image from Towards Time. Works by Zara Mahmood at Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah

Catch Up Part 1 - Art

Part two of a catch up conversation between Hind Mezaina and Wael Hattar, this one is about the state of cinema in the UAE and beyond.

Topics include:
- Changed habits of watching films since the pandemic
- Cinema vs streaming debate
- UAE cinemas and the inconsistent subtitling of non-English language films, lack of efforts by the multiplexes to attract new and diverse audiences to cinemas, high end cinema experience vs affordable cinema
- Lack of financial support for filmmakers in the UAE and new generation of new short films made by independent filmmakers in the 
- Streaming companies funding regional films and TV shows 
- Omar El Zohairy and his latest film Feathers


Relevant links:
https://grasshopperfilm.com/film/feathers/ 
https://www.theculturist.com/home/2022/5/19/cinemas-2022-the-alternative-film-festival-at-manarat-al-saadiyat 
https://imagenationabudhabi.com/afs/
https://www.netflix.com/ae-en/title/81312532 (Cooking with Paris)
https://www.hbo.com/irma-vep 

Image: Still from Feathers

Catch Up Part 2 - Cinema

An interview with Ana Lily Amirpour about her latest film Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, a fantasy adventure about a girl with unusual and dangerous powers who escapes from a mental asylum and tries to make it on her own in New Orleans. 

We discuss the film, how it relates to current politics, freedom, kindness, sleep, dreams, and dance music. 

This interview was recorded via Zoom at Cinema Akil on October 1.

Interview With Ana Lily Amirpour

A discussion with Nora Razian (Head of Exhibitions at Art Jameel) about recent exhibition trends in museums and galleries, specifically how 'research based art' is presented and translated into a final piece of artwork. 

The discussion includes questions about the proposition of the work and what are curators and artists demanding from an audience, works made for biennials compared to museum/gallery exhibitions, how best to present durational work like film and video and how can the layout invite and engage viewers to watch them in their entirety. We also discuss labelling, how to accommodate multi-lingual viewers, and how artists present works that challenge and contest dominant art narratives and histories.  

Links to some of the works mentioned in the discussion:
Nepal Picture Library at the 17th Istanbul Biennial
https://www.nepalpicturelibrary.org/update/feminist-memory-project-at-istanbul-biennial/ 
https://bienal.iksv.org/en/17b-artists/feminist-memory-project-nepal-picture-library

Lamia Joreige at the 17th Istanbul Biennial 
https://bienal.iksv.org/en/17b-artists/lamia-joreige

Christian Marclay - The Clock 
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/marclay-the-clock-t14038 

A Word to Curators - about making exhibitions accessible 
https://thewhitepube.co.uk/blog/to-curators/  

Watch & Chill 2.0: Streaming Senses at Sharjah Art Foundation 
https://sharjahart.org/sharjah-art-foundation/exhibitions/watch-chill-2.0-streaming-senses

An Ocean in Every Drop at Jameel Art Centre 
https://jameelartscentre.org/whats-on/an-ocean-in-every-drop/


About our guest:
Nora Razian manages the exhibitions programme at the Jameel Arts Centre, and contributes to curatorial thinking across the board. Previous roles include heading up programmes at the Sursock Museum, Beirut, and curating public programmes at Tate, London. She has an MA in Anthropology and Cultural Politics from Goldsmiths College, London, where she also designed and taught the MA course ‘Critical Pedagogy in Contested Space’ at the Centre for Arts and Learning.

Interview With Nora Razian About Exhibition Trends

Fourth episode of our Dubai International Film Festival daily diary - in this episode Hind Mezaina and Wael Hattar review:
The Assassin
The Clan 

https://www.dubaifilmfest.com

Additional links:
http://www.theculturist.com/home/my-top-30-picks-of-films-for-dubai-international-film-festiv.html

http://www.theculturist.com/home/wael-hattars-top-10-arab-films-to-see-at-dubai-international.html

Dubai International Film Festival 2015 - Day 4

Interview with Bana Kattan who curated this show with Scott Fitzgerald for the NYUAD Art Gallery. The show "Invisible Threads: Technology and its Discontents", is on until the 31st of December 2016.  

More information can be found here, http://www.nyuad-artgallery.org/en_US/exhibitions/invisible-threads/ and to see your drill counter click here http://www.nyuad-artgallery.org/

wael hattar's Album

NYUAD Art Gallery. Invisible Threads: Technology and its Discontents

An interview series sub-section of Tea With Culture. Michael Rice talks to Wael Hattar about his week long show in November at the Warehouse 46 space in Al Serkal Avenue, Dubai. Michael explains his practice, and the creation of ceramic and glass work in general, as well as getting into a conversation on being an Artist in the UAE and the opportunities available for mid level/unrepresented artists. You can see his work and this show on his site and Instagram accounts https://www.instagram.com/MichaelRiceCeramics/ and http://mceramics.com/

MadHattar's Tea Party Ep 19 - Michael Rice

Our top picks of exhibitions and museums to see between January and March 2017. This episode includes:

Mohammed Kazem - Receiving and Collecting at Gallery IVDE, Dubai (9 JAN - 23 FEB) http://www.ivde.net/exhibitions/50/works/

Kamal Boullata - Addolcendo at Meem Gallery, Dubai (16 JAN- 20 FEB) http://www.meemartgallery.com/exhibitions.php

Etihad Museum, Dubai http://etihadmuseum.dubaiculture.ae/en/pages/default.aspx

Women's Museum, Dubai http://womenmuseumuae.com/eng/

Lest We Forget - Emirati Adornment: Tangible & Intangible at Warehouse 421 , Abu Dhabi(4 FEB - 23 AUG) http://www.warehouse421.ae/en/exhibitions/ 

Bayn - The In-between at Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi
http://fact-magazine.com/index.php/tag/uae-unlimited/

Is Old Gold? at DUCTAC, Dubai (Weekly talks from 24 JAN, Exhibition 21 FEB - 7 APR) http://www.easteasteast.org/is-old-gold/

Performances at NYU Abu Dhabi Art Center http://www.nyuad-artscenter.org/en_US/events/ 

Hera Büyüktaşçıyan - Write Injuries on Sand and Kindness in Marble at Green Art Gallery, Dubai (15 FEB –6 APR) http://www.gagallery.com/artists/hera-buyuktasciyan

Sophia Al Maria - Everything Must Go at The Third Line, Dubai (22 FEB - 25 MAR) http://www.thethirdline.com

Rana Begum - The Abraaj Group Art Prize 2017 (15 - 18 MAR) http://www.artdubai.ae/mediagallery/rana-begum-winning-artist-of-the-abraaj-group-art-prize-2017/

Sharjah Biennial 13 (10 MAR - 12 JUN) http://sharjahart.org/biennial-13 

But We Cannot See Them: Tracing a UAE Underground, 1988-2008 at NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery (2 MAR - 25 MAY) http://www.nyuad-artgallery.org/en_US/exhibitions/but-we-cannot-see-them/ 

Pop for the People: Roy Lichtenstein in L.A. at Skriball Culture Centre http://www.skirball.org/exhibitions/pop-for-people-roy-lichtenstein-la 

Desert X, Palm Springs, California  (25 FEB - 30 APR)

Antarctic Biennale http://www.antarcticbiennale.com

Bela Tarr, Martin Scorcese and Apichatpong Weerasethakul at EYE, Amsterdam https://www.eyefilm.nl/en/exhibition/béla-tarr-–-till-the-end-of-the-world

Art and culture top picks for January-March 2017

Reza Aramesh talks about the series of sculptures he has been working on, after a show at Leila Heller in Dubai in 2016 more work was presented for Art Dubai (when we had this interview) and leading us to his most current installation at Art Basel. Reza explains the conceptualisation of his work, as well as discussing his usage of the male figure, as well as the body (in art) in general.

Reza will be participating in the Parcours section of Art Basel from June 15 to June 18, presenting three larger scale hand-carved and polished marble sculptures “Site of the Fall: Study of the Reaniassance Garden” which use the classical aesthetic, along with male figure from contemporary media to question the traditional representation of suffering as he had explained in this interview.

You can see more of his work at http://www.leilahellergallery.com/artists/reza-aramesh
and for more information on the pieces at Art Basel https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/17392

Interview with Reza Aramesh

In this episode, Hind Mezaina interviews Yasmin Atassi from Green Art Gallery in Dubai about the exhibition Modernist Women of Egypt. The exhibition focuses on the period between the 1950s and early 1970s, it reflects on the role of women artists from that period and addresses issues of nationalism, womanhood, activism, traditions and multiculturalism. Yasmin and Hind discuss the reasons behind the show, the artists featured in it, the representation of women in art and if this is a feminist exhibition. 

The exhibition features works by Inji Efflatoun, Vessela Farid, Tahia Halim, Zeinab Abdel Hamid, Effat Naghi, Marguerite Nakhla, Gazbia Sirry, and Margo Veillon. 

Exhibition link: http://www.gagallery.com/exhibitions/modernist-women-of-egypt
Exhibition dates: 22 May - 27 July 2017

Modernist Women of Egypt - interview with Yasmin Atassi

An interview with film critic/programmer Joseph Fahim about film criticism in the Arab world, the role of film festivals in the Arab region, Arab films and filmmakers to look out for. We also discuss the challenges of film funding, film censorship and film education.

You can follow Joseph Fahim on Twitter https://twitter.com/joseph_fahim where he shares his writings and projects he is working on. 

Links to the festivals we talked about:
Berlin Critics' Week http://wochederkritik.de/en_US/
Carthage Film Festival http://www.jcctunisie.org/eng/
Dubai International Film Festival https://dubaifilmfest.com 
El Gouna Film Festival  http://www.elgounafilmfestival.com 
Karlovy Vary Film Festival http://www.kviff.com/en 
Maskoon Film Festival https://www.facebook.com/MASKOONFFF
Qumra http://www.dohafilminstitute.com/qumra

Interview with film critic and programmer Joseph Fahim

An interview about Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival in Beirut, the only festival in the Arab world focusing exclusively on modern genre film, bringing the best horror, thriller, fantasy and action films from around the globe . 

Wael Hattar meets Maskoon's co-founders Antoine Waked (Creative Director) and Myriam Sassine(Executive Director) to talk about the film festival, its objectives, the role it plays within the local community, plus the challenges and opportunities since its launch in 2016. 

https://twitter.com/MaskoonFFFest
https://www.instagram.com/maskoonfff/
https://www.facebook.com/MASKOONFFF/ 

https://twitter.com/antoinewaked
https://twitter.com/sacinephile

Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival

Serge Attukwei Clottey talked with Wael Hattar about his art practise, focusing on his more recent works in performance and social interaction, as well as his interest in working on topics of migration and gender. They also discussed the art scene in Ghana with it's community and politics.

The show "The Displaced" at LawrieShabibi is on from 20 January until 3 March 2018, and part of a Gallery Takeover by Gallery 1957 from Accra, Ghana. You can find more information on their web page.
http://www.lawrieshabibi.com/exhibitions/57/overview/ 

- You can view more images on our Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/p/BetHKGWBdB7/?taken-by=teawithculture. 
All images courtesy Gallery 1957 and the artist

- You can find the link to the Video piece discussed "The Displaced" through this link from a review last year in Sleek of his show at Jane Lombard Gallery in NewYork http://www.sleek-mag.com/2017/01/18/serge-attukwei-clottey/

Interview with Serge Attukwei Clottey

In this episode our guest Ala Younis has a conversation with Hind Mezaina about her latest exhibition "Plan for Feminist Greater Baghdad" at the Art Jameel Project Space in Dubai, which is on until 14th March 2018. 

Plan for Feminist Greater Baghdad builds on Younis’s 2015 work, Plan for Greater Baghdad, which looked at monuments, (by) architects, (for) governments, and the short state of empowerment they gained as politics shifted in Iraq. The project anchored itself within the history of a gymnasium in Baghdad that was designed by Le Corbusier and named after Saddam Hussein. Heavily based on archives, found material, and the stories of its male protagonists, the project explored issues relating to the protection of monuments for posterity, and the creation of plans for Baghdad as either an expression of power or as a necessity.  

Plan for Feminist Greater Baghdad brings to the fore the significant contributions made by female artists, architects and other influential characters to the development of Baghdad and its modern monuments. It re-articulates archival material to bring about new narratives, seeing beyond the male dominance of the city’s architecture and politics, to reveal the female influence on Baghdad’s history.

http://www.alayounis.com 
http://planforgreaterbaghdad.art
https://artjameel.org/event/ala-younis-plan-for-feminist-greater-baghdad/ 

You can view images of the work on our Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/p/BgO3wq0BKQV/?taken-by=teawithculture

Interview with Ala Younis

In this episode Wael Hattar interviews artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan. We discuss Hamdan's practice in general, and cover his young but powerfully growing career from his first interest in Sound Art and how his work has developed into multiple media. Along with the winning of many prizes regionally and globally, we talk about the way people perceive his work (We have a few audio extracts from the works within the interview,) as well as his own development of what he sees and hears to his his different and current curatorial collaboration. 
http://sculpture-center.org/exhibitionsExhibition.htm?id=138467

You can read about his most recent prizes here
artdubai.ae/abraaj-group-art-prize-2018/
sculpture-center.org/exhibitionsExhibition.htm?id=138467

You can find more of his work in the following links
lawrenceabuhamdan.com
https://vimeo.com/user7053630
https://iffr.com/en/persons/lawrence-abu-hamdan

and find him socially here
instagram.com/lawrence_abu_hamdan/
twitter.com/LAbuHamdan

Interview with Lawrence Abu Hamdan

In this episode, Wael Hattar interviews Wafa'a Celine Halawi the Director of the Lebanese Film Festival. This is the 13th edition since it launched 17 years ago. Wafa'a Celine Malawi discusses the idea behind the start of the festival, its current iteration, the festival's audience, the effect on the film industry, plus the theme of this year's festival, "Lebanese Women in Cinema". 

www.lebanesefilmfestival.org

twitter.com/lebfilmfestival
instagram.com/lebanesefilmfestival/
facebook.com/lebfilmfest
youtube.com/user/LebaneseFilmFestival

Lebanese Film Festival

In this episode Wael Hattar interviews the artist Daniele Genadry. They talk about art, education and the evolution in her work. The discussion includes Daniele's techniques and thoughts behind her work and how she has been able to grow as an artist within the region in the past few years.

Daniele Genadry also teaches at the American University of Beirut, and she shares how education impacts artists and how an artist impacts education, and within that how her work has taken the form it did.

Daniele Gendary's current exhibition "Slow Light" can be seen at the Beirut Art Centre, until 7th October 2018. More information can be found here http://www.beirutartcenter.org/en/exhibitions/daniel-genadry-slow-light. 

Other links:
www.danielegenadry.com/
www.salehbarakatgallery.com/
instagram.com/dgenadry/

Interview with Daniele Genadry

In this episode Wael Hattar interviews the artist Shaikha Al Mazrou. They discuss  her art practice, how discomfort drives her, the directional change of her work and the effect of receiving an MFA. 

As a teacher at University of Sharjah, Al Mazrou also discusses art and higher Education in the UAE, and her role as an educator. 

We dive into the recent and upcoming projects, from Sharjah Art Foundation's artist residency March Projects,  the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation(ADMAF) commission, her current solo exhibition at Lawrie Shabibi, and her upcoming piece for Jameel Arts Centre opening in Dubai in November.


lawrieshabibi.com/artists/134-shaikha-al-mazrou/overview/
sharjahart.org/sharjah-art-foundation/exhibitions/march-project-2018

Interview with Shaikha Al Mazrou

In this episode, Hind Mezaina sits with Faisal Salah (https://twitter.com/EyesWOutAFais) from The National to talk about a film screening organised by the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, in conjunction with the Film and Visual Media in the Gulf conference (https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/events/2018/october/film-and-visual-media-in-the-gulf.html).

The film "Bas Ya Bahr / The Cruel Sea" by Khalid Al Siddiq was released in 1972 and is the first feature film made in Kuwait. They talk about the film, why and how it was made, the controversy around it, its reception regionally and globally and its importance to Gulf and Arab film history. 

Faisal Salah's article about the film in The National https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/the-first-ever-gcc-film-and-the-story-of-how-sheikh-zayed-saw-it-1.785906

The Cruel Sea on IMDB imdb.com/title/tt0121994/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_3
The Cruel Sea on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cruel_Sea_(1972_film)

The Cruel Sea / بس يا بحر - the first Kuwaiti feature film from 1972

In this episode, Hind Mezaina sits with Michelle Facey from Kennington Bioscope (http://www.kenningtonbioscope.com) who programmes regular screenings of silent films at The Cinema Museum in London (http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk).



Links to some of the references in the discussion: 
Kevin Brownlow - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Brownlow

Napoleon by Abel Gance https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/abel-gance-s-napoleon-monumental-restoration

Silent Film Accompanists http://www.kenningtonbioscope.com/accompanists/4579544071

Dawson City: Frozen Time directed by Bill Morrison - https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/2630 

Michelle Facey on Twitter https://twitter.com/best2vilmabanky

Kennington Bioscope on Twitter https://twitter.com/kenbioscope and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kenbioscope/

The Cinema Museum on Twitter https://twitter.com/CinemaMuseum and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_cinema_museum

Petition to save The Cinema Museum http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk/2017/petition-to-save-the-cinema-museum/

BFI https://www.bfi.org.uk

Silent London https://silentlondon.co.uk

The Kennington Bioscope at The Cinema Museum

Hind Mezaina sits with Nada Raza, Artistic Director of Ishara Art Foundation which opened in March 2019. 

Established by Smita Prabhakar, an entrepreneur, art collector and long term Dubai resident, the foundation is focused on contemporary art from a South Asian context, supporting cultural exchange and building on the shared histories, continued presence and cultural contribution of South Asian voices in the Gulf.

www.ishara.org
twitter.com/Ishara_Art
instagram.com/isharaartfoundation/
facebook.com/isharaartfoundation/

Ishara Art Foundation

Wael Hattar sits with Maya Moumne and Hatem Imam, the Beirut based co-founders and co-directors of Journal Safar, an independent bilingual(Arabic and English)and biannual visual and design culture magazine launched in 2014. Journal Safar provides a window into cultural production in the Middle East, focusing on contemporary design, critical thinking and experimentation in the region by inviting  designers, writers, thinkers and other creatives to respond to a specific theme per issue. 

Maya Moumne and Hatem Imam discuss the reasons behind launching a bilingual magazine, how they choose their themes and collaborating with contributors, how they go about producing the magazine in terms of funding and distribution. 

www.journalsafar.com/
facebook.com/journalsafar/
twitter.com/JournalSafar
instagram.com/journalsafar/
www.studiosafar.com/

Interview with Maya Moumne and Hatem Imam from Journal Safar

In this episode, Hind Mezaina sits with Kourosh Nouri, founding director of Carbon 12 gallery. Launched in Dubai with his business partner and wife Nadine Knotzer in November 2008, the gallery represents regional and international artists with an active calendar of exhibitions and attendance in art fairs around the world. 

To discuss its milestone 10 years in Dubai,  Kouroush Nouri shares with us the opportunities and challenges of running a contemporary art gallery, how he and Nadine work with artists and collectors and what they expect from them, plus the overall development of the art scene in the UAE over the past decade. 

Warning: some strong language in this episode. 

https://www.carbon12dubai.com  
facebook.com/Carbon12gallery/   
instagram.com/carbon12gallery/   
twitter.com/carbon12gallery

Interview with Kourosh Nouri, Founding Director of Carbon 12

Wael Hattar met with Rami Zeidan, the VP of Anghami and talked about the digital audio landscape in the Middle East and Anghami’s role in the region with its changing consumption habits. 

They also discussed Anghami's new direction on working with Podcasts and their insight on the types of shows that work, how consumption happens and how they support and push the content curators.
We also talked about Rami's own experience with his Hip Hop podcast 7awwil.

facebook.com/anghami.ae/
twitter.com/anghami
instagram.com/anghami/
www.anghami.com
https://play.anghami.com/album/5730967
www.7awwil.me

Interview with Rami Zeidan about Anghami

This episode is a recording of a talk titled Art Critique in the UAE which took place in Dubai on September 10th at Tashkeel. Thanks to Tashkeel for letting us share the talk with our listeners.

About the talk:
Can a Culture of Critique Exist in the UAE? 
Why has the UAE seemingly resisted the culture of critique? 
Who is contributing to changing the dynamic? 
Do we even need to think critically about contemporary art? ﻿
Can a Culture of Critique Exist in the UAE? 
Why has the UAE seemingly resisted the culture of critique? 
Who is contributing to changing the dynamic?  
Do we even need to think critically about contemporary art? ﻿

Moderated by Kevin Jones, arts writer, UAE Desk Editor for ArtAsiaPacific and founder of Juniper Mind,  with a panel that included artists Afra Al Dhaheri and Rania Jishi, Umer Butt from Grey Noise Gallery, and Tea with Culture's Hind Mezaina. 

The discussion addressed the presumed barriers to critique in the UAE arts ecosystem, the blossoming opportunities to cultivate critique, and a speculative leap into the future of local critique. 

The panelists assessed the current state of “crit”—from burgeoning grassroots artist-run collectives to the complex feedback loop of the artist/gallerist tandem. 

They decoded the critical landscape today in the UAE—who are the critics, what influence do they wield—before imagining the stakes of a fully matured culture of critique—how would this be different from what exists elsewhere, what would be the uniquely UAE inflection?

https://tashkeel.org
http://junipermind.com
https://www.afraaldhaheri.com
https://www.greynoise.org

Panel Talk at Tashkeel: Art Critique in the UAE

In this episode Wael Hattar and Hind Mezaina sit with author and journalist Samya Ayish to discuss the state of Arab Cinema, specifically in the UAE and the Gulf region. 

The discussion includes film education; the role film festivals, especially the importance of Dubai International Film Festival (ended in 2018 after 14 years) for filmmakers, film enthusiasts and cinephiles; the calibre of film critique, film journalism and film discussions on social media in the region; lack of film marketing, short lived film screening initiatives.  

You can follow Samya Ayish on Twitter https://twitter.com/sayish. 

Films mentioned in this episode:
Musk (dir. Humaid Alsuwaidi)
Rashid and Rajab (dir. Mohammed Saeed Harib) 
Shabab Shayeb (dir. Yasir Al-Yasiri)
Sea Shadow (dir. Nawaf Al Janahi)
Al Mamar / The Passage (dir. Sherif Arafah)
Fan of Amoory (dir. Salmeen AlMurry Amer) 
Leil Kharji / EXT. Night (dir. Ahmad Abdalla) 


Key venues to watch films in the UAE:

- Multiplexes found across the UAE:
Cine Royal Cinemas
Cinema City
Cinemax Cinemas
Novo Cinemas
Oscar Cinema
Reel Cinemas
Roxy Cinemas
Star Cinemas
Vox Cinema

- Independently run cinemas + institutions/cultural spaces that screen films frequently:

In Abu Dhabi
Cinema Space, Manarat Saadiyat
Korean Cultural Center
Louvre Abu Dhabi
NYUAD Arts Center
Sorbonne University
Warehouse 421

In Al Ain
Al Ain Community Cinema

In Dubai:
Alliance Francaise Theatre
Cinema Akil
Dubai Opera
Jameel Arts Centre
thejamjar
Warehouse Four

In Sharjah
Africa Hall, The Africa Institute, Sharjah
Mirage Cinema, Sharjah Art Foundation

Interview with Samya Ayish about Arab Cinema in the UAE and Gulf Region

A spoiler filled discussion about James Mangold's latest film Le Mans '66 (Ford v Ferrari) between Hind Mezaina and a returning guest, motoring journalist Imtishan Giado(www.instagram.com/imthishan). 

The discussion moves on to car culture in the United Arab Emirates, including the one time Dubai Grand Prix from 1981,  Dubai Rally, Dubai Police car fleet,  and if motor racing in the United Arab Emirates is culturally accepted or relevant.

Le Mans '66 (Ford v Ferrari)and Car Culture in the UAE

Hind Mezaina sits with Faisal Salah, social media journalist at The National (https://twitter.com/EyesWOutAFais) and comic book artist Mohamed "Momo" Sheibani (https://twitter.com/momoarchive) to discuss Ali F Mostafa's film City of Life ten years after its premier at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2009. 

The discussion includes their thoughts about the film, the representation of Dubai in the film, the films and commercials made by Ali F Mostafa after City of Life and a look at other UAE films released during the past decade, the impact of the cancellation of Abu Dhabi Film Festival and the Dubai International Film Festival, and the challenges of developing and maintaining a film industry in the UAE. 

Other UAE films discussed in this episode:
From A to B (Ali F Mostafa, 2014)
The Worthy (Ali F Mostafa, 2016)
Sea Shadow (Nawaf Janahi, 2011)
A Fallible Girl (Conrad Clark, 2013)
Djinn (Tobe Hooper, 2013)
Zinzana (Majid Al Ansari, 2015)
Hajwala: The Missing Engine (Ali Bin Matar, Ibrahim Bin Mohamed, 2016)
Aerials (S.A. Zaidi, 2016)
Only Men Go to the Grave (Abdulla Al Kaabi, 2016)
Musk (Humaid Al-Suwaidi, 2018)

You can rent/buy City of Life before on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ae/movie/city-of-life/id1093942053

You can read Hind Mezaina's review of City of Life here: https://www.theculturist.com/home/review-city-of-life-by-ali-f-mostafa.html

You can read Hind Mezaina's interview with Abdulla Al Kaabi about Only Men Go to the Grave here: https://www.theculturist.com/home/interview-with-abdulla-al-kaabi-director-of-only-men-go-to-t.html

A decade after City of Life and the state of filmmaking in the UAE

This episode was recorded on 22nd March 2020, a few weeks into the significant changes felt all around the world caused by the Coronavirus. 

Tea with Culture's Hind Mezaina was invited by Warehouse 421, an arts and design centre based in Abu Dhabi that hosts exhibitions and public programmes, to moderate a discussion for their new podcast "Warehouse 421 Conversations". You can listen to the discussion here, and thank you to Warehouse 421 for letting us share this episode with you, our listeners.

Since March 14th, museums and cultural spaces across the UAE closed their doors for health and safety reasons due to the Coronavirus. It’s been a tough few weeks for all since that announcement and Warehouse 421 invited Tea with Culture to moderate a discussion about the impact of the current interruptions in the local art ecosystem and the various ways that livelihood in the arts can continue during times of disruption.

Hind Mezaina was joined by artist and educator Zahra Jewanjee, Umer Butt, director of Grey Noise Gallery, and Kevin Jones, arts writer and consultant and founder of Juniper Mind to have this conversation.

https://www.warehouse421.ae/en/
http://www.zjewanjee.com
https://www.greynoise.org
http://junipermind.com

Warehouse 421: Art And Artists In Times Of Disruption

Hind Mezaina invited Maryam Wissam Dabbagh for a conversation about her project currently on exhibit at Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai, part of its ongoing Library Circles series. 

The commissioned project reflects on the conversations around belonging and revisiting relationships with our cities, topics  many of us around the world have been thinking about since the pandemic started and apt themes themes to discuss for our 100th episode. 



About  the Library Circles commissioned project:
Library Circles feature research, talks and experimental interventions by UAE practitioners in the Jameel Library and Jameel Arts Centre. The programme explores alternative research methodologies and representations with a focus on ‘thinking in public’.

For the fall iteration of Library Circles, Jameel Library presents an audio piece by writer and researcher Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh. The commissioned work reflects on the conversations around belonging; revisiting relationships with our cities through bureaucracy, administration and the long-prophesied age of retirement. Through personal narratives, Al Dabbagh examines complex round histories that continue to reimagine their beginnings and abruptly ending. 
 Accompanying the audio piece is a text installation. Meant for slow reading and chance encounters, the writing starts from the library and grows outwards across various spaces throughout the Jameel Arts Centre.
 

About Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh:
Born and raised in the UAE, Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh is an Iraqi writer, researcher, and cultural communications consultant.
She received a BA in Journalism, from the American University of Sharjah, and an MA in Global Media and Post-National Communications from SOAS, London. Her research is focused on the Arab Diaspora in the Gulf, and exile, especially through the lens of belonging and return.

Library Circles: Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh is on until 31 December 2020. 
https://jameelartscentre.org/whats-on/library-circles-maryam-al-dabbagh/

Interview with Maryam Wissam Al Dabbagh

In this episode Wael Hattar interviews Alia Fattouh from Athr Gallery, one of the leading galleries in Saudi Arabia, where they discuss the 11 years since it's establishment, covering the beginnings of Athr gallery in parallel with the development of the art scene in the region.

With the recent cultural expansion in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia, Athr had to shift and develop with that, and the conversation went into the interaction with a young generation, how Athr are growing their new artists and the scene, and getting into new projects now that the Saudi Art Council has been set up, and starting up their own residency program and micro grants.

You can find out more through their links as mentioned in the interview
https://www.athrart.com/
www.maaneditions.com/
www.thesaudiartcouncil.org/

instagram.com/athrart/
twitter.com/athrart
facebook.com/AthrArtGallery

Athr Gallery

Film critic A.S. Harmah joins Hind Mezaina for a conversation about his book The Earth Dies Streaming.

A.S. Hamrah is a writer living in Brooklyn. He contributed a column on film to n+1 from 2008 to 2019, and his essays and reviews have appeared in Harper’s, Bookforum, Cineaste, and other publications. His first book, The Earth Dies Streaming: Film Writing, 2002–2018, was published by n+1 Books in 2018.

Episode Notes:
The first half of the discussion is about the state of film criticism, the current the debate about streaming, their impact on movie theatres, and film studios as hyper capitalist entities. 

From the 42nd minute onwards the discussion is focused on the book, including the following chapters and filmmakers:
- Alien Land - The Grapes of Wrath
- Jessica Biel's Hand 
- Chantal Akerman
- Stanley Kubrick

Other films/filmmakers/topics mentioned / discussed in this episode include:
Outbreak, Contagion, Nomadland (Chloe Zhao), Hillbilly Elegy (Ron Howard), The Irishman (Martin Scorsese), Il Cinema Ritrovato and the roles of film festivals in general (especially during the pandemic),


Links discussed in this episode:
2021 Will Launch the Platinum Age of Piracy www.wired.com/preview/story/5fd2…56e34070c4339bc27c
Oedipal Multiplex  https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/oedipal-multiplex-1.602016



Links related to the book:
Book intro, Remember Me On This Computer nplusonemag.com/online-only/onlin…on-this-computer/
n+1 Bookstore shop.nplusonemag.com/products/the-e…-by-a-s-hamrah

Where to find A S Hamrah:
thebaffler.com/authors/a-s-hamrah
twitter.com/hamrahrama
www.instagram.com/hamrahrama

Interview with A S Hamrah

Interviews and discussions about art and culture in the United Arab Emirates and beyond. Founded in 2015. Presented by Hind Mezaina and Wael Hattar. 
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @teawithculture
Email: teawithculture@gmail.com

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