Arab-American Visual Artists

I am a great lover of the visual arts, despite the fact that I have a) no personal aptitude for them and b) no critical education in how to think about them. All I know is that I would very much like to become a purchaser of art in my future life, when I someday am not living on a grad student's salary.

In any case, Diwan introduced me to a bunch of amazing visual artists I had never encountered before, producing breathtaking work that is intensely politically critical but also aesthetically stunning. Although I'm glad for the performance artists and writers I encountered, too, it's the visual artists that I'm most enthusiastic about.

I've combined them all into a post, because I am lazy. Sorry about that.

Note: There are a bunch of videos in here, none of which have transcripts (except for some of the interviews in the documentaries, which are subtitled in English because they were conducted in Arabic). If anybody needs either a transcript or a summary, I'd be happy to provide.)

( John Halaka, painter and documentary filmmaker )

( Reem Gibriel )

( Ayad Alkadhi )