In September 2019, a new gallery devoted to Contemporary Middle Eastern Art will emerge on the Washington D.C scene. The gallery will be an extension of The Middle East Institute (MEI) and aims to support artists from the Middle East and cross-cultural dialogue. MEI is considered the oldest D.C organization dedicated to education on Middle Eastern talent.
For the augural exhibition, the MEI Gallery will feature the work of 18 artists, including Chant Avedissian, Ayman Baalbaki, Batoul S’Himi, Hassan Hajjaj, Susan Hefuna, Taghreed Dargouth, Adel Abidin, Raeda Saadeh, and Mohamad Said Baalbaki.
Both Hassan Hajjaj and Batoul S’Himi will represent Morocco. Hajjaj is a photographer, designer, and filmmaker. He is one of Morocco’s preeminent international artists, sometimes called his native country’s answer to Andy Warhol.
S’Himi was born in Asilah in 1974 and currently lives in the coastal enclave, Martil. S’Himi graduated from the I’lnstitut National des Beaux-Arts in Tetouan (1998) and has continued as a visiting professor there since 2011. In 2005 she co-founded the Association Espace 150×295 in Martil with Faouzi Laatiris. In Morocco, her work has been featured at the Palais Bahia, Marrakech (2010); “Regards de femmes BCGM”, Maisons de Culture Tetouan, Maroc (2004); “Passerelle”, Parc de I’Hermitage, Casablanca (2004); “France Maroc: experiences croisées à Marrakech II”, Musée de Marrakech (2003), Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Tetouan (2001); and the lnstitut français, Casablanca (1999). She has also participated in several biennales and art festivals.
MEI has chosen Rose Issa, a world-renowned Middle Eastern film and an art curator to manage the gallery. For the past three decades, Issa has introduced modern and contemporary Middle Eastern artists to Western audiences at numerous exhibitions and film festivals around the globe. Among them are Ayman Baalbaki, Shadi Ghadirian, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Bahman Ghobadi, Hassan Hajjaj, Farhad Moshiri, Abbas Kiarostami, Rashid Koraichi and Nja Mahdaoui, names that are now well respected internationally.
“We want to provide a platform for the Middle East’s leading and emerging artists to engage with US audiences and the local DC community,” said Kate Seelye, vice president of MEI’s arts and culture program. “With thoughtfully curated and accessible exhibitions, free talks, and film screenings, it’s a welcoming place for people to discover a new perspective on the region and to celebrate its rich culture.”
Isa is also the founder of the Rose Issa Projects and Beyond Art Production, Rose publishes monographs and comprehensive catalogs addressing the current concerns and trends of contemporary visual arts from the Arab world. In 1982 Rose Issa launched the first-ever Arab Film Festival in Paris. Since then she has served on several film and art festival advisory committees in Europe.