Every monthly newsletter we send gives us an opportunity to look back at the events of the previous month and simultaneously to look ahead at those coming up.  

For those of the past few weeks, we are extremely thankful to everyone who has visited the CARAVAN Arts  I AM exhibition and associated events at St-Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London.  The response has been tremendous!  Its on until 20th August, so if you haven't been yet, we hope you can make it.  And on 14th August, we are honoured to be hosting Elif Shafak, the award-winning novelist and the most widely read women writer in Turkey. Apply   here for free tickets.

In addition, we are delighted to announce that Janet Rady has been invited to be the specialist in charge of the inaugural Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern online auction at Dubai based ARTIANA Auctions taking place at the end of November. Comprising a variety of works by collectable Arab and Iranian artists, and with no Buyer's Premium payable, it will be a wonderful opportunity to sell and acquire great art.  Click on the banner above to find out how to consign.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the holidays and reading this month's highlighted events and features. 

An exhibition of works drawn from the collection of the Barjeel Art Foundation, a collecting philanthropic institution based in the United Arab Emirates. The exhibition, featuring works dating from 1990 to 2016, conjures various histories intersecting a shared geo-political space: The Arabic-speaking world-a geographic region that includes the twenty-two countries of the Arab League and whose contemporary coordinates lay between Mauritania, North Africa, and West Asia.

A very diverse mix of photographers, artists and filmmakers portraying a country still caught up in revolution and war, but also fast-changing beyond recognition. Iran is both a young and an old country at the same time. Thousands of years of history have come before the 1979 Islamic revolution. We start counting again from that year. Iran: year 38, is to be an exhibition celebrating the culture of visual poetry embraced by Iranians.

Artists Marwa Arsanios, Yto Barrada, Pauline Boudry/Renate Lorenz, and Renée Green have each been commissioned to create a new work to be shown online from June to September 2017. Their works respond to the inspirations, inquiry, and influence of Harun Farocki (1944-2014), a key artist in the Walker's Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection. Farocki's prolific output as a filmmaker, writer, activist and teacher is characterized by its incisive and sustained critique of media habits and its effect on everyday lives.

Epicenter X explores contemporary Saudi culture by promoting meaningful dialogue between Saudi artists and U.S. audiences. Furthermore, the exhibition sheds light on the vast diversity of contemporary artistic practice in Saudi Arabia. Cutting through the political discourse of media outlets and government officials, the artworks featured in this exhibition open doors to the lives of the Saudi people. In doing so, this presentation will challenge common views and stereotypes of Arab culture by lending voice to artists exploring poignant ideas centered on urbanization, globalization, religion and the impact of American popular culture in Saudi society.

A solo exhibition of the French artist eL Seed untitled "Love Paris" or the story of an artistic declaration of love.
From Urban Art, the artist & calligrapher eL Seed has paced Paris, its streets, its neighborhoods and has been able to take a poetic look at the "City of Light". So, through this exhibition, eL Seed wants to highlight Paris, its elegance and its romanticism.

The exhibition comprises sculptures, videos and sound works that envisage international diplomacy as an alien conspiracy. Shown in two distinct environments - a mysterious, pitch black anteroom and an American diner - these semi-autobiographical works of science fiction unearth the unlikely stories lurking in the shadows of the artist's childhood in Kuwait. Revisiting the fantasies that she and her sister elaborated during these early years, they depict the culture and rituals of diplomacy by which they were then surrounded as literally otherworldly to the current rise of nationalism and political populism.

A solo exhibition of calligraphy by Emirati artist and poet Her Highness Sheikha Khawla Bint Ahmed Khalifa Al Suwaidi. The exhibition will feature a range of intricate Andalusian - Arab calligraphy inspired by Her Highnesses poetry. Spiritual rather than religious, the Sheikha's calligraphy and poetry expresses an eternity that transcends cultural and geographical borders. Imaginative and elegant, her work depicts a hope and positivity for the world-at-large, exploring issues of love, peace, gratitude and beauty. The work does
so by engaging the viewer with delicate imagery.
Press Release

Reconnecting Arts an artist led platform presents, TRANSITION a showcase of over 30 emerging Middle Eastern Artists reflecting on the ways transition has taken place in their life. Ranging from fine art, calligraphy, sculpture, photography, to video, zines and installation, the artists explore topics and issues that shape the lives of Middle Eastern artists both locally and internationally. This includes the effect of urbanisation as well as displacement, the impact of balancing East and West, as well as gender roles, embracing faith and the future of the Middle East.

The precious 'Cantastorie', a fascinating and unknown accumulation of images and image cycles, were handed down from one generation to the next in two families of minstrels and puppeteers from Naples and Foggia who used them to place great cultural issues literally before an audience. In a way they were the first comics, full of beautiful princesses, valiant knights, chaotic battles, gruesome tales and voracious monsters.