A closer look at Amar A. Zahr, founder of Beirut Art Residency (BAR)     Would you please introduce yourself? And tell us how you decided to start an art residency in Beirut?   Starting out as an artist myself, after exploring a few residencies around the world, including Istanbul, Dubai and New York, I was convinced that this...

Ahmad Minkara talks to Shahzia Sikander…                                        Sikander studied at The National College of Arts Lahore in Pakistan, where she was taught the traditional discipline of Indo-Persian miniature painting.     Can you tell us what how you got inspired by Indo-Persian miniatures? What was it...

Bangladesh and Beyond Ahmad Minkara interviews art collectors and champions of new talent, Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani.                                    If India and Pakistan have traditionally dominated the South-Asian art scene, then a Bangladeshi-based foundation run by Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani is doing what it can to put that...

Ahmad Minkara Interviews Diana Al-Hadid, a Syrian-American Artist Diana Al-Hadid is a contemporary artist who creates sculptures, installations, panels and drawings using various media. Here for Artscoops she talks to Ahmad Minkara. She was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1981 and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Her sculptures,...

Interview with Majdoline Al Ghoul owner of Dar Al Anda Art Gallery What is going on in the art world in Jordan, Majdoline Al Ghoul owner of Dar Al Anda our new gallery partner from Amman, talked to us.   I understand Dar Al-Anda is a long standing art gallery in Amman . How did the idea of the gallery come out? What category of artists...

Interview with Hayv Kahraman A Beautiful Balancing Act The Iraqi-born artist Hayv Kahraman talks to Ahmad Minkara about finding inspiration and tackling torturous topics in a diasporic space.   Addressing difficult and distressing subjects in art without losing an audience is no easy task. Yet the Iraqi-born artist Hayv Kahraman...

Interview with Nasser Al Aswadi   A combination of history and the sacred, the work of Nasser Al Aswadi stands out, unique. Encounter with the Yemeni artist.     Nasser Al Aswadi tell us about yourself …   Since childhood I wanted to become an artist. But in Yemen no art schools were available, so I studied architecture,...

Interview with Hanaa Malallah, Artist     Hanaa Malallah, you are an Iraqi artist of the generation of war. Your art shows the wounds of your homeland. It doesn’t show your own wounds, as if you are a spectator. I mean your work is objective, in the sense that one sees the pain and the sorrow in your work, but doesn’t see drama.  Can...

Interview with Serge Akl, Co-Founder of Photomed     Serge Akl, you are the director of the Lebanese Office of Tourism in Paris but you are also cofounder and vice president of Photomed Lebanon. In your opinion how does   organizing Photomed or similar artistic activities help the tourism sector?   Organizing any big event which...