Research

Explore the intersection of curatorial practice and structural critique. This series examines the “Orientalizing” infrastructures present in modern art institutions and daily life. By focusing on positionality and the emotional labor of those exposed to these systems, the sessions identify new collaborative methods and artistic strategies to dismantle Orientalist fantasies and build safer spaces for critical debate.

The following conversations document an exchange between students from the MA Art History and Curating program at AUB and the MA Cultures of the Curatorial program at HGB Leipzig, along with cultural practitioners from various disciplines, including music, theater, art theory, anthropology, and contemporary visual arts. Situating their practices along the axis between Lebanon and Germany, all participants take an active part in shaping the intangible preconditions of these dynamic infrastructures. The discussions explore dimensions of the underlying movements and conditions that enable connections, exchanges, and collaborations across contexts. Reflecting on what nourishes these interactions, they examine the forces shaping these constellations.

This conversation took place on the occasion of Mohamad Abdounis solo exhibition “Anya Kneez: A queen in Beirut” at ajh.pm in Bielefeld on the 08th of May 2024. The talk was initiated and organized by Audrey Hörmann.

This curatorial programm existed of an academic semester (Spring 2024) at the American University Beirut curated by Clementine Butler-Gallie and Siska. This semester consisted among others of one online workshop on censorship and erasure with the AUB and HGB students, of one artist talk with Ahmad Ghossein in the AUB Galleries and one online artsist talk with Franziska Pierwoss.

““Traces of Utopia” is an exhibition curated by students and faculty involved in the ongoing collaboration between AUB Art Galleries/FAAH at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (HGB Leipzig). The exchange, titled “Beyond Orientalism(s),” is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and was established to facilitate critical discussion and exchange between students and faculty from the Art History and Curating program at AUB and the Cultures of the Curatorial program at HGB Leipzig. The “Traces of Utopia” exhibition, which constitutes Chapter One of this collaboration, was funded by the Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) at AUB. This curatorial statement was collaboratively written by students enrolled in the spring semester curatorial courses AHIS-249K and AHIS-385A. It brings together a diverse range of concepts and discourses selected by the students to explore and critically engage with the theme of Utopia in the region.