In an exhibition and a number of walk-throughs, the internationally renowned artist Walid Raad proposes artworks and stories about Islamic art, World War I and the building of new infrastructures for the arts in the Arab world.

In late 2017, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will open to the public. This Louvre opening follows the opening of the Départment des Arts de l’Islam in the Paris Louvre in 2012, which also coincides with the opening of new wings for Islamic arts in various museums around the world (most notably in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; The Museum of Islamic Arts in Doha; and The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto). This renewed interest in Islamic arts further coincides with dramatic geo-political events in the past few decades, beginning with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 on to the ongoing wars in Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. Moreover, it overlaps with the 100th anniversary of World War I, a war that saw the emergence of the Middle East as we know it today.

These issues are central to the work of Walid Raad, who was born in Beirut and is now based in New York. For the exhibition in the state rooms of Palais Attems he has conceived a series of installations and stage sets. During the first two weeks of the festival, the artist presents a number of walk-throughs. In these, he concentrates on the building of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, the shift from synthetic to natural dyes in the late 19th century, the writings of Jalal Toufic, and how culture and tradition are impacted, both materially and immaterially, by violence and war.

Künstlerin / Künstler / Gruppe: Walid Raad
Produktion: Celesta Rottiers
Technik: Herman Sorgeloos

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