Documentary series “De Paris à Abu Dhabi, une autre histoire de l’art”

In continuity with her documentary available on Arte.tv, “From Istanbul to Cairo, a Thousand Ways of Being Modern,” Ilana Navaro presents a second series within the documentary series collection (LSD) on France Culture available on Radio France.

Comprising four episodes of approximately one hour each, the series unfolds as an intellectual and geographical journey between Paris, Cairo, Beirut, and Abu Dhabi, in pursuit of a century of modern art in the Middle East, through those who produce, transmit, and engage with it. Directed by Cécile Laffon, it explores aesthetic circulations, the reconfiguration of art historical narratives, and the conditions of visibility of Arab artists across multiple and often discontinuous contexts.

The episodes successively address the role of Paris as a key site for the training and circulation of artists from the Arab world in the early twentieth century, the emergence of artistic manifestos in Cairo and Beirut within avant-garde and politically engaged movements, contemporary rereadings of art history from the Arabian Peninsula through Gulf museum policies, and finally Abu Dhabi as a space of cultural projection and the reconfiguration of global artistic narratives.

The series also features contributions from researchers within the Manazir network, including Silvia Naef, Nadia Radwan, and Zouina Ait Slimani, alongside art historians, artists, and actors from the Arab art world, contributing to the renewal of perspectives on these art histories, which remain largely under construction.

The series is available as a podcast and can be accessed for listening from outside France via this link.