"The 2010 Abraaj Capital Art Prize" Exhibition
Museum of Arts & Design
This event has ended.
The Museum of Arts and Design presents the 2010 winners of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize. Now in its second year, this prize is unique among art awards; not only is it the world's most generous, disbursing $1 million to its recipients, but it is also distinct in its concentration and approach, focusing on work from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region and honoring proposals conceived by an artist and curator pairing rather than individual realized works. This year's three winning duos are the Algerian artist Abdel Kader Attia with Laurie Ann Farrell, executive director of exhibitions for the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD); the Egyptian artist Hala Elkoussy with Jelle Bouwhuis, a curator at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; and the Lebanese artist Marwan Sahmarani with the Lebanese-Spanish curator Mahita El Bacha Urieta. Among the international panel of jurors who selected the winners from nearly one hundred applicants was MAD's Charles Bronfman International Curator, Lowery Stokes Sims.
Celebrated Algerian artist Kader Attia has a wide roster of international exhibitions including the Sydney Biennial, ICA, Boston and Palais de Tokyo, Paris. His Abraaj Capital Art Prize work - "History of a Myth: The Small Dome of the Rock"- is a video installation, centering on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, a structure of enormous historical and contemporary significance. A subtle combination of image and sound evokes the feelings the artist experienced when he visited the monument, creating a deep impression on the viewer.
Hala Elkoussy, co-founder of the Cairo-based Contemporary Image Collective, is an Egyptian artist for whom the archival history of modern Cairo is of utmost importance. She presents "The Myths and Legends Room: The Mural," an epic 27-foot-by-9-foot work, that references commemorative-propaganda art, but also suggests an alternative perspective on the city by exploring multiple narratives of how people live and navigate life under consumerism, political apathy and global economic conditions. Working with Dutch curator Jelle Bouwhuis, this is a new and exciting development in Elkoussy's career.
Marwan Sahmarani from Beirut is best known for his vibrant, highly-charged paintings. Working with curator Mahita El Bacha Urieta (Spain/Lebanon), Sahmarani presents "The Feast of the Damned," an atmospheric installation integrating painting, drawing, ceramics and film. Inspired by Rubens's "Hell: Fall of the Condemned Ones" and Michelangelo's "The Last Judgement," Sahmarani's interpretations of martyrdom and expiation resemble old fresco paintings but blended with contemporary media. The result is a poignant and intimately humane artwork of universal resonance and powerful visual and emotional impact.
[Image: Hala Elkoussy "Myths & Legends Room, The Mural (detail)" (2010) Courtesy: Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2010. Photo: Max Milligan]
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Schedule
from August 31, 2010 to October 10, 2010