A new collection of first-hand essays on thirty pioneering figures of Arab artistic modernity.
Like its predecessor, this second edition of Alcove—from the Arabic al qubba, meaning vault or chamber—deepens the archive of Modern Arab art through 30 new personal essays. Narrated by the relatives, friends and students of pioneering figures who defined the region's visual culture, this volume continues the first book's celebration of memory, intimacy and reclamation and opens a space for remembrance, nuance and historical depth. Covering lives shaped by the 20th century—a transformative time, at once disruptive, turbulent and full of innovation and rebirth—it unveils stories that risk being lost to time, and offers a collective portrait of Arab Modernism as a lived, deeply human experience.
Essays on Amal Abdenour, Zeinab Abdel Hamid, Yvette Achkar, Afaf Arafat, Safeya Binzagr, Kamal Boullata, Rafic Charaf, Hafidh Al Droubi, Mohanna Durra, Laure Ghorayeb, Tahia Halim, Wafa Al Hamad, Mahmoud Hammad, Faiq Hassan, Samia Osseiran Junblatt, Rafik El Kamel, Munira Al Kazi, Hussein Madi, Effat Naghi, Rafa Al Nasiri, Leila Nseir, Abdulhalim Radwi, Shaker Hassan Al Said, Naziha Salim, Youssef Sida, Ihab Shaker, Ismail Shammout, Said Tahsin, Abduljabbar Al Yahya, Elias Zayat.
Myrna Ayad (born 1982) is a Dubai-based art consultant, critic and writer. She is the author of Sheikh Zayed: An Eternal Legacy, Dubai Wonder and the National series "Remembering the Artist." She was director of Art Dubai from 2016 to 2018, and editor of Canvas magazine.
