Middle East and North Africa protagonists of a new exhibition in Milan

From April 11 to June 17, 2018, the exhibition “But a Storm Is Blowing from Paradise: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa” (“But a Storm Is Blowing from Paradise: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa”) will land at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Milan.

Premiered at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in April 2016, this exhibition is the eighth and final installment of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, a multi-year project that highlights the Guggenheim and UBS ’s commitment to supporting contemporary art.
The exhibition aims to take a look at the worldwide changes sweeping the Middle East and North Africa by showcasing the works of artists such as Lida Abdul, Abbas Akhavan, Kader Attia, Ergin Çavuşoğlu, Ali Cherri, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Rokni Haerizadeh, Susan Hefuna, Iman Issa, Gülsün Karamustafa, Hassan Khan and Ahmed Mater.

The works on display explore the interconnected themes of migration, displacement, architecture, geometry and history.
"At a critical time in our history, we hope these works will stimulate reflection and invite discussion about the world we live in. - said Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum - The Milan stop represents the culmination of the MAP series of exhibitions. That is why we want to celebrate the works collected, the relationships fostered and the ideas formulated during the five years of the project, so that they will continue to stimulate others in a chain through MAP’s unprecedented goals, level and aspirations."

The title of the exhibition is inspired by a passage from German philosopher Walter Benjamin’s last essay, " On the Concept of History."

Image: Rokni Haerizadeh, But a Storm Is Blowing from Paradise (2014; chalk, watercolor, and ink on print, 24 parts 30 x 40 cm each; New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum). © Rokni Haerizadeh

Middle East and North Africa protagonists of a new exhibition in Milan

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