Summary
Veteran photographer Samer Mohdad is well-known around Lebanon for his several projects, not least his role as co-founder of the Arab Image Foundation.
It has attracted the attention of the celebrities of photography and visual art, as well as international arts organizations and private and institutional collectors.
During the event, Houston's Museum of Fine Arts hosted a conference on the place of visual art in the Arab world, featuring presentations by biennale curator Karin von Roques; Ussama Makdisi, the head of Rice University's Arab Studies department; and art historian Salawa Mikdadi.
[I also explained] how local photographers took power in the 20th century, to bring this art back to a new realism which [respects] the demands of people on Arab thought and culture.
The presence of photography and visual art in Saudi Arabia was one of the themes tackled. There was important participation from artists of the Gulf countries. The question of women and their role in artistic creation in the Arab world was also raised.
The Arab world ... lives on two levels: the apparent and the hidden.
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