Expanding the Philanthropic Dialogue on the Middle East and North Africa
Oct 29-30, 2013 in New York
Arts and Culture in Transformative Times: Expanding the Philanthropic Dialogue on the Middle East and North Africa is a two day conference to be held in New York on October 29th and 30th.The even marks ArteEast’s 10th Year.
The conference is organized by ArteEast together with the Ford Foundation and co-hosted by Open Society Foundations, British Council and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.
In the midst of profound and rapid political change across the region, artists, filmmakers, curators and arts leaders in the Middle East and North Africa are playing an increasingly crucial role in driving cultural and social change, both locally and regionally.
The high visibility commercial art market centered in the Gulf often overshadows significant cultural production and thinking that is emerging out of regional art centers from Beirut to Cairo, Damascus to Marrakesh, and Ramallah to Tunis. These cities have not only been home to a long history of Arab artistic production but are also the sites of the most dramatic recent upheaval. Over the last few years, we have seen a rise in the challenges that artists and art spaces there are facing at the same time as their role in civil society continues to grow.
While European funders and arts institutions already engage with and provide support for these creative communities, involvement by U.S. foundations and arts institutions has comparatively lagged behind. This conference aims to serve as a catalyst for expanding engagement by the U.S. philanthropic and cultural communities and to open new opportunities for collaboration and arts exchange with the MENA region.
The conference will convene over 30 speakers including leaders from the MENA arts sector, a diverse range of artists, and members of the international philanthopic and arts communities.
See here for a full program.
NOTE: The conference will be held at Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, on October 29th and at Open Society Foundations, 224 W 57th St, on October 30th
To register please email at rsvp@arteeast.org.