- Unprecedented Project of Residencies, Acquisitions, Exhibitions, and Education Programs Launches Its Third Phase
Richard Armstrong, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, today announced that London-based curator, writer, editor, and educator Sara Raza has been selected for the third curatorial residency of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative. As the future Guggenheim UBS MAP Curator, Middle East and North Africa, Ms. Raza will join June Yap (South and Southeast Asia), Pablo León de la Barra (Latin America) and Guggenheim staff in realizing this multiyear program, which supports contemporary art, artists, education, and professional exchange in three of the world's most diverse and dynamic regions.
Building on MAP's legacy, Sara Raza will work closely with the Guggenheim's curatorial staff for a two year residency to research and acquire recent artworks by artists of Middle Eastern and North African origin that represent the most salient artistic and cultural practices of the region. Artworks chosen by Raza will enter the permanent collection and form the basis of an exhibition that will open at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, in 2016, before traveling to the region. She will also collaborate with education staff, as well as contribute to the project's website.
Ms. Raza was nominated by a committee of esteemed experts on this region: Sam Bardaouil, independent curator, art historian, performance practitioner, and co-founder of Art Reoriented; Okwui Enwezor, Director, Haus der Kunst, Munich, and Director of the Visual Arts Sector for the 56th Venice Biennale; Reem Fadda, Associate Curator, Middle Eastern Art, Abu Dhabi Project, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Yael Reinharz, Executive Director, Artis; Nada M. Shabout, Professor and Director, Contemporary Arab and Muslim Cultural Studies Institute, University of North Texas; and Christine Tohme, independent curator and founding director of Ashkal Alwan – The Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts, Beirut.
