Gender and Body Politics: Arts in the Middle East and its Diasporas

In conversation with artists from the Middle East and North Africa as well as its diasporas, the Gender and Body Politics: Arts in the Middle East and its Diasporas series examines intersecting inequalities and body politics expressed, represented and transgressed in both visual and performance art. Against the backdrop of war and conflict, the rise of authoritarian regimes, displacement and diaspora mobilization, Islamophobia, ongoing orientalist depictions, and challenges linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, this series explores the ways in which artists are informed by and/or contribute to anti-racist, transnational feminist, and queer praxis.  

The Brown University Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) and the Columbia University Middle East Institute (MEI) joint series feature artists online and hosted in-person events. Exhibitions and performances complement the series in locations around New York City and Providence.