Creative Agency in a World Governed by Others’ Images and Languages

At the core of Beautiful Agitation and The Politics of Art lies the question of what an Arab artist from the MENA region should or should not adhere to in their work, stylistically and thematically, as an Arab artist from the MENA region. This political and cultural discourse was shaped by the East-West encounters within the colonial context, and through it the issue of authenticity had served and still serves as a focal index of validation and value. Evaluating the authenticity of a certain modern or contemporary artwork, produced in the MENA region, was measured by different criteria throughout the long twentieth century—from colonialization, decolonialization, independence, postcolonialization, and globalization. However, these criteria were defined and\or reflected a Euro-American perspective. Although Beautiful Agitation and The Politics of Art address questions of resistance within the realm of art, in both works authenticity remains a key notion of interpretation and evaluation

Aesthetics · Art · Colonialism · Globalization · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Realm · Social science · Sociology · Architecture and Cultural Influences · Digital Media and Visual Art · History · Law · Philosophy · Public Spaces through Art