In case you haven’t heard, we are sad to announce the passing of talented Iranian artist Sadegh Tirafkan.

In London, head east for the Dutch Iranian artist Navid Nuur: Phanton Fuel exhibition at Parasol Unit, 13 March to 19 May 2013.

Tate Modern presents the first exhibition in the UK of Lebanese artist Saloua Raouda Choucair. Born in Beirut in 1916, Choucair is a pioneer of abstract art in the Middle East and is now becoming recognised as an important figure in the history of global modernism. 7 April – 20 October 2013.

Crossing over to Europe, Moroccan artist, Charif Benhalima shows The Allochtoon at B.P.S.22, Charloi, Belgium. From 16 March to 26 May 2013. The photographic work is primarily centred on a quest for identity which stems from his past as an orphan, of a Moroccan immigrant father, who had settled in Brussels, and a Belgian mother, who died when the artist was still a child.

With Every Day Matters the Faurschou Foundation in Copenhagen presents a group exhibition of international contemporary artists, each of whom has made a mark in an intelligent way with politically and aesthetically surprising works. March 15 – June 14, 2013.

Cross-border, Contemporary Female Artists from the Arabian Mediterranean Region at the ZKM | Museum of Contemporary Art, Karlsruhe, Germany from April 27 – September 8, 2013   “Cross- border” is an artist’s critical investigation of various thematic aspects of the concept of borders, the attitudes and approaches to borders and strategies of overcoming them. 

Still in Germany, Kader Attia holds a solo exhibition at KUNST-WERKE Berlin, curated by Ellen Blumenstein, 25 May to 28 August 2013.

Abbas Kiarostami and Morteza Ahmadvand are working together in Regards Persans at the Musee de la chasse et de la nature, Paris, 23 April to 29 September 2013.

Venice Biennale. Not to be missed, the 55th International Art Exhibition will take place in Venice from June 1st to November 24th, 2013 at the Giardini and at the Arsenale (preview: May 29th, 30th and 31st 2013), as well as in various venues the city. Featured pavilions include Bahrain participating for the first time and showing the work of Janet Rady Fine Art artist, Camille Zakharia.

Monuments at Lismore Castle Arts, Co. Waterford, Ireland showcases five artists whose work addresses the role that monuments and memorials play in our society. The exhibition includes Egyptian artist Iman Issa who is showing three works from her Material series.  20 April–30 September 2013.

Going West, Words and Places: Etel Adnan is on at CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts and comprises works by Etel Adnan, Chris Marker, Rabih Mroué, and The Otolith Group, with selected articles from the Al-Safa newspaper archive. April 17–June 29, 2013

Safar/Voyage: Contemporary Works by Arab, Iranian and Turkish artists is at The University of British Columbia from 20 April to 15 September 2013. It is constructed as a journey in the company of 16 artists, each of whom is neither fixed inside the territories of the Middle East nor permanently diasporic. These artists define themselves and the world according to their own creative representations, often informed by culturally specific conditions.

Projects 100: Akram Zaatari May 11–September 23, 2013, MoMA. Projects 100 presents the American premiere of two video installations: Dance to the End of Love (2011) and On Photography, People and Modern Times (2010). Comprised of found YouTube clips made by Arab youth and shared freely online, Dance to the End of Love examines the role of social media as a space that is both intimate and public.

Finally, don’t miss our new Artist Focus newsletter in which we feature one work by a different artist every month. Click here to register.

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Want to know more about us?  Read acclaimed writer and curator Dr Paula Christa’s interview with Janet Rady in the September 2010 issue of The Middle East in London.

Remember to check out the great blogs and E-mags which will help keep you in touch with the ever growing world of Contemporary Middle Eastern art.  Art of the Mid East, REORIENT, Sotheby's and Al Mahha. Please email us if you would like your blog featured on a future news page.

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