Nada Shabout

Last updated

Nada M. Shabout (born 8 January 1962, Glasgow, Scotland) is an American[ citation needed ] art historian specializing in modern Iraqi art. She has been a professor of art history at the University of North Texas since 2002. She is the president and co-founding board member of the Association for Modern and Contemporary Art (AMCA) of the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Early life and education

Nada Shabout was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the oldest of three children born to a Palestinian mother and Iraqi father. The family returned to Iraq when she was 6 years old and she graduated from Baghdad High School for Girls. [3] [4] [ dead link ]

Shabout was trained in architecture at the New York Institute of Technology, the University of Texas at Arlington and the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, England. She has also earned BFA fine arts, MA and PhD in the Humanities with a concentration in art history and criticism from the University of Texas at Arlington, 1999. [5] [ dead link ] She wrote her dissertation on "Modern Arab Art and the Metamorphosis of the Arabic Letter." [6] [ dead link ] A book based on her dissertation Modern Arab Art: Formation of Arab Aesthetics, was published by the University of Florida Press, 2007.

Career

She has been an Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of North Texas since 2002, teaching Arab visual culture and Islamic art. It was here that she introduced one of the world's first university classes on the subject of modern Arab visual art.[ citation needed ] She has been working on the documentation of modern Iraqi heritage, particularly the collection previously held at the Iraqi Museum of Modern Art since her visit to Baghdad in June 2003. [4] She has been organizing panels and presenting around the world on the state of Iraq's modern heritage following 2003, the relationship of identity and visual representations in modern and contemporary Iraqi art, and exhibitions of Middle Eastern arts in the West since 911.

She is a co-founder and president of the Association of Modern and Contemporary Art from the Arab World, Iran and Turkey (AMCA). [2] In 2020, Shabout was elected for a four-year term to the 2020 College Art Association of America, Inc. Board of Directors meeting Feb. 14 at the 108th CAA Annual Conference in Chicago. [7]

She is the curator of the traveling exhibition "Dafatir: Contemporary Iraqi Book Art," 2005-07; and "Moments from 20th Century Iraqi Art," at the Montalvo Art Center, California, 2007-2008. She has edited the exhibition catalogue "Dafatir: Contemporary Iraqi Book Art" (UNT Art Gallery, 2007).

Shabout has curated a number of exhibitions for Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, including "Interventions: A Dialogue Between the Modern and the Contemporary" and "Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art" in 2010.

Published works

Books

Catalogues

Articles

She is the author of several articles that examine legal and ethical responsibilities of the US in Iraq after 2003, including:

Awards

Among her honors is The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TAARII) fellowship 2006 and 2007; and Fulbright Senior Scholar Program, [8] 2007 Lecture/Research fellowship to Jordan Project, "Arab Art Now: A Study of the Contemporary Art Vision in Jordan." She received both an Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant and The Presidential Excellency Award at the University of North Texas in 2018. [9] In 2020, she received the University of North Texas' Regent's Professorship Award, which provides recognition for faculty at the rank of professor who have performed outstanding teaching, research and service to the profession, and who have achieved a high level of national and international recognition. [10] She was the first professor from the department of Art Education and Art History to receive this award in the 33 years that the award had existed.[ citation needed ]

In 2021, Shabout received the Kuwait Prize for Arts and Literature from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, known regionally as the "Arab Nobel Prize," the foundation recognizes lifetime achievements of Arab researchers. [11] Also in 2021, Shabout was selected by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery to deliver a Clarice Smith Distinguished Lecture in American Art. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

Jawad Saleem

Jewad Selim (1919–1961) was an Iraqi painter and sculptor born in Ankara, Ottoman Empire in 1919. He became an influential artist through his involvement with the Iraqi Baghdad Modern Art Group, which encouraged artists to explore techniques that combined both Arab heritage and modern art forms. He is considered to be one of Iraq's greatest 20th-century sculptors.

Suad al-Attar Iraqi painter (born 1942)

Suad al-Attar is an Iraqi painter whose work is in private and public collections worldwide, including The British Museum and the Gulbenkian Collection. She has held over twenty solo exhibitions, including one in Baghdad that became the first solo exhibition in the country's history for a woman artist. Her many awards include the first prize at the International Biennale in Cairo in 1984 and an award of distinction at the Biennale held in Malta in 1995.

Ismail Fatah Al Turk

Ismail Fatah Al-Turk was an Iraqi painter and sculptor born in Basra, Iraq, noted for his abstract art, monumental sculpture and public works and as part of the Baghdad Modern Art Group, which fostered a sense of national identity. His monument, al-Shaeed is the most iconic public monument in Baghdad.

Nedim Kufi, born 1962 in Baghdad), is an Iraqi-Dutch multi disciplinary visual artist. He is primarily known for conceptual art that explores themes such as war, political conflict, exile, loss, and historical memory. Much of his work contains autobiographical elements. He is also a graphic designer and print maker.

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art Museum of modern and contemporary art in Qatar

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar, offers an Arab perspective on modern and contemporary art and supports creativity, promotes dialogue and inspires new ideas. The museum boasts a collection of over 9,000 objects and also presents temporary exhibitions, library, and a robust educational program. Established in 2010, it is considered to be among the most important cultural attractions in the country.

Shakir Hassan Al Said Iraqi painter (1925–2004)

Shakir Hassan Al Said (1925–2004), an Iraqi painter, sculptor and writer, is considered one of Iraq's most innovative and influential artists. An artist, philosopher, art critic and art historian, he was actively involved in the formation of two important art groups that influenced the direction of post-colonial art in Iraq. He, and the art groups in which he was involved, shaped the modern Iraqi art movement and bridged the gap between modernity and heritage. His theories charted a new Arabic art aesthetic which allowed for valuations of regional art through lenses that were uniquely Arabic rather than Western.

Wassan Al-Khudhairi

Wassan Al-Khudhairi is a curator who specializes in modern and contemporary art from the Arab world. In 2017 she was appointed Chief Curator of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani

Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani A prominent member of the Qatari royal family and the grandson of the former King of Qatar is a Qatari artist, collector, researcher, and educator in the field of modern art from the Arab world, India, and Asia. His multi-billion dollar art collection is one of the most valuable and extensive in the Middle East. He is Vice Chairperson of Qatar Museums Authority, Advisor for Cultural Affairs at Qatar Foundation and founder of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art.

Collecting practices of the Al-Thani Family

The ruling family of Qatar, the House of Thani, is deeply involved in the field of art. For more than twenty years, some of its members have been accumulating numerous precious pieces of artwork.

Yousef Ahmad is a Qatari artist, art adviser, collector, writer and educator in the field of art. He is a leading figure of Qatar's cultural development and regularly represent his country at international biennials and events. His art work has been displayed internationally.

Hanaa Malallah is an Iraqi artist and educator living in London, England. Her surname also appears in English as Mal-Allah. She is noted for developing the technique called the Ruins Technique in which found objects are incorporated into artwork.

Dia Azzawi

Dia Al-Azzawi is an Iraqi painter and sculptor, now living and working in London and one of the pioneers of modern Arab art. He is noted for incorporating Arabic script into his paintings. Active in the arts community, he founded the Iraqi art group known as New Vision and has been an inspiration to a generation of young, calligraffiti artists.

Mahmoud Obaidi Iraqi-Canadian artist (born 1966)

Mahmoud Obaidi is an Iraqi-Canadian artist whose work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world.

Iraqi art

Iraqi art is one of the richest art heritages in world and refers to all works of visual art originating from the geographical region of what is present day Iraq since ancient Mesopotamian periods. For centuries, the capital, Baghdad was the Medieval centre of the literary and artistic Arab world during the Abbasid Caliphate, in which Baghdad was the capital, but its artistic traditions suffered at the hands of the Mongol invaders in the 13th century. During other periods it has flourished, such as during the reign of Pir Budaq, or under Ottoman rule in the 16th century when Baghdad was known for its Ottoman miniature painting. In the 20th century, an art revival, which combined both tradition and modern techniques, produced many notable poets, painters and sculptors who contributed to the inventory of public artworks, especially in Baghdad. These artists are highly regarded in the Middle East, and some have earned international recognition. The Iraqi modern art movement had a profound influence on pan-Arab art generally.

Ahmed Albahrani Iraqi sculptor

Ahmed Albahrani, is an Iraqi sculptor. Ahmed Albahrani is one of the most famous Iraqi sculptors, now living in exile.

The Hurufiyya movement is an aesthetic movement that emerged in the second half of the twentieth century amongst Muslim artists, who used their understanding of traditional Islamic calligraphy within the precepts of modern art. By combining tradition and modernity, these artists worked towards developing a culture specific visual language, which instilled a sense of national identity in their respective nation states, at a time when many of these states where shaking off colonial rule and asserting their independence. They adopted the same name as the Hurufi, an approach of Sufism which emerged in the late 14th–early 15th century. Art historian Sandra Dagher has described Hurufiyya as the most important movement to emerge in Arabic art in the 20th century.

Khaled Al-Rahal was an Iraqi painter and sculptor and one of the leaders of the modern art movement in Iraq. Described as one of the "pillars of modern Iraqi art," he was responsible for executing a number of high-profile public monuments in Baghdad in the mid-20th century.

Rafa al-Nasiri was an Iraqi painter, draughtsman, print-maker, educator and author whose works with a social and political message resonated with the Iraqi public in the mid-20th century. He was also very influential in encouraging young artists to take up print-making.

Lorna Selim (1928-2021) was an English artist and art teacher, who married prominent Iraqi sculptor Jewad Selim, relocating to Baghdad with him in 1950. She was a practising artist for much of her life up until her death. Selim contributed to the arts community in Iraq through her exhibitions, teaching and active participation in arts groups for twenty years. After her husband's premature death in 1961, she was part of the team responsible for completing his iconic monumental work, entitled Nasb al-Hurriyah.

References

  1. ↑ Haupt, Gerhard; Binder, Pat (September 2008). "AMCA - Interview with Nada Shabout". Nafas Art Magazine. Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa), Germany, Elke aus dem Moore, in cooperation with Universes in Universe - Worlds of Art. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 "AMCA - Association for Modern + Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran + Turkey". Amcainternational.org. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Lost Treasures". The North Texan Online. University of North Texas. 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 Mooney, Michael J. (22 September 2007). "UNT professor's mission: Save Iraq's modern heritage". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Pewitt-Jones, Kim (Spring–Summer 2006). "Mavericks Personified: Nada Shabout". UT Arlington Magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "AKPIA at MIT, Spring 2008 Lecturer Biographies". Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Professor Shabout elected to CAA Board of Directors".
  8. ↑ "Fulbright 2007-2008 Grantees". Fulbright.state.gov. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "UNT Art History Professor Nada Shabout earns 'Arab Nobel Prize'".
  10. ↑ "Regents Professor".
  11. ↑ "UNT Art History Professor Nada Shabout earns 'Arab Nobel Prize'".
  12. ↑ "Clarice Smith Distinguished Lecture: Nada Shabout".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.