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Co-published by The Africa Institute, Sharjah Art Foundation and Skira, Ahmed Morsi: A Dialogic Imagination book has been edited by Hoor Al Qasimi and Salah M. Hassan and provides deep insight on the career of Ahmed Morsi, which spans seven decades.

Ahmed Morsi: A Dialogic Imagination reviews the myriad locations, ideas, experiences, and materials that embody the practice of the New York–based Egyptian artist Ahmed Morsi, whose work spans printmaking, poetry, paintings and critique. After coming of age in the 1940s as part of the Alexandria School–a movement led by intellectuals and artists that marked the city’s emergence as a postwar cultural epicenter–Morsi spent time in Baghdad, where he gained experience as an art critic and translator amidst the city’s literary renaissance of the 1960s. Morsi then briefly moved to Cairo, and eventually immigrated to New York in the mid-1970s. In Cairo, Morsi experimented with theatrical set design and artist’s books, and co-founded the avant-garde magazine Galerie 68.

The publication showcases the vibrant exchange between Morsi’s poetry and paintings and highlights how his multidisciplinary practice sparks a dialogue with the wider world. Ahmed Morsi: A Dialogic Imagination features newly commissioned scholarly essays, commentaries from Morsi’s contemporaries and selections from the artist’s writings, along with an interview with the artist and a selection of photographs and reproductions of works that capture the vibrancy and breadth of Morsi’s career. The book also includes a comprehensive exhibition history, career archive, and bibliography.

About the Editors

Hoor Al Qasimi

Hoor Al Qasimi is President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation. She is president of the International Biennial Association; Chair of the Board of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial; Chair of the Advisory Board of the College of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Sharjah; and President of The Africa Institute. Hoor serves on the Board of Directors for MoMA PS1 in New York, Kunst-Werke in Berlin, and Ashkal Alwan in Beirut. She also serves on the advisory boards for Khoj, New Delhi, and Darat al Funun in Amman. She was also a member of the Prince Claus Award Committee (2016–2020).

Salah M. Hassan

Salah M. Hassan is the Director of The Africa Institute and the Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Africana Studies and professor of History of Art and Visual Studies at Cornell University. He is the founding editor of Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art. He is the author and editor of several books and he has curated several international exhibitions. He is the recipient of several grants and fellowships, such as the J. Paul Getty Postdoctoral Fellowship, as well as major grants from the Sharjah Art, Ford, Rockefeller, Andy Warhol, and Prince Claus Fund foundations.

Co-published by The Africa Institute, Sharjah Art Foundation and Skira, Ahmed Morsi: A Dialogic Imagination book has been edited by Hoor Al Qasimi and Salah M. Hassan and provides deep insight on the career of Ahmed Morsi, which spans seven decades.

Co-published by The Africa Institute, Sharjah Art Foundation and Skira, Ahmed Morsi: A Dialogic Imagination book has been edited by Hoor Al Qasimi and Salah M. Hassan and provides deep insight on the career of Ahmed Morsi, which spans seven decades.

Ahmed Morsi: A Dialogic Imagination reviews the myriad locations, ideas, experiences, and materials that embody the practice of the New York–based Egyptian artist Ahmed Morsi, whose work spans printmaking, poetry, paintings and critique. After coming of age in the 1940s as part of the Alexandria School–a movement led by intellectuals and artists that marked the city’s emergence as a postwar cultural epicenter–Morsi spent time in Baghdad, where he gained experience as an art critic and translator amidst the city’s literary renaissance of the 1960s. Morsi then briefly moved to Cairo, and eventually immigrated to New York in the mid-1970s. In Cairo, Morsi experimented with theatrical set design and artist’s books, and co-founded the avant-garde magazine Galerie 68.

The publication showcases the vibrant exchange between Morsi’s poetry and paintings and highlights how his multidisciplinary practice sparks a dialogue with the wider world. Ahmed Morsi: A Dialogic Imagination features newly commissioned scholarly essays, commentaries from Morsi’s contemporaries and selections from the artist’s writings, along with an interview with the artist and a selection of photographs and reproductions of works that capture the vibrancy and breadth of Morsi’s career. The book also includes a comprehensive exhibition history, career archive, and bibliography.

About the Editors

Hoor Al Qasimi

Hoor Al Qasimi is President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation. She is president of the International Biennial Association; Chair of the Board of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial; Chair of the Advisory Board of the College of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Sharjah; and President of The Africa Institute. Hoor serves on the Board of Directors for MoMA PS1 in New York, Kunst-Werke in Berlin, and Ashkal Alwan in Beirut. She also serves on the advisory boards for Khoj, New Delhi, and Darat al Funun in Amman. She was also a member of the Prince Claus Award Committee (2016–2020).

Salah M. Hassan

Salah M. Hassan is the Director of The Africa Institute and the Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Africana Studies and professor of History of Art and Visual Studies at Cornell University. He is the founding editor of Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art. He is the author and editor of several books and he has curated several international exhibitions. He is the recipient of several grants and fellowships, such as the J. Paul Getty Postdoctoral Fellowship, as well as major grants from the Sharjah Art, Ford, Rockefeller, Andy Warhol, and Prince Claus Fund foundations.

Editors

Hoor Al Qasimi and Salah M. Hassan

Publisher

The Africa Institute (Sharjah, UAE) and Skira Editore (Milan, Italy)

Language

English

ISBN

978-88-572-4650-5

Dimensions

24 x 17 cm, hardcover

Year of Publication

2022

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