Dana Awartani is an artist who delves deep into the forms, processes, ideas and spaces that give shape to the culture of the Middle East. Her research often leads to artworks that utilise historical art-making traditions, like stonemasonry, in ways that highlight political issues including gender, ecology and cultural destruction. She has filled Saudi Arabia’s pavilion at Venice with 29,221 compacted clay-earth bricks that reference a spectrum of design motifs drawn from demolished, damaged and threatened sites across the Arab world.

The pavilion is curated by Antonia Carver, the director of Art Jameel who leads the Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai and Hayy Jameel in Jeddah. Across their exhibition and live programming, the organisation supports artists and has been integral to fostering public engagement with art in the region. As Venice draws to a close, I spoke to Dana and Antonia about their incredibly ambitious presentation.

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Episode 49 features András Szántó, a cultural strategist with a background in sociology who advises museums, foundations, universities and corporations, the world over. Offering a range of planning and project development guidance, he has an eye on global trends and an awareness of current and future challenges facing the art sector.

He addresses some of these topics in his articles, books and through the initiatives he has established including the Global Museum Leaders Colloquium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A seasoned speaker, at the Venice Biennale he hosted a panel discussion on reimagining museums for the twenty-first century. I spoke to András about this event and the health research he thinks will be shaping institutions in the years to come.

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Episode 48 speaks with Don Handa, a curator, writer and podcaster based in Nairobi who specialises in experimental and research-based practices in and from Eastern Africa. As a curator at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute, he leads exhibition, public and educational programmes that focus on preserving and promoting East African art.

NCAI was founded in 2020 by artist Michael Armitage and has steadily been building a collection and archive of East African art history. Their shows have contextualised the area’s art heritage and in doing so, made the institute a place of conversation and community. I spoke to Don about NCAI’s inclusion in the Venice Biennale and their working methods.

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