Art
Exhibiting the Gulf—Kuwait’s Overlooked Role in Regional Art
In February 2026, the international Art Basel festival was held for the first time in Qatar and is scheduled to return in January 2027. In November 2026, London’s Frieze art fair is due to launch Frieze Abu Dhabi. The festivals mark a growing trend—mirrored in construction of the
NEW: ‘Closed Until Further Notice’ – Keeping a Tehran Art Institution Alive During Wartime
Dear Friends and Comrades, The US and Israeli war has altered daily life in Iran. Between airstrikes that have destroyed basic infrastructure across the country and a regime bent on repressing political expression, the institutions that sustain cultural life have had to navigate some perilous straits. Today we are sharing
A Note on the Cover Image
While MER issue 313 grapples with the question of resistance to Israeli-US domination in light of a weakened regional axis, its cover centers the intimate, everyday textures of life that continue to animate the struggle for liberation. Samar Hussaini’s “Inherited Memories” works through media of acrylic, ink, graphite,
A Note on the Cover Image
The cover art for MER issue 312, “Carceral Realities and Freedom Dreams,” is titled “Suspended Souls,” by Egyptian artist Yassin Mohamed. It depicts a scene from the third and fourth floors of Ward B in Egypt’s maximum security Tora prison in 2017, where the artist was imprisoned. Serving two
A Note on the Cover Image
The cover image for MER issue 311, "Post-Fossil Politics," is an inkjet on canvas print entitled “After Oil (Das Island/Das Crude).” The image is part of the “After Oil” series, first exhibited in 2016, by DESIGN EARTH: a research project founded by architects Rania Ghosn and