The Mosaic Rooms presents a discussion on the significance of open submission exhibitions, awards, and residencies for emerging and young artists in the region. The talk will draw on three examples: Stefan Tarnowski on the Beirut Art Centre’s annual Exposure exhibition for artists in and from Lebanon; Nicola Gray on the A.M. Qattan Foundation’s biennial Young Artist of the Year Award for artists in and from Palestine; and Zineb Sedira on aria (artist residency in algiers) and the importance of residencies as a tool for providing artists spaces to work, connect and develop. The conversation will be chaired by Laura Egerton.

Beirut Art Center (BAC) organises Exposure, an annual exhibition dedicated to emerging artists in and from Lebanon. With the aim of encouraging every eligible artist to apply, Exposure is conceived as an open and flexible exhibition that is only defined by the characteristics of each project, as well as the diversity of the media and themes in the show.

The Young Artist of the Year Award is named after the late Palestinian artist, Hassan Hourani, who passed away in a tragic accident in August 2003. The award was first organised in 2000 and has been repeated on a biennial basis as part of the A.M. Qattan Foundation’s Culture and Arts Programme. It is open to Palestinian artists, regardless of their place of residence, between the ages of 22 and 30 who work in any area of the visual arts.

aria through residency, commissioning and exhibitions programmes, provides opportunities for emerging and established artists from North Africa and across the world to conduct artistic and cultural research and production. aria hosts resident artists and connects them with local and regional networks to facilitate the development of ideas related to the Algerian context.

Laura Egerton is a freelance arts manager, art historian, writer and curator based in Dubai. She was one of the founding team behind Art Dubai where she established education programmes, art projects and was Curator of the Abraaj Group Art Prize for its first five years. She is a part time curator for Lawrie Shabibi Gallery in Dubai and has previously worked at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, ROLLO Contemporary Art, London and Christies auction house, London. She holds MA’s in art history from Cambridge University and the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

Stefan Tarnowski is a PhD candidate at Columbia University’s Anthropology Department. He also works as a researcher, translator and subtitler for artists and filmmakers. He was Assistant Director and then Education Programme Director for Beirut Art Center, and participated in Ashkal Alwan’s Home Workspace Program 2013-14.

Nicola Gray is an artist, writer, editor and curator based in the UK. Formerly Assistant Editor of the influential journal on visual culture, Third Text, and a co-ordinator of the Braziers International Artists Workshop, she has been collaborating with artists and cultural organisations in Palestine on exhibitions, residencies and publications since 2002. Curator for the Young Artist of the Year Award (the YAYA) in Palestine in 2006 and 2010, and related exhibitions in The Mosaic Rooms in 2009 and 2011, she was also on the Jury for the 2012 Award.

Zineb Sedira is a London-based artist who works between Algiers, London and Paris. She has exhibited both in the UK and internationally – at the Venice Biennale (2001), Tate Britain, London (2002), ICP Triennial in NY (2003), Centre Pompidou & Hayward Gallery, (2005), British Art Show 06 (2006), the Folkestone Triennial (2011). She founded aria (artist residency in algiers) in 2011. In 2015, she has been nominated for the Marcel Duchamp Prize.

FREE, rsvp@mosaicrooms.org

Part of Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture. 11 – 26 July 2015.

Shubbak is the UK’s premier festival of contemporary Arab culture, presenting outstanding international Arab artists to London audiences and communities. www.shubbak.co.uk