On the occasion of Abu Dhabi Art, the Farjam Foundation and Zamân Books & Curating are pleased to announce the English publication of the catalogue Arab Presences: Modern Art and Decolonisation, Paris 1908-1988, accompanied by an exhibition showcasing nearly 50 works from The Farjam Collection, featuring modern masters and pioneers such as Fateh Moudarres, Mehdi Moutashar, Bibi Zogbe, Baya, Mona Saudi, Rachi Koraïchi, and Hamed Abdalla.

“By offering a new reading of (post-)colonial dynamics throughout the 20th century among artists from Arab countries residing in Paris, a global arts capital and training ground for at least the first half of the 20th century, the Abu Dhabi exhibition highlights both artists featured in the original Paris exhibition and others who were not. This collaboration between The Farjam Collection, Zamân Books & Curating, and Abu Dhabi Art 2024 marks the first presentation of this significant historical subject in the Gulf,” said Morad Montazami.

This catalogue traces the artistic trajectories of countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and Morocco, revealing stories of exile, forgotten legacies, fleeting fame, internationalism, and artistic solidarity. Together, they provide a long-anticipated mapping of “Paris as an Arab capital,” using artworks and archival materials to restore this lost narrative, now ready to be revived and reassessed.
Bringing together a vast collection of artworks and archival documents, this book aims to map the full scope of these exchanges between Paris and Arab modernities, reviving an art history that has thus far been scarcely documented.