Fighting for Civil & Human Rights: An Artist’s Journey from the Middle East to the United States

Speaker

Khalid Albaih

Political Cartoonist & Satirist of Khartoon!

Event Summary

On April 28, 2016, Arab Center Washington DC, in collaboration with CULTURUNNERS, hosted roundtable discussion titled “We the People: Fighting for Civil & Human Rights, an Artist’s Journey from the Middle East to the United States”, featuring Political Cartoonist & Satirist of Khartoon! Khalid Albaih.

KHALID ALBAIH is a Sudanese artist and political cartoonist, born in Bucharest, Romania in 1980. He currently lives and works in Doha, Qatar, where he has been based since 1990. Khalid publishes his cartoons on social media under Khartoon!, a word play on cartoon and Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Albaih’s cartoons have been published widely in international publications including The Atlantic, PRI, and NPR, in addition to his published written social and political commentary in publications such as The Guardian and Al Jazeera. His work has been exhibited in group exhibitions including “do it [in Arabic]” (Sharjah, 2016) and “RE:BELLION // RE:LIGION // RE:FORM – Artistic Action in Times of Crisis” (Zwickau, Germany, 2015), as well as solo exhibitions at Virgina Commonwealth University ( Doha, Qatar, 2016), 1After360 Gallery (New Delhi, India, 2016),  the Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI, 2015), McGill University Montreal, 2014), and Edge of Arabia (London, 2013).

 

CULTURUNNERS-logo-black-on-transparent

Developed in collaboration with an international network of artists and institutions from the Middle East, Europe and the United States, CULTURUNNERS is an unconventional and independent model of cultural exchange and production, one which combines the localized rituals of an artist road trip with the far-reaching power of communications technology. CULTURUNNERS prioritizes direct encounters and storytelling, trusting in the power of art to inspire empathy and uncover counter narratives across physical and psychological borders.  Since CULTURUNNERS launched in 2014, artists and curators from the US, Saudi Arabia, Iran, UK, Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Palestine, Syria and Morocco have participated in programs at The Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas; Louisiana State University; The Middle East Institute in Washington DC;  ISCP Residencies in Brooklyn,  The Armory Show and Columbia University in New York, MIT in Boston, the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

 

Date

Thursday April 28, 2016