ArteEast, in collaboration with The Sultan Gallery hosts a research residency with Beirut-based researcher Kristine Khouri. Ms. Khouri’s research work is grounded in interviews, archives, and a variety of other resources and focuses primarily on modern art history in the Arab world in addition to working with artists who have a research based practice.

About ArteEast-Sultan Gallery Residency:

The booming art sector in the Middle East today underscores the need for a better understanding of the history of Arab art and how it has enabled this dynamic contemporary scene. As part of its mission to cultivate and support critical discourse around contemporary Arab art, ArteEast is undertaking a Research Residency with Kristine Khouri that will permit us to locate Kuwait at the crux of regional art production and exhibition.

As a society where art patrons and collectors have long cultivated the art community, Kuwait holds an important place in the history of Arab art. A closer look further reveals that the Sultan Gallery has played a key role in establishing the reputation of the Arab Gulf as an important arts center and in developing the international art world’s perception of Arab art.

Ms. Khouri’s project will explore the Sultan Gallery’s history since it’s opening in 1969 under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Abdulla Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Through a month-long residency in Kuwait, Ms. Khouri will perform on-site research of gallery archives and conduct interviews of local art collectors and patrons to fully uncover the impact of Kuwait’s early role in developing audiences and a market for young Arab artists.

ArteEast has selected Ms. Khouri’s project for a fall 2012 Residency because of its value to the regional and international arts communities as well as her expertise as a seasoned researcher in the Arab art sector.

This residency has been generously funded by The Sultan Gallery with gifts in kind by Sheikha Paula Al-Sabah, ATELIER AZIZ ALQATAMI and the Alzaid Family