Author / hakan

by hakan

OUR HYBRID FUTURES: A Town Hall Meeting on Terrorism, Islamophobia, the Muslim Ban, and Antisemitism

EAST++ Institute for New Artistic Inquiry Presents 

OUR HYBRID FUTURES
A Town Hall Meeting on Terrorism, Islamophobia, the Muslim Ban, and Antisemitism 

Thursday, April 25th, 12:30 PM,
Humanities 1048, Purchase College 

All students are kindly invited to join a frank conversation on recent political events characterized by religious and nationalist terrorism, often mobilized by fundamentalist ideas. How can we imagine a democratic, secular and diverse future in contrast to the many dark visions of religious fanatics? What does social and cultural diversity mean in this context? What are our responsibilities as citizens, artists, and intellectuals? Please join us. We want to hear from you. 

Moderated by Hakan Topal (Assistant Professor of New Media and Art+Design) and 
Wadiah Mohammad (East++ Intern, Visual Arts)

by hakan

In Conversation: Art Institutions and Contemporary Art Practices beyond the West

East++ Institute for New Artistic Inquiry and Neuberger Museum of Art Presents: In Conversation: Art Institutions and Contemporary Art Practices beyond the West

With

MELISSA FORSTORM, PhD
Assistant Professor, Arts Management, Purchase College

AMANDA ABI KHALIL
Curator & Founder of Temporary Art Platform (T.A.P), Lebanon

HAKAN TOPAL
Artist, Assistant Professor of New Media and Art+Design, Purchase College 

Thursday, December 6, 2018
1:30pm—3:00pm

Neuberger Museum of Art Study 

A roundtable discussion on the role of art institutions and changing scapes of contemporary art post-Arab-Spring, post-Gezi era, and how these tectonic social, political shifts have been redefining cultural production both abroad and the US. 

by hakan

Talk: “The New Territories of Contemporary Art: Disturbing the Status-quo” by Hrag Vartanian

East++ Institute for New Artistic Inquiry and Neuberger Museum of Art Presents

“The New Territories of Contemporary Art: Disturbing the Status-quo”
A Talk by Hrag Vartanian, Chief Editor, Hyperallergic

Neuberger Museum Study
October 25th
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM

Hrag Vartanian is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hyperallergic, writer, art critic, curator, and lecturer on contemporary art with an expertise on the intersection of art and politics. With its award-winning reporting, informed opinions, and quality conversations about contemporary art, Hyperallergic reaches over a million readers a month. Hrag started podcasting regularly in 2016, and this year he launched Art Movements, which is a weekly audio magazine. He has curated exhibitions and published in alternative venues and formats for two decades. In 2017, he began a 10-year project titled Fixed Point Perspective, which will look at the contemporary legacy of Ottoman studio photography.

Photo Credit: Portrait of Hrag Vartanian by Maya Shanlikian of Photo Havana in Ramallah, Palestinian Territories

by hakan

East++ Town Hall Meeting


April 19th, Thursday, 12:30PM
Neuberger Museum Conference Study
Purchase College

East++ is a new non-bureaucratic institution that focuses on alternative art and culture from the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and diasporic and indigenous cultures in the US, which was established at Purchase College this year.

Join East++ founder Prof. Hakan Topal and other students to brainstorm ways this initiative can thrive at SUNY Purchase.

This event was organized by New Media student Adrian Alfonso in collaboration with Multicultural Center.

by hakan

Wassan Al-Khudhairi Lecture: Curating in the South and in the Middle East

East++ Institute for New Artistic Inquiry and Multicultural Center Presents: Curating in the South and in the Middle East

Wassan Al-Khudhairi
Chief Curator, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis

March 5th, Monday 4:30 PM
VA Perception Lab #1016
Purchase College

Al-Khudhairi was born in Kuwait to Iraqi parents. She has lived in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, England, California, Georgia, Egypt, Qatar, Korea, and Birmingham, Alabama. Previous positions have included Co-Artistic Director at the Gwangju Biennale Foundation in South Korea; and Founding Director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar. She has also held positions at the Brooklyn Museum, British Museum, and the High Museum of Modern Art. Al-Khudhairi studied at the Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University and holds degrees from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and Georgia State University.
At the Birmingham Museum Al-Khudhairi co-curated an initiative called shift, a temporary platform for social change that served as a satellite space in downtown Birmingham. The program was designed to bring contemporary programming beyond the walls of the museum, engaging new audiences, expanding the museum community, and working with local artists in more non-traditional ways. As Founding Director of Mathaf, she was responsible for establishing the museum’s artistic program as well as overseeing policy development, acquisitions, and managing the museum’s collection. She co-curated Mathaf’s inaugural exhibition, Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art and curated Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab.