© Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary

Scratching on Things I Could Disavow. A History of Art in the Arab World
Exhibition and Performance

Thursday May 26 – June 15, 2011

Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary
Himmelpfortgasse 13, 1010 Vienna
T +43 1 513 98 56 12

This latest project by Walid Raad considers the ramifications of the growing cultural tourism as evidenced by the increasing number of art museums in cities such as Abu-Dhabi, Beirut, Cairo, Doha, and Istanbul. The exhibition combines visual pieces and performance. Throughout the course of the exhibition there will be walk-throughs limited to 30 people with Walid Raad (in German with Markus Reymann). The exhibition and research for this new project grew out of Raad’s, The Atlas Group (1989 – 2004), which was established to research and document the contemporary history of Lebanon.

Raad’s photographic prints of changing building facades in Beirut was featured in Aperture magazine 198, Spring 2010 and We Decided to Let Them Say ‘We Are Convinced’ Twice was published in PHOTOart: Photography in the 21st Century (Aperture).

Congratulation to Walid Raad, the 2011 Hasselblad Award winner.

Raad was presented the 2011 Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography in New York on March 8, and it honors his innovative photography and ongoing Atlas Group project. Raad’s photographs document and explore Lebanon’s contemporary history by approaching social and political conflicts through art. The award includes a diploma, gold metal, and SEK $1,000,00 (approximately $150,000 USD).

An exhibition of Raad’s work will open on November 12, 2011 at the Hasselblad Center at the Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden, where the Foundation has its head office.

Walid Raad was featured in Aperture magazine #198, Spring 2010 and in the compendium PHOTOart: Photography in the 21st Century (Aperture).

Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings
Bildmuseet, Umeå University

Exhibition Dates: February 19th – April 25th , 2011
Visiting address: Gammlia, Umeå
Postal address: Umeå University, SE- 901 87, SWEDEN
Phone: +46-(0)90-786 52 27
Fax: +46-(0)90-786 77 33

Walid Raad was born in Lebanon and came to the United States as a teenager during 1983 but his work has always been directly linked to his formative years in Beirut, more specifically the Lebanese civil war (1975–90). Raad’s photographs, videos, and collages illuminate the impossibility of capturing history.

The exhibition includes work that grew out of Raad’s project, The Atlas Group (1989 – 2004), which “was established to research and document the contemporary history of Lebanon.” The Atlas Group series Sweet Talk: Commissions (1992-2004/2004), photographic prints of changing building facades in Beirut, was featured in Aperture magazine 198, Spring 2010 and We Decided to Let Them Say ‘We Are Convinced’ Twice was published in PHOTOart: Photography in the 21st Century (Aperture).

Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings is curated by Achim Borchardt-Hume, Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery. The exhibition is a collaboration between Whitechapel Gallery and Bildmuseet, Umeå University.