Nadine Khalil

Beirut

Writer and Editor at Freelance

I write, edit and pontificate on all things art-related for @canvastweet @oculaart

Articles

Vienna Through Performance: Scenes from Spark Art Fair and Beyond

1 month ago | somethingcurated.com | Nadine Khalil

My encounters with the city of Vienna have always led me to performance, in a broad spectrum of this term. Over a decade ago, I was working for a men’s luxury magazine and I was invited to the opera ball, an annual event at the Vienna State Opera. Dancing debutantes, normally of upper-class heritage, waltzed in tiaras and white gloves, enacting highly choreographed gendered norms and social hierarchies.
The Islamic Arts Biennale Anchors Itself in the Past

1 month ago | frieze.com | Nadine Khalil

Jeddah was my entry point to the Saudi art scene. I began travelling there from Dubai in 2017 for 21’39 Jeddah Arts, an annual non-profit exhibition driven by private patronage and the curiosity of international guest curators, such as Venetia Porter and Vassilis Oikonomopoulos. Then, there was a palpable sense of discovery and a raw, experimental tone that thrived on the edges of a still-forming scene.
The Mine opens a solo exhibition by Iranian-American artist Hadieh Shafie

2 months ago | artdaily.com | Nadine Khalil

DUBAI.- The Mine is presenting Resonant Turns, a solo exhibition by Iranian-American artist Hadieh Shafie, held in Warehouse 46 at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. Hadieh Shafies practice is a process-driven contemplation that uses ink, paint, and paper as material for works that abstract text into form, evoking a spectrum of optical perspectives. Her reliefs comprise circular or cone-shaped scrolls inscribed with Farsi poetry and her own writing in acts of concealment, fragmentation, and distortion.
Must-See: Threading Resistance Through Palestinian Embroidery

Feb 14, 2025 | frieze.com | Nadine Khalil

This review is part of a series of Must-See shows, in which a writer delivers a snapshot of a current exhibition Showcasing women’s weaving traditions in Palestine as a living, material culture, Hayy Jameel’s latest exhibition, ‘Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine’, forms an ‘imperfect chronology’, according to curator Rachel Dedman, whose work with textiles from the region spans a decade. Indeed, with the exhibition's loose structure of dress clusters, the devil is in the details.
Sharjah Biennial 16: sprawling emirate-wide exhibition regains its edge

Feb 12, 2025 | theartnewspaper.com | Dale Berning Sawa |Gareth Harris |Aimee Dawson |Nadine Khalil

Given the contemporary biennial sprawl—hundreds of artists, even more artworks—curators understandably often opt for short titles. These are loose umbrella terms for a deluge of art-making: casually evocative, rarely foundational. Read the full 18-line titular poem for Sharjah Biennial 16, which opened on 6 February, though, and something altogether more compelling—more urgent—takes hold.
Inside Beirut’s Interdesign Building, a retrospective about architect Khalil Khouri filled gaps in Lebanon’s collective memory

Oct 2, 2024 | archpaper.com | Nadine Khalil

It’s not been a good summer for cultural tourism in Lebanon. Expats, urged by their embassies, have been flocking out of the country since July due to recent political assassinations, war with Israel, and the deadly attack by Mossad where pagers and cell phones exploded. We Design Beirut, a new 4-day multi-site exhibition which took place last May, and the effervescent design culture it garnered, stood in stark contrast to the Lebanon of today.
A Suite of New Exhibitions in the Baltics Examines the Art Scene’s Complex Past

Sep 9, 2024 | news.artnet.com | Nadine Khalil

As the art world increasingly claims to represent marginalized voices, there has been a rising trend towards regional narratives in big biennials. While this provides context to non-Eurocentric discourses it also fetishizes them, especially when it comes to the Global South. In the Baltic countries of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, the art scene articulates a complex regionalism, one that considers a relationship embedded with Europe and post-Soviet identities.
Performance Artist Miles Greenberg on Pushing His Body to Its Limit

Jul 26, 2024 | news.artnet.com | Nadine Khalil

Sitting in a room with two 20-somethings last month in London, I realized that radical performance art is still very much alive. We were at Albion Jeune, a new gallery in Fitzrovia, in London, founded by the 26-year-old Lucca Hue-Williams, who grew up around performance artists like Vito Acconci and has studied animal works by artists in China, many of them in underground performance.
Moving the Dial on Emirati Performance Art

May 3, 2024 | frieze.com | Nadine Khalil

I’m often disappointed by the nature of performance art in the UAE, which is largely treated as window dressing for exhibitions rather than as a practice in its own right. However, ‘In Real Time’ at NYUAD Art Gallery – co-curated by executive director Maya Allison and recently appointed curator Dugyu Demir – is a promising exception.
Venice Biennale

Apr 18, 2024 | ocula.com | Sam Gaskin |Nadine Khalil

Established by the Venetian City Council as a national art exhibition in 1895, the biennial exhibition has expanded since 1907 to include 29 foreign pavilions and collateral events in addition to its Central Pavilion presentation. Today, the Biennale attracts artists, critics, and enthusiasts to the floating city. Featuring a diverse array of artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, film, and performance, the Biennale serves as a vibrant platform for cultural exchange and dialogue.