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      Melissa Gronlund

      Melissa Gronlund

      Art Correspondent
      Location
      London
      Melissa is an art correspondent for The National. Originally from New York City, she studied comparative literature at Princeton University and film aesthetics at Oxford. She is the author of Contemporary Art and Digital Culture. From 2007–2014 she lectured on contemporary art at Oxford University's Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art and co-edited the journal Afterall, based in London.
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      Articles

      The Hay Festival is a ten-year event that takes place every year in Wales.
      From one small event to 180 worldwide: Hay expands its roots

      Attendees this year included the Dubai-based poet Nujoom Alghanem and the Prix Goncourt-winner Leila Slimani

      BooksJune 10, 2019
      Shad Abdulkarim is building a Kurdish museum in Iraq. Pawan Singh / The National
      Dubai collector plans to build first Kurdish museum of art

      The Salam Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is due to open in Abdulkarim's native Sulaymaniyah next year

      ArtJune 09, 2019
      Rand Abdul Jabber's stoneware sculptures were inspired by Mesopotamian artefacts. Shown here is 'EWCB 976', 2019. Courtesy Rand Abdul Jabber
      Rand Abdul Jabbar brings exhibition to The Project Space at NYUAD

      History and terrorism come together in works by Rand Abdul Jabbar

      ArtJune 08, 2019
      One of the curators, Omar Kholeif, speaking at the press conference for Sharjah Biennial 14 under the theme "Leaving the Echo Chamber". (Photo by Reem Mohammed/The National) Reporter: MELISSA GRONLUND Section: AC
      Sharjah Art Foundation announces new hire and site for permanent collection

      Omar Kholeif, co-curator of this year's Sharjah Biennial, will join the staff full-time

      ArtJune 08, 2019
      Elif Shafak has published 16 books in both Turkish and English, and has garnered a list of accolades even longer, such as the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres, which she was awarded in 2010. ​​Paul Musso
      Elif Shafak on Turkey's increase in gender-based violence

      'In countries where there isn’t freedom of speech, books matter more,' the writer said while speaking at the Hay Festival

      BooksJune 02, 2019
      Visitors can touch the leather objects, triggering an audio component that plays the sounds of the production process. Courtesy Misk Art Institute
      Saudi artist Zahrah Al Ghamdi goes back to her roots for installation at the Venice Biennale

      The artist invokes her family’s shepherding past in her installation of 52,000 leather ‘creatures’

      ArtMay 28, 2019
      Huguette Caland's 'Kiss' from 1968.
      Camera5
      Lebanese modernist master Huguette Caland makes British debut

      The artist, who left Beirut for Paris aged 40, was known for her luminous paintings and Pop art-style abayas, which are on show at Tate St Ives

      ArtMay 22, 2019
      The opera ‘Sun & Sea (Marina)’ by Rugil Barzdziukait, Vaiva Grainyt and Lina Lapelyt at the Venice Biennale’s Lithuanian Pavilion Getty
      The hidden cost of being at the Venice Biennale

      Representation is a priority for most countries, but funding is evermore precarious. Melissa Gronlund delves into the world of art and money

      ArtMay 18, 2019
      Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Egyptian artist Sami Rafi was completed in 1975. Alamy
      Egyptian artist Sami Rafi dies at 88

      Rafi designed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Anwar Sadat's resting place

      ArtMay 16, 2019
      A sculpture by Imad Issa reflecting the timelessness of conflict through the Lebanese Civil War. Courtesy Imad Issa and Ruya Maps
      The Ruya Foundation: mapping creativity from conflict zones

      A new project at the Venice Biennale showcases Iraqi art to the world through the theme of love

      ArtMay 15, 2019
      Pianist Julia Podsekaeva, a fixture at Abu Dhabi's Cultural Foundation, despite the institute's 10-year absence. Victor Besa / The National
      Portrait: The pianist who is the soundtrack to the culture scene

      Julia Podsekaeva's crowd-pleasing tunes have been a fixture in the capital for more than two decades

      UAEMay 02, 2019
      Hisn Khor Fakkan, a new archaeological museum, is located in a renovated fort and is now open to the public. Courtesy Sharjah Museums
      New museum in Khor Fakkan tells of the city’s colourful history through artefacts

      'It is our duty as a museum to ensure the objects and their stories are available to the public and do not ­remain unknown,' says Manal Ataya, director-­general of Sharjah Museums Authority

      ArtApril 30, 2019
      Geometry is a major theme at the exhibition, currently on display at The Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai Creek. Courtesy Art Jameel
      Jameel Prize displays the variety of Islamic art and design

      The biennial prize comes to Dubai for the first time in its 10 year history

      ArtApril 29, 2019
      A daguerreotype taken in Mozabite Paris in 1851 by Henri Jacquart features in the Louvre Abu Dhabi exhibition Musee du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac; Victor Besa / The National
      Camera15
      Louvre Abu Dhabi's new exhibition is a snapshot of Europe's colonial past

      We take a closer look at the new exhibition and the link between conquest and early images

      ArtApril 28, 2019
      Concrete in Alserkal Avenue has been shortlisted for the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Musthafa Aboobacker for Alserkal Avenue
      Aga Khan Award for Architecture: three UAE sites honoured for first time

      Al Mureijah Art Spaces and the Wasit Wetland Centre in Sharjah and Concrete in Dubai will compete for the $1 million prize

      ArtApril 26, 2019
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