A Cultural Icon Tells Her Own Story

DOHA, QATAR — You can’t take tea with Nefertiti: But if you could, the queen of ancient Egypt might seize on the opportunity to lament that she has come to represent a narrative of “cultural otherness,” or so surmise the curators of “Tea With Nefertiti,” at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. With the iconic limestone and stucco bust […]

Cairo’s Two Nights on the Town

CAIRO While thousands of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square last month to demand that the government release the blogger and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah from prison, Cairo’s fashion-forward crowd ventured onto the streets for a different reason: to shop. Across the bridge from Tahrir Square, the well-heeled meandered around the quiet, affluent neighborhood of Zamalek, […]

A Place Where Art Happens: BAM’s New Cultural District

The neighborhood surrounding the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) buzzed last Tuesday as moderate-sized crowds mingled on Fulton Street in front of three newly unveiled public art installations. It was precisely the intended effect of BAMart:Public, an initiative to enliven underutilized public spaces with visual art (a fourth project is on view inside BAM’s Peter […]