Naima Morelli

is an arts writer and journalist specialized in contemporary art from Asia-Pacific and the MENA region. She has written for the Financial Times, Al-Jazeera, The Art Newspaper, ArtAsiaPacific, Internazionale and Il Manifesto, among others, and she is a regular contributor to Plural Art Mag, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye as well as writing curatorial texts for galleries. She is the author of three books on Southeast Asian contemporary art. She is a also graphic novelist. She is a regular contributor to The Markaz Review.

We, the Wanderers—Featured Artist El Mehdi Largo

We, the Wanderers—Featured Artist El Mehdi Largo

A Moroccan artist becomes Italian and then Arab, all while creating art that critiques orientalist tropes, and having...

7 NOVEMBER 2025 • By Naima Morelli
Ali Cherri’s show at Marseille’s [mac] Is Watching You

Ali Cherri’s show at Marseille’s [mac] Is Watching You

Ali Cherri’s Marseille show, on view until January 4, 2026, deconstructs the museum from the inside out.

15 AUGUST 2025 • By Naima Morelli
About to Erupt: A Snapshot of Contemporary Art in Istanbul

About to Erupt: A Snapshot of Contemporary Art in Istanbul

Naima Morelli explores Istanbul’s art scene, discovering its underground energy at a gallery, art fair, and museum retrospective.

6 JUNE 2025 • By Naima Morelli
Mous Lamrabat

Mous Lamrabat

Mous Lamrabat’s latest solo show explores the emotional weight of displacement, memory, identity, and love.

7 MARCH 2025 • By Naima Morelli
Beyond Our Gaze: Rethinking Animals in Contemporary Art

Beyond Our Gaze: Rethinking Animals in Contemporary Art

Naima Morelli spotlights artists who reveal how animals in art serve as symbols, actors, or something altogether new.

1 NOVEMBER 2024 • By Naima Morelli
When Fatma Haddad Became “Baya”—a Paris Art Story

When Fatma Haddad Became “Baya”—a Paris Art Story

Baya was among first Algerian artists recognized in Paris. Though labeled naïve, her art remains influential and enduring.

1 APRIL 2024 • By Naima Morelli
Artists Exploring Libya’s History, Cultural Resilience and Rebirth

Artists Exploring Libya’s History, Cultural Resilience and Rebirth

Two exhibitions on Libya try to navigate between what to bring along from the country's past and what...

3 MARCH 2024 • By Naima Morelli
Intimacy & Our Inner Sanctuary—an Interview with Rana Samara

Intimacy & Our Inner Sanctuary—an Interview with Rana Samara

For Palestinian artist Rana Samara, intimacy is not just about love and sex, but is a mixture of...

4 FEBRUARY 2024 • By Naima Morelli
The Body, Intimacy and Technology in the Middle East

The Body, Intimacy and Technology in the Middle East

Six women artists and curator Nadine Khalil explore women's bodies in a Dubai exhibition.

4 FEBRUARY 2024 • By Naima Morelli
Demolition and Recreation in Benghazi: Interview with Sarri Elfaitouri

Demolition and Recreation in Benghazi: Interview with Sarri Elfaitouri

Sarri Elfaitouri on urbanism, social reforms, and the legacy of colonialism in Libya after the March 2023 demolition...

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By Naima Morelli
My Love for Derna: Interview with Libyan Writer Mahbuba Khalifa

My Love for Derna: Interview with Libyan Writer Mahbuba Khalifa

A Libyan writer from Derna laments the floods that came not long after she devoted a short story...

13 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Naima Morelli
Art Curators as Public Intellectuals

Art Curators as Public Intellectuals

Naima Morelli talks to Rose Issa, Sara Raza, Farah Abushullaih and Alia Al-Senussi about art and intellectuals.

1 OCTOBER 2023 • By Naima Morelli
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