In his talk Dr. Alsaden will share some of his ongoing research about the detrimental impact of warfare on the environment. Focusing on wars that rage in the Arab world, and specifically Iraq, he raises questions about what the region has to say about the environment today—and how contemporary artists have addressed these grave issues. He brings together works by several international artists in dialogue with each other, in order to capture the far-reaching consequences and multifaceted nature of conflict, as well as its often imperceptible but devastating impact on human lives and the landscapes we collectively inhabit.
Please register online at the Webexlink - https://uwaterloo.webex.com/uwaterloo/onstage/g.php?MTID=ea8354ab9567bc9086fcf6d17009c3af6. For more information on the lecture please send your questions to Bojana Videkanic or Sharon Dahmer.
Amin Alsaden is a curator, scholar, and educator whose work focuses on transnational exchanges of ideas and expertise across cultural boundaries. Currently the Nancy McCain and Bill Morneau Curatorial Fellow at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, his curatorial practice is committed to disseminating inclusive narratives that challenge existing canons and hegemonic epistemological and power structures. He is particularly interested in how artists and architects ponder collective experiences in the public realm, level political and institutional critique, and envision novel spatial responses to questions of belonging, displacement, and exile. His research — exemplified by a recently completed doctoral dissertation on post-WWII Baghdad, which investigates a crucible moment when the city became a locus of unprecedented encounters, contributing to the profound transformation of art and architecture globally while engendering unique local movements — explores modern and contemporary art and architecture in the Global South. His work often involves documenting endangered heritage and examining how precarious archives and scarce resources shape lopsided global narratives.
Alsaden holds a PhD and an MA from Harvard University, an MArch from Princeton University, and a BArch from the American University of Sharjah. He has practiced as a designer at various international firms, such as OMA and MVRDV in the Netherlands, and has published and lectured widely.