mathilde ayoub

On my way to Cambridge to be part of the Annual Art History Conference @forarthistory I will share a paper about “Art, Politics, and Pan-Arabism: The Founding of the General Union of Arab Plastic Artists in 1971 Damascus - Reconfiguration of Artistic Alliances post-1967” In the session curated by @roberta_gar @paulinacarot A Call to Action: Transnational Artistic Solidarities and Decolonial Alliances, 1960s - 1970s (pt.1) 1 - Letter from Karel Pecko to Mahmoud Hammad, 07/06/1967 Source: Mahmoud Hammad Archive collection, masa.org. Courtesy of the Mahmoud Hammad Family Estate. 2 - Writings and recommandations of the First Arab conférence of Fine Arts, Damascus 1971 Source: Mahmoud Hammad Archive collection, masa.org. Courtesy of the Mahmoud Hammad Family Estate. 3 – Inauguration of the 1967 Salon d’Automne, Archives Arnaout 4 - Nazir Naba, The Martyr, 1967 Collection National Museum Damascus, Syria 5 - First Arab Festival of National Fine Arts, Book published by the Syrian Fine Art Syndicate Source : Al Furat 6- First Conference of the General Union of Arab Plastic Artist Book published by the Ministry of Information, Baghdad - 1973 7 - Draft report on the First « Conference of the General Union of Arab Artists » in Baghdad by Mahmoud Hammad, 04/1973 Source: Mahmoud Hammad Archive collection, masa.org. Courtesy of the Mahmoud Hammad Family Estate.

I met Bady Dalloul, a French-Syrian artist, a few years ago in his studio in Paris, and I’m delighted to continue the conversation today during this MASA Talks session on the theme “Artists as Archivists.” Together, we will explore the relationship between archives and artistic practice. Through his work, Dalloul invites us to question how history is written, creating a dialogue between archives and fiction, imagination and reality. We will journey through his practice—from the first notebooks he created with his brother in Damascus to his recent exhibition “Self-portrait with a Cat I Don’t Have” at Jameel Art Center (curated by Lucas Morin), along the way his experience in Japan. Join us today ! 3pm CET - Zoom Link in @atassifoundation bio 1- Ever Given, Ever Waiting, 2023 2- Discussion Between Gentlemen, 2016 3-Self-portrait with a cat I don’t have, 2023 4- BADLAND, Vol. IV, 1999-2004 5- SCRAPBOOK, 2015 6- Installation view, Bady Dalloul: Self-portrait with a cat I don’t have, Jameel Arts Centre, 2025. Curated by Lucas Morin 7- Ahmad The Japanese, 2021. Still. @badydalloul @atassifoundation @luuuluuuluu

How are artists remembered by their relatives, and in what ways do these personal memories shape our understanding of their work and legacy? How can intimate and familial narratives contribute to the writing of art history, particularly within the context of Arab modernism, where archives are often fragmented or incomplete? Some of the questions @shireenatassi will discuss with @myrnaayad around her book project Alcove - intimate essays on Arab modernist artists vol 1&2 published by @kaph.books for the next MASA Talks session. Meet us this Wednesday 28th 3pm CET. The conversation will be in Arabic. Registration link on @atassifoundation Pictures : 1 - Rafic Sharaf in his studio, 1971 2 - Naziha Salim with some of her students at the Baghdad College of Fine Arts in 1950 3 - Elias Zayat in his studio, Damascus, 1995. Photo courtesy of Zayat archives

Some of the great and precious books I have been reading the past years for my Phd investigation about Syrian modern art. We hope to write and publish more and more books about Syrian artists. 📚 Arab Presences – Modern Art and Decolonisation – Paris 1908-1988, (cat.exp) Eds Odile Burluraux, Madeleine de Colnet, Morad Montazami, Zamân Books et Paris Musées, Paris, 2024 Revival of Plastic Art Memory in Syria, Selection from the National Museum Collections in Damascus, Damas, 2008. DGAM, Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées (Syrie) Fateh Al Moudarres ; cat.exp. Musée de l’ Institut du monde arabe, 1995 -1996 / Institut du monde arabe, Unité Art contemporain, Paris ADONIS, Fateh Moudarres, Hiwar, Sense and Intuition, (ed Mouna and Shireen Atassi), Khatt Books, Beyrouth, 2022. ATASSI, Mouna, Contemporary art in Syria 1898-1998 : الفن التشكيلي المعاصر في سورية 1898-1998, Galerie Atassi, Damas, 1999 AYAD, Myrna, Alcove, Intimate Essays on Arab Modernist Artists, vol I et II, Kaph Books, Beyrouth, 2024/2025 AYOUB, Mathilde, Préfaces à un livre pour un musée syrien, publié à l’occasion de son centenaire (1919-2019), Zamân Books, Paris, 2020 BOEX Cécile et DEVICTOR Agnès, Syrie, une nouvelle ère des images - De la révolte au conflit transnational, Eds CNRS, 2021 GEDEON Christine, Aleppo: Deconstruction | Reconstruction, Kerber Verlag, Berlin 2020 LENSSEN, Anneka, Beautiful Agitation, Modern Painting and Politics in Syria, University of California Press, 2020 LENSSEN, A., ROGERS, S., SHABOUT, N. (dir), Modern Art In the Arab World : Primary Documents, The Museum Of Modern Art, New York, 2018. MIKDADI, Salwa, Elias Zayat, Cities and Legends, Skira, Milan, 2017 NACHABE TAAN, Yasmine, Abdulkader Arnaout, Designing as Visual Poetry : A Pioneer of Graphic Design in Syria, Khatt Books, Amsterdam, 2017 NAEF, Silvia, À la recherche d’une modernité arabe, Slatkine, Genève, 1996 @zaman.books @atassifoundation @institutdumondearabe @museumofmodernartsyria @khatt_books @kaph.books @almawridnyuad @skiraparis @here_uncomfortably @shabout_nada

Inheriting an archive: Elias Zayat’s Archives Michel Zayat in conversation with Mathilde Ayoub Zoom meeting, Mon, Oct 27, 2025 3 PM Paris | 6 PM Dubai We warmly invite you to the second MASA Talks session. Join us and Michel Zayat as he explores the inspiring legacy of his late father, Elias Zayat (1935-2022), highlighting his work as an artist, researcher, and restorer. Explore a selection of Elias Zayat’s personal archives—papers, photographs, letters, and documents—that i will have the chance to présent with Michel Zayat. @michel.zayat @elias.zayat.art The conversation will be followed by a Q&A from the audience, (English and Arabic) Link in @atassifoundation

The 1967 Salon d’Automne at Damascus Museum is on the most committed exhibitions after the war of June 1967. It is also the beginning of a plastic mobilization, and maybe the premices of the creation of the General Union of Arab plastic artists which will take place in the museum a few years later in 1971. The catalogue cover and the exhibition posters have been designed by Abdulkader Arnaout. The selection of work presented here shows martyrdom or political concerns but the exhibition also showed apolitical paintings. 📸 screenshots from the catalogue (Mahmoud Hammad Archive from @almawridnyuad ) You can find more about Hammad’s exhibition archives in MASA (Modern Art Syrian Archive) a project by @atassifoundation ) @abdulkader.arnaout

I am excited to invite you to the launch of MASA Talks tomorrow, a project by the Atassi Foundation that I have the honor of curating. Our first session will feature a conversation with Shireen Atassi, where we will delve into the Modern Art Syrian Archive (MASA) project. We will be sharing some unique insights and anecdotes about Syrian art and its archives. Archives from : @mahmoudhammadart , Leila Nseir, Abdelatif Al Smudi, Ahmed Madon & Atassi Gallery Please join us tomorrow, September 29, at 5 PM Damascus time / 4 PM Paris time. You can register for the event via the link in the Atassi Foundation’s Instagram bio (@atassifoundation ). We look forward to seeing you there!

Details of Elias Zayat’s (Syria, 1935-2022) prolific and vertiginous work and universe, were people, animals, deities, countries and civilizations have no boundaries. In the beautiful book Elias Zayat, Cities and legends, published by Salwa Mikdadi x @skira_arte 1. Poem, hommage to Gibran (2010) Private collection 2. Arwad I (c.1963) Elias Zayat collection 3. Earth (1963) @museumofmodernartsyria 4. Boy and lost bird (1979) Syrian Ministry of culture collection 5. City in blue (2006) Private collection. 6. Gabriel (1959) Elias Zayat collection. 7. Still life (1956) Elias Zayat collection. 8. Untitled II (1962) Private collection. 9. Ode to civilization (1991) Private collection. 10. Ma’loula the face (1989) @elias.zayat.art may your soul rest in peace

Je participe demain à un séminaire doctoral « Art, langage et digital ». J’y présenterais des recherches et des réflexions autour de l’art moderne syrien et des réseaux sociaux, ou comment une nouvelle écriture collective a permis, pendant les années de guerre en Syrie, de collecter, conserver et sauvegarder la mémoire de l’art moderne syrien. C’est, jeudi 20 février de 14h à 16h. Ce séminaire est organisé par AMarie Petitjean et Christine Vial-Kayser au sein de mon Laboratoire de recherche Héritages. // I am sharing with you this late invitation to a doctoral seminar « Art, language and digital », in which I am participating tomorrow, Thursday, February 20 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m (Paris time). This seminar is organized by AMarie Petitjean and Christine Vial-Kayser within Héritages, my research laboratory. I will present research and reflections on modern Syrian art and social networks, or how a new collective writing has made it possible, during the years of war in Syria, to collect, preserve and safeguard the memory of modern Syrian art. 📷 : capture d’écran de la page Facebook « The formation of modern art in Syria » créée par @abdalrazzaqmoaz https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84294965628?pwd=OzUThdMBW7HLbeau5jX0hS6TIyAL1p.1

J’ai croisé le regard de ces femmes il y a 6 ans. Après six années de fermeture totale, le musée de Damas rouvrait ses portes et je découvrais la richesse de sa collection d’art moderne. Depuis, je suis hantée par ces différents portraits de femmes présentes dans les collections du musée de Damas, qui toutes ont un regard inquiet ou préoccupé, comme si elles savaient le destin tragique qu’il leur était réservé. Certaines regardant vers le passé ou se tournant vers un avenir incertain. Ces visages représentent pour moi tous les syriens et syriennes, à qui appartiennent ces collections d’art moderne, pour qui un nouveau musée doit se faire, à plusieurs mais plutôt en créant des récits historiques à travers la mémoire collective. Depuis le 8 décembre, cet espoir devient possible. @museumofmodernartsyria

Merci @casadevelazquez et @rem d’avoir organisé cette école thématique « Des musées (post)coloniaux en Méditerranée ? Muséographies, reconfigurations politiques et fabrique des identités » Heureuse d’avoir participé à ce beau programme et à ces 4 jours passionnants avec des collègues brillant•es et inspirant•es

Heureuse de participer à l’Ecole Thématique REM : Des musées (post)coloniaux en Méditerranée ? Muséographie, reconfigurations politiques et fabrique des identités à la @casadevelazquez à Madrid du 25 au 28 novembre. Hâte d’échanger avec mes collègues autour de cette passionnante thématique. Et ravie de retrouver @emiliegoudal