Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige on Art, Memory, and the Middle East

In a 2013 interview with Chantal Pontbriand for Afterall, artists Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige discuss their practice, the evolution of the Middle Eastern art scene, and the politics of image-making. They co-founded Abbout Productions in 1998 with Georges Schoucair to support Arabic-language film. Their work includes films such as A Perfect Day (2005), Je Veux Voir (2008), and The Lebanese Rocket Society (2013). They reflect on Beirut's post-civil war context, the lack of contemporary art structures in the 1990s, and the need to invent alternative spaces. They critique the instrumentalization of art and the rise of private foundations in the region without state support. The conversation covers the role of Western institutions like Tate and Centre Pompidou in collecting from the Middle East, the importance of creating museums that foster public discourse, and their concept of 'territory' as a shared time rather than geography. They discuss the 2006 war's impact on their work, the film Je Veux Voir featuring Catherine Deneuve and Rabih Mroué, and the Lebanese Rocket Society project exploring 1960s space research and pan-Arab utopias. They emphasize negotiating with reality and resisting co-optation.