Rewiring Narratives – New Media Art from the Arab World

Rewiring Narratives is the first comprehensive book on New Media Art from the Arab world, offering a groundbreaking perspective on contemporary art, digital art, media culture, and technological innovation across the Middle East and North Africa.

Bringing together leading artists, curators, and scholars, this richly illustrated volume explores the history and evolution of Arab media art through essays on cinema, video art, gaming, digital archives, code-based art, and emerging media practices. Rather than positioning Arab artists within established Western narratives, the book examines the unique cultural, political, and technological conditions that have shaped artistic production across the region.

By connecting historical developments with contemporary digital practices, Rewiring Narratives highlights Arab New Media Art as an influential field of artistic experimentation, innovation, and global dialogue.

Key Features



- First comprehensive publication on New Media Art from the Arab world.

- Essays on digital art, cinema, gaming, video art, archives, and media culture.

- A fresh perspective on contemporary Arab art within global art history.

Ideal for: art historians, curators, artists, students, researchers, and readers interested in contemporary art, digital culture, media studies, Middle Eastern art, visual culture, and the history of New Media Art.



Cover

Half-Title Page

Title Page

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction New Media Art from the Arab World

Chapter 1: Notes Toward an Arab Media Art History

Chapter 2: The Historical Roots and Transformations of Arab Media: From the Printing Press to Digitization. A Lecture in Two Parts

Chapter 3: The Dark Side of the Moon: Amal Abdenour's Photocopy Artworks, 1970–1979

Chapter 4: A Conversationon Painting with Code

Chapter 5: Refreshing Electronic Flows in Arab Artists' Videos

Chapter 6: When New Turns Old: A Conversation on Media Beginnings, Tools, and Influences

Chapter 7: Prognosis: A Life in Media, Medicine, and the Making of an Image, 1979–2020

Chapter 8: Stumbling Around Normality: Experimental Tendencies in Egyptian Cinema, 1980s–1990s

Chapter 9: A Conversation on the Emergence of Contemporary Art Practices in Egypt

Chapter 10: Glitching Tradition in Arab Digital Art

Chapter 11: Nomadic Visions and Digital Frontiers: The Evolution of Media Arts in Morocco and the Maghreb

Chapter 12: Video Games as an Art Form: History and Contemporary Practice in the Arab World

Chapter 13: The Axis of Posting

Author Biographies

Index

Credits

Copyright