In this talk, Sara El-Jazara presented a general survey of sustainable art practices throughout the Arab world. The talk featured works of art utilizing natural materials such as wood, leather, copper, clay and natural dyes and pigments, rather than Western art materials, such as industrially manufactured paint, canvases, easels and brushes. At the heart of this talk, El-Jazara will argue that due to capitalism and colonialist tendencies, Arab art has strayed from its own history – in which it was common practice to be “sustainable.” Art from the region has a long history of interacting with the local surrounding environment in order to create as opposed to modern-day (Western) painting, which could be considered a sort of technology due to the heavily industrially manufactured nature of its materials. 

Focusing on various countries such as Morocco, Palestine, and Iraq, El-Jazara will highlight the varied political, social, and economic factors that led artists to work through a sustainable lens, albeit without necessarily knowing they were taking part in “sustainability.” For example, the Palestinian New Vision Group of 1987 took part in a boycott of all Israeli imported products as part of the First Intifada, Moroccan artist Farid BelKahia worked with local Moroccan materials as a celebration of the Moroccan visual culture, whereas Iraqi artists resorted to using found materials during the 80s due to the sanctions and embargos.