"Ibraaz is the research and publishing initiative of the Kamel Lazaar Foundation."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Regional contexts: fragmentary networks and historical antagonisms -- Filling the gaps : arts infrastructures and institutions in post-dictatorship Libya / Hadia Gana -- Artists and institution building in situ: the case of Morocco / Lea Morin -- In the absence of institutions : contemporary cultural practices in Algeria / Yasmine Zidane -- Social practices and institutional realignments in Tunisia since 2010 / Wafa Gabsi -- Making stories visible: institutions and art histories in Yemen / Anahi Alviso-Marino -- On the ground: cultural institutions in Iraq today / Adalet R. Garmiany -- On the closing of Sada for Iraqi art / Rijin Sahakian -- Designing the future: what does it mean to be building a library in Iraq? / AMBS Architects -- Collective institutions: the case of Palestine / Jack Persekian in conversation with Anthony Downey -- Playing against invisibility : negotiating the institutional politics of cultural production in Palestine / --

Future Imperfect critically examines the role played by cultural institutions in producing present-day and future contexts for the production, dissemination, and reception of contemporary art in the Middle East and North Africa. It offers critical contexts for a discussion that has become increasingly urgent in recent years - the role of culture in a time of conflict and globalization - and an in-depth critique of the historical state of cultural institutions in an age of political upheaval, social unrest, exuberant cultural activity, ascendant neoliberal forms of privatization, social activism, and regional uncertainty. Based on collective input from numerous contributors and interlocutors, this volume brings together internationally renowned academics, critics, activists, filmmakers, artists, and other independent cultural practitioners to consider how new infrastructures and institutions can effectively emerge within such fraught and dynamic contexts.