The limits of my language are the limits of my world
27th August, 2024 – 5th December, 2024
Northwestern University in Qatar
Education City
Doha
Qatar
Northwestern University in Qatar’s Media Majlis Museum (mm:museum) presents The limits of my language are the limits of my world, curated by cultural producer and Northwestern Qatar alumna Amal Zeyad Ali the mixed-media exhibition explores the timely subject matter of the Arabic language, its imprints from the past, its multifaceted present and precarious future.
As the Arab world’s only museum dedicated to media and communication, The Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern Qatar celebrates innovation and fosters intellectual research for the next generation, promoting open dialogue, and the intersection of art and technology. The Museum offers visitors transformative, interactive experiences that shatter traditional boundaries.
“The Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern Qatar is a distinctive space within Education City to house critical dialogue, explore current themes, and connect academic research with public discourse on the arts, sciences and crafts of media. Through alumna Zeyad Ali’s curation, our goal is to bring the culture, beauty and nuance of the Arabic language to the fore to our expanding audiences,” said Northwestern Qatar Dean and CEO Marwan M. Kraidy.
The limits of my language are the limits of my world exhibition explores the Arabic language’s significance, influence, and impact as it battles misrepresentation across various media platforms in a digital and globalized age where English is increasingly dominant. As one of the most widely spoken languages, used daily by over 400 million people, Arabic has united people across diverse nationalities and backgrounds while demonstrating rich nuances due to its many dialects and formats.
The language throughout history has influenced tastes, perceptions and narratives globally in domains such as politics, social relations, trade and science. It is more than the lingua franca of the Arab world and shapes the collective and individual identities of its speakers. However, in this digital and globalized age, the language battles with misrepresentation across various media platforms. Therefore, the exhibition encourages visitors to question how Arabic can be a prominent language in the future and whose responsibility this is from policy makers to the media and to educators.
“We are thrilled to present this exhibition, which provides visitors with a transformative, interactive experience and serves as a platform for discussions on cultural changes, societal transformation, and the evolution and preservation of the Arabic language,” said Alfredo Cramerotti, Director of mm:museum. He added, “Our goal is to ignite discussions on its preservation and future, engage a broad, younger audience, and encourage reflection on our society.”
Curator Zeyad Ali said the exhibition is designed to stimulate community discussions about the language. “Arabic is a beautiful, diverse, and complex language but battles with misrepresentation, fragmentation, and limitations. From physical objects to commissioned artworks and digital content, it contains and amplifies multifaceted voices. I hope this is a start to breaking beyond those limits.”
The rich variety of content on display encourages visitors to engage with interactive elements, including animations, comedy skits, music videos, news reports, and talk shows. The exhibition includes commissioned artworks from Simon Mortimer (United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia-based), Hala Amer (Jordan, Qatar-based), Karim Jabbari (Tunisia), Zainab Alsabba (Bahrain), and Hussein Alazaat (Syria, Jordan-based), and holographic animations exploring the beauty of Arabic by the designer Yusef Alahmad (Saudi Arabia).
Rich spoken word performances by poets Salwa Sadek (Egypt-Australia) and Dana Dajani (Palestine) exploring the subject of identity are in dialogue with contemporary Arabic language used by young content creators, social media influencers and YouTubers. Among these Salam Katanani (Jordan), Qasem Elhato (Jordan), Hebah Nigm (Egypt, Austria-based) and Cynthia Abou Khalil (Lebanon, Qatar-based) answering questions around what it means to create content in Arabic and debating its impact on young audiences.
Visitors are prompted to investigate media representations of the language not only digitally but through physical content in a rapidly advancing world where English is a dominant language. Lenders of digital content include Al Jazeera, BBC Arabic, and Al Araby TV. The content includes music videos, comedy skits from the American Maz Jobrani and Mo Amer, animations from Qatar Foundation, documentaries, and talks from TED and TEDx.
With regards to physical objects, the exhibition includes a wide array of books, photographs, magazines, newspapers and hardware. To delve deep into the subject matter of Arabic in the media and garner perspectives of key players, a filmed debate entitled Where do you stand?, moderated by stand-up comedian and presenter Hamad Al-Amari (Qatar), features Asmahan Qarjouli (Palestinan-Jordan), Sara Al-Afifi (Qatar), Basma Hamdy (Egypt), Falafel Kimchi (Korea/Canada) , Abdulla Gamil (Sudan) , and Menatalla Ibrahim (Egypt).
Accompanying the exhibition is a special edition of the museum’s publication, Voices and Conversation, titled The beauty, complexity and diversity of Arabic proverbs and sayings, featuring a foreword by Dean Kraidy and an afterword by Director Cramerotti. Simultaneously, the museum will also organize a public program in collaboration with afikra (عفكرة), a global community dedicated to cultivating curiosity around the histories and cultures of the Arab World, focusing on the use of the Arabic in storytelling. It will take place on October 26, 2024, and feature panel discussions, performances, and activations by local and regional voices.
The limits of my language are the limits of my world opens on the 27th of August, 2024 until the 5th of December, 2024 at Northwestern University in Qatar
©2024 Media Majlis Museum
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