In this issue entitled Whose East is it Anyway?, we focus on rising South and Southeast Asian voices in the UAE cultural landscape, marked by the arrival of new initiatives and institutions centered on the subcontinent. Looking at regions linked by colonial histories, trade routes and cultural flows, we break down notions of singular identity and cultural specificity by reconsidering our own frames of reference. While the UAE is always our point of departure, here, we keep our eyes on the horizon by problematizing the notion of the Global South and the various connotations of the ‘East’, examining transcultural connections that exist between Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

VOICES
Featuring a range of artists who work across different mediums and geographies, our one-on-ones are tied together by an investigation of human movement through the Global South’s postcolonial context. In Singapore, Ho Tzu Nyen’s redefines Southeast Asia algorithmically. Both Tuan Andrew Nguyen and Nikhil Chopra explore postcolonial histories, the former with French colonization of Vietnam and Senegal and the latter, in India with fluid identities and port cities. Involved in the pioneering Emirati art scene that grew around Hassan Sharif, Vivek Vilasini looks back at the openness of that period, while UAE newcomer Augustine Paredes contemplates the material culture and ritual of ‘expat’ journeys.

Read more: VOICES-Nikhil Chopra