The fertile crescent

Overview: The Fertile Crescent examines the work of 24 women artists of Middle East heritage: Negar Ahkami (Iranian), Shiva Ahmadi (Iranian), Jananne Al-Ani (Iraqi), Fatima and Monira Al Qadiri (Kuwaiti), Ghada Amer (Egyptian), Zeina Barakeh (Lebanese), Ofri Cnaani (Israeli), Nezaket Ekici (Turkish), Diana El Jeiroudi (Syrian), Parastou Forouhar (Iranian), Ayana Friedman (Israeli), Shadi Ghadirian (Iranian), Mona Hatoum (Palestinian), Hayv Kahraman (Iraqi), Efrat Kedem (Israeli), Sigalit Landau (Israeli), Ariane Littman (Israeli), Shirin Neshat (Iranian), Ebru Ozsecen (Turkish), Laila Shawa (Palestinian), Shahzia Sikander (Pakistani), Fatimah Tuggar (Nigerian) and Nil Yalter (Turkish). These artists all explore matters of gender, homeland, geopolitics, theology and the environment. The authors in this volume address transnationalism and the interaction between Muslim culture and Jewish, Christian and Euro-American cultures, resulting in U.S. and European relationships that are sometimes congenial and at other times problematic. The book also addresses the Middle East's cultural diaspora in black Africa and South Asia. The Fertile Crescent is published in conjunction with a fall 2012 multi-venue exhibition at Rutgers and Princeton Universities and the Arts Council of Princeton/Paul Robeson Center for the Arts.