Protests in Iraq and Lebanon. Censorship in Egypt and Iran. Growing conservatism in Turkey. All of these events are catalysts - both good and bad - for artists in the Middle East. In a change of pace, Phil and Cooper speak with Nazlan Ertan, Al-Monitor’s Culture Editor, to talk about how recent uprisings have provided a special opportunity for protest art, and how governments utilize art and culture to transform their image or instill national pride.

• How artistic freedom of expression shrinks in 'new' Egypt (Shahira Amin)

• Artists splash Iraqi protests with vivid imagery (Gilgamesh Nabeel)

• 'Eggupation' breeds revolutionary thinking in Beirut (Euan Ward) 

• Lebanon's revolutionary art flourishes despite culture sector strike (Nicholas Frakes)

• Joker jumps from screen to streets of global revolutions (Nicholas Frakes)

• Iran's top cultural event jeopardized by artist boycotts (Saeid Jafari)

• The Istanbul Archaeological Museums return, piece by piece (Giuseppe Mancini)

• Istanbul's Arter ‘pushing boundaries' of Turkey's art scene (Ayla Jean Yackley)
  
  

Music: Cairokee - “Kan Lak Ma’aya” (ft. Umm Kulthum) ( Spotify |  Apple Music)