The Radical Contemporary Podcast

In this episode our founder Nour Hassan speaks to Adjunct Curator at Large at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project Sandhini Poddar.

Sandhini is a London-based art historian and Adjunct Curator at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, where she is responsible for acquisitions, commissions, and research for the future museum. Previously, Poddar served on the curatorial team at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation from 2007 until 2016 as part of its international Asian Art Initiative. During her tenure, she curated ground-breaking exhibitions on modern and contemporary Asian art including, ‘V. S. Gaitonde: Painting as Process, Painting as Life, ‘Being Singular Plural’, and ‘Anish Kapoor: Memory’. She also organized the Guggenheim’s presentation of ‘Zarina: Paper Like Skin’. Poddar writes on contemporary art, aesthetics, and politics and has contributed articles for magazines such as Artforum, ArtAsiaPacific, and Art India. She has post-graduate degrees from New York University and Mumbai University. Poddar recently curated ‘Indra’s Net’ for Frieze London. She is a Trustee of South London Gallery.

Ishara Art Foundation
Ishara Art Foundation was founded in 2019 as a non-profit organisation dedicated to presenting contemporary art of South Asia. Located in Dubai, the Foundation supports emerging and established practices that advance critical dialogue and explore global interconnections.

Ishara signifies a gesture, a signal or a hint, and is a word common to several languages including Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Bengali, Swahili and Urdu.

Ishara Art Foundation is presented in partnership with Alserkal.
For more information visit www.ishara.org.

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Smita Prabhakar, Founder and Chairperson
Smita Prabhakar is an entrepreneur, collector and art patron who has been based in the UAE for over four decades. She is the Founder and Chairperson of the Ishara Art Foundation. Smita is also a member of the International Acquisitions Committee at Tate Modern (London), the Middle Eastern Circle of the Guggenheim Museum (New York) and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice). 

Smita’s collection, The Ishara Art Foundation and The Prabhakar Collection, focuses on South Asian contemporary artworks that reflect diverse voices and shared histories from across the region. 

Ishara Art Foundation 
Ishara Art Foundation was founded in 2019 as a non-profit organisation dedicated to presenting contemporary art of South Asia. Located in Dubai, the Foundation supports emerging and established practices that advance critical dialogue and explore global interconnections.

Ishara signifies a gesture, a signal or a hint, and is a word common to several languages including Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Bengali, Swahili and Urdu. 

Ishara Art Foundation is presented in partnership with Alserkal.
For more information visit www.ishara.org.

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This is a 5 minute Visualization Meditation  practice by Nour Hassan that incorporates light breath work and prompts, in order to help you consciously create a positive mindset shift and prepare you for the rest of your day feeling energized and refreshed after taking a moment for you!

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Hello my loves, in this solo episode I go deep into the transition that was turning 30 for me, what has changed and what has stayed the same! It's a great one for the new season and for anyone looking to get some insight and tips on embracing the NOW.

I mention the following brands:
WHOOP
ZARA
AFKARNA

#curatedbynour

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In this solo episode our founder Nour Hassan talks about the "fun girl" phenomenon affecting girls in their 20's and how to be THE girl instead. Enjoy and DM us your feedback. 

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Our founder Nour Hassan spills the tea on MEN vs. WOMEN on social media and how being smart is more difficult that being aesthetic. She does not hold back - Enjoy!

Follow @radicalcontemporary on Instagram & Tiktok. 

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In this episode our founder Nour Hassan speaks to Chairman & CEO of Nile Porjects Ahmed El Naggar on the openin og contemporary luxury stores Sandro Paris & Maje Paris in Egypt.

Since its establishment in 1972 and official incorporation in 1985, Nile Projects & Trading Co. has evolved significantly, transitioning from importing tires and food products to pioneering the introduction of major international fashion brands into the Egyptian market. Initially focused on tire distribution, Nile Projects achieved remarkable success, becoming the exclusive distributor for Bridgestone products and later acquiring rights for Firestone. Expanding into the retail sector, Nile Projects marked milestones with the opening of stores for renowned brands like Charles & Keith, Tommy Hilfiger, Ferragamo, Calvin Klein, Burberry, Polo Ralph Lauren, and D Store among others with over 120 stores across Egypt. Recognized
for excellence, Nile Projects has consistently expanded its reach, venturing into neighboring markets and embracing e-commerce to ensure widespread accessibility to its diverse range of offerings.

For more information visit @nileprojectsretail. 

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In this episode our founder Nour Hassan speaks to Maram Aboul Enein, Egyptian-Canadian Fashion Designer and Creative Director about her eponymous fashion brand MARAM. A brand rooted in energy, spirituality and the wandering soul, MARAM's aesthetic is an idealistic example of fashion for the soul. We speak to Maram about her time at Parsons Paris studying fashion, moving to Montreal to establish her brand, and finally returning to Cairo where she set up shop for a new chapter with deeper goals. The latest collection entitled CYCLE 11 THIS IS NOT A DREAM is a comment on current times, charged with the energy of hope.

If you'd like to learn more about MARAM visit www.shopmaram.com or @maram.official.

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In this episode our founder Nour Hassan speaks to Emirati artist and poet Sarah Almehairi.

Born in 1998, Sarah a practicing artist from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and an Art and Art History major at New York University Abu Dhabi, class of 2019. Sarah Almehairi’s overarching body of work unfolds a discourse on themes of materiality, systems & interrelations, memory, and language through the intuitive and poetic examination of narrative and abstraction. By engaging with geometric forms, she extracts and defines a structural language read time and time again to suggest a form other than its own – a map, a sentence, a puzzle piece. Through the process, they are broken down, built, and reassembled as continuous iterations of themselves. These elements towards telling a story are not so explicit, lines and layers are used throughout her pieces as a means of exploring clarity and organization of collected information. 

Latest exhibitions include:
2024
“’Encounters' 'لقاءات“', Dubai Collection, Dubai
2023
“Off Centered Pauses”, JJ Joong Jung Gallery, Seoul
“Don’t Overlook the Weather (As Your Thoughts Collect)”, Alserkal Arts Foundation Public Commission. Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE
2022
“When the Ground Was”, CARBON 12, Dubai

Most recently, Sarah Almehairi is amongst the finalists for this years #LouvreAbuDhabiArtHere and Richard Mille Art Prize. Winners will be announced September 2024. 

Sarah is also the co-founder of Jara Collective and a cycling trainer at one of our favorite studios in the UAE CRANK.

For more information on Sarah Almehairi's work please contact CARBON 12.

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In this episode, our founder Nour Hassan speaks to Lebanese artist and Creative Director Ali Cha'aban who is based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Ali's art traverses the liminal lines between our cultural heritage as Arabs and the contemporary world we find ourselves immersed in online. He has worked with the likes of Nike, Fendi, Gucci, Selfridges, Les Benjamins, and more prominent luxury brands, indie regional powerhouses, and sportswear titans to develop pioneering creative or innovative designs that finally speaks to MENA youth. Ali talks talks to us about grappling with identity, being a Renaissance man and how the Arabic language always makes its way into his work.

If you'd like to see more of Ali's work check out @alichaaban or https://www.alichaaban.com/

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