New York, Site of International Crossings

The session explores New York as a site of intersections of artists from around the world who have passed through or settled in the city. Writer and curator Omar Berrada introduces the Moroccan artists Mohamed Melehi and Ahmed Yacoubi, their time in New York in the early 60s, and their involvement with the Museum of Modern Art as a transitional moment in their respective work. Writer, curator, and philosopher Max Jorge Hinderer Cruz focuses on Hélio Oiticica, his political exile in New York (1971–77), and the subsequent severe shift not only within his aesthetics but also in his choice of media and narrative. Artist Mohammad Omer Khalil discusses his practice and how it has been influenced by travels in Europe and the Middle East as well as his moving to New York in the late 60s. Finally, artist Zoran Popović juxtaposes the time he spent in New York in the 1970s to his life and work in Belgrade.