Did you know that you were eating a food that originated in North Africa more
than nine hundred years ago?
This work of art is made from:
Have you ever eaten couscous? If so, describe how it tasted.
Kader Attia (b. 1970, Dugny, France) grew up in both Algeria and the suburbs
of Paris, and uses this experience of two different cultures as a starting point
in developing his work. For Untitled (Ghardaïa) (2009), Attia modeled
the Algerian town of Ghardaïa in couscous, a regional food that is now
popular worldwide.
KADER ATTIA
UNTITLED (GHARDAÏA), 2009
Take some time to draw Untitled (Ghardaïa)
(2009). Imagine it is a real town. What would
you see as you walked through the streets?
AT THE MUSEUM
FAMILY ACTIVITY GUIDE
Think of some other food(s) that could also be
used to make a work of art. In the space below,
sketch what that work would look like.
AT HOME
Welcome to But a Storm Is Blowing from Paradise:
Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa, the
third exhibition of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art
Initiative. These exhibitions examine the ideas and methods
that today’s artists, living in various parts of the world,
are using to address the issues and concerns of our time.
This family guide is designed for children and adults to use
together as they discover more about the art that is being
produced by artists from the Middle East and North Africa.
As you explore, look for the works pictured in the guide.
We invite you to draw and write in this family guide and
discuss the ideas that it suggests. We hope you find that
the closer you look, the more you discover!
BUT A STORM IS BLOWING
FROM PARADISE
CONTEMPORARY ART OF THE
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
During your visit, please remember:
Touch the works of art only with your eyes, never with your hands.
Walk in the museum, do not run.
Use a quiet voice when sharing your ideas.
Write and draw only with pencils, not pens or markers please.
APRIL 29–OCTOBER 5
Kader Attia, Untitled (Ghardaïa), 2009. Couscous, two inkjet prints, and five photocopy prints, couscous
diameter: 500 cm; inkjet prints: 180 x 100 cm and 150 x 100 cm; photocopy prints: 29.7 x 21 cm, edition 2/3.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Guggenheim UBS MAP Purchase Fund 2015.84
© Kader Attia. Photo: Courtesy Kader Attia and Lehmann Maupin, New York. Abbas Akhavan, Study for
a Monument, 2013–16. Bronze and cotton, overall dimensions variable. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,
New York, Guggenheim UBS MAP Purchase Fund 2015.83 © Abbas Akhavan. Installation view: Abbas
Akhavan: Variations on a Garden, Mercer Union, Toronto, September 12–October 31, 2015. Photo: Nikolaus
Steglich, Starnberg, 2015. Susan Hefuna, Building, 2009. Ink on tracing paper, nine parts, 21.5 x 62.5 cm each.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Guggenheim UBS MAP Purchase Fund and partial gift of the
artist and Pi Artworks 2015.90 © Susan Hefuna. Photo: Courtesy Susan Hefuna and Pi Artworks, London
Did you know that you were eating a food that originated in North Africa more
This work of art is made from:
Have you ever eaten couscous? If so, describe how it tasted.
in developing his work. For Untitled (Ghardaïa) (2009), Attia modeled
KADER ATTIA
UNTITLED GHARDAÏA
Take some time to draw Untitled (Ghardaïa)
(2009). Imagine it is a real town. What would
you see as you walked through the streets?
AT THE MUSEUM
Think of some other food(s) that could also be
used to make a work of art. In the space below,
sketch what that work would look like.
AT HOME
FAMILY ACTIVITY GUIDE
Welcome to But a Storm Is Blowing from Paradise:
Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa, the
third exhibition of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art
Initiative. These exhibitions examine the ideas and methods
that today’s artists, living in various parts of the world,
This family guide is designed for children and adults to use
together as they discover more about the art that is being
produced by artists from the Middle East and North Africa.
As you explore, look for the works pictured in the guide.
We invite you to draw and write in this family guide and
discuss the ideas that it suggests. We hope you find that
BUT A STORM IS BLOWING
FROM PARADISE
CONTEMPORARY ART OF THE
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
During your visit, please remember:
Touch the works of art only with your eyes, never with your hands.
Walk in the museum, do not run.
Use a quiet voice when sharing your ideas.
Write and draw only with pencils, not pens or markers please.
Kader Attia, Untitled (Ghardaïa), 2009. Couscous, two inkjet prints, and five photocopy prints, couscous
diameter: 500 cm; inkjet prints: 180 x 100 cm and 150 x 100 cm; photocopy prints: 29.7 x 21 cm, edition 2/3.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Guggenheim UBS MAP Purchase Fund 2015.84
Study for
a Monument, 2013–16. Bronze and cotton, overall dimensions variable. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,
New York, Guggenheim UBS MAP Purchase Fund 2015.83 © Abbas Akhavan. Installation view: Abbas
Akhavan: Variations on a Garden, Mercer Union, Toronto, September 12–October 31, 2015. Photo: Nikolaus
Steglich, Starnberg, 2015. Susan Hefuna, Building, 2009. Ink on tracing paper, nine parts, 21.5 x 62.5 cm each.
artist and Pi Artworks 2015.90 © Susan Hefuna. Photo: Courtesy Susan Hefuna and Pi Artworks, London
AT THE MUSEUM
Sit down on the floor near this work and draw some
of the plant forms you see. Imagine what they might
have looked like in their natural environment.
AT HOME
Select a flower or plant in or around your
home and do a careful drawing of it.
ABBAS AKHAVAN
STUDY FOR A MONUMENT, 2013–16
Abbas Akhavan was born in 1977 in Tehran and has lived in Canada since 1992.
His work Study for a Monument contains reproductions of endangered plants
from Mesopotamia, an area of the Middle East where the first civilizations
arose, where many ideas originated, and where the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon may have flourished. Akhavan did careful research to learn more
about these plants. Today, Mesopotamia is known as Iraq, and its people and
environment have been affected by war.
What did you learn?
SUSAN HEFUNA
BUILDING, 2009
AT HOME
With an adult, take a walk around your
neighborhood. When you return, do another
drawing inspired by the things you noticed
on your walk.
These drawings, collectively titled Building (2009), are inspired by Susan
Hefuna’s long walks around New York City and the architecture she saw
along the way. Hefuna describes the activity that follows her walks:
“I start to draw without having a picture in my mind of how the
drawing will look in the end.”
If you look carefully you will notice that each work is actually made of
layers of drawings.
Compare the drawings. How are they similar to or different from each other?
AT THE MUSEUM
Think about your trip to the Guggenheim today
and all the streets, people, and buildings you
passed to get here. Then, in the space above,
create a drawing inspired by that experience.
AT THE MUSEUM
Sit down on the floor near this work and draw some
of the plant forms you see. Imagine what they might
have looked like in their natural environment.
AT HOME
Select a flower or plant in or around your
home and do a careful drawing of it.
ABBAS AKHAVAN
STUDY FOR A MONUMENT, 2013–16
Abbas Akhavan was born in 1977 in Tehran and has lived in Canada since 1992.
His work Study for a Monument contains reproductions of endangered plants
from Mesopotamia, an area of the Middle East where the first civilizations
arose, where many ideas originated, and where the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon may have flourished. Akhavan did careful research to learn more
about these plants. Today, Mesopotamia is known as Iraq, and its people and
environment have been affected by war.
What did you learn?
SUSAN HEFUNA
BUILDING, 2009
AT HOME
With an adult, take a walk around your
neighborhood. When you return, do another
drawing inspired by the things you noticed
on your walk.
These drawings, collectively titled Building (2009), are inspired by Susan
Hefuna’s long walks around New York City and the architecture she saw
along the way. Hefuna describes the activity that follows her walks:
“I start to draw without having a picture in my mind of how the
drawing will look in the end.”
If you look carefully you will notice that each work is actually made of
layers of drawings.
Compare the drawings. How are they similar to or different from each other?
AT THE MUSEUM
Think about your trip to the Guggenheim today
and all the streets, people, and buildings you
passed to get here. Then, in the space above,
create a drawing inspired by that experience.