As the Amman neighborhood of Jabal al Luweibde developed into an “artistic neighborhood,” Ammanis began to speak of a “Weibde Bubble,” recognizing both the neighborhood and its attached art scene as separated from the city at large. This perceived socio-spatial separation effected a neighborhood autonomy, which artists could exploit, using the neighborhood to stage bold artistic and political experiments. The perceived separation also helped to structure artists’ relations to the rest of the city. Depending on the artist, the wider city might appear as a hostile outside to the neighborhood, or it might appear as an aspirational source of authenticity to which artists could reach out. In this talk, McLaughlin-Alcock will explore how these artists’ actions reveal an aesthetic politics of the neighborhood. That is, the way the neighborhood has been constructed into an autonomous, artistic space provides the aesthetic basis for a set of political claims and actions. As these actions emerge from the neighborhood, they steadily reinscribe this aesthetic basis, reshaping the field of political possibility. 

To register, please email Olga Dunaevsky, odunaevs@uci.edu. A  Zoom link will be provided prior to the event for confirmed registrants.