"Contemporary Art in the Middle East" is the first in the cutting-edge new ARTWORLD series which opens up the most challenging and under-exposed art scenes in the world. Showcasing the most explosive, dynamic and provocative art coming out of the region, "Contemporary Art in the Middle East" shatters common stereotypes and presents a new way of looking at one of the most complex and misunderstood areas of the world today. Artists from opposite ends of the spectrum come together in a vivid confrontation of diverse styles across boundaries; from the brash pop art of Shirin Aliabadi to the restrained calligraphic minimalism of Golnaz Fathi; from the provocative conceptualism of Mona Hatoum to the vibrant installations of Farhad Moshiri; from the slick beauty of Yousseff Nabil to the edgy realism of Afshin Dehkordi. All feature together in a formidable collage of artistic expression. Lavishly illustrated profiles of the most influential artists working today are supported with essays by writers who represent the diversity of voices from this region: Suzanne Cotter has curated exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery and the Serpentine Gallery, Nat Muller is an independent curator and the first curator-in-residence at the Townhouse Gallery in Cairo, Lindsey Moore author of Arab, Muslim, Woman and TJ Demos lecturer at University College London. Contemporary Art in the Middle East provides a new way of understanding the Middle East outside the headlines and through the engaging medium of art.