The past year was one of many exits and entrances in Chicago’s professional art world. Among those who arrived, Omar Kholeif rises to the top of new cultural appointments, coming to the Museum of Contemporary Art with an international reputation and an impressive CV of curatorial pursuits. Formerly at Whitechapel Gallery in London, Kholeif has also distinguished himself as a film curator (he founded the UK Arab Film Festival) and a writer (he is the senior editor of Ibraaz, a journal of North African and Middle Eastern visual culture). Suffice it to say, Kholeif will bring a much needed Mideast perspective to the cultural capital of the Midwest.
