Art in the Age of Distraction

Anna Seaman is a UAE-based arts writer and independent curator specialising in contemporary art across the Middle East. Originally from the UK, she has worked in the region since 2008 as an editor, cultural commentator and consultant, collaborating with institutions, artists and cultural organisations on exhibitions, publications and strategic content.

Maan Jalal is a writer of mixed Arab heritage who grew up between Auckland, New Zealand, and Dubai, UAE, where he is currently based.   With over a decade of experience as a journalist, Maan has covered arts and culture both regionally and internationally, focusing on the Middle East. His work has appeared in numerous prominent publications, including The National, Arab News, Khaleej Times, Vogue Arabia, Architectural Digest Middle East, Art Dubai, Conde Nast Traveller Middle East, Mille World, Sorbet, and Miss Muslim.   As an arts and culture journalist, Maan has written extensively on the local and regional art and literary scene, with a particular emphasis on Arab creatives across the region and throughout the diaspora. His storytelling, ranging from sharp cultural commentary to in-depth features, aims to demystify complex ideas while remaining accessible, engaging, and thought-provoking.   Maan is also the founder and editor of The Culturelist, an independent editorial platform dedicated to arts, literature, entertainment, and cultural discourse across the Middle East and beyond.   As an editorial consultant, Maan has worked with major communications firms including Edelman, Burson, and Weber Shandwick, delivering projects for cultural institutions such as Louvre Abu Dhabi, AlUla Arts Festival, the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art, and Doha Festival City.   Maan’s creative writing has been featured in several anthologies, including The Fish Anthology, where he was awarded the Short Memoir Prize in 2020. He has also been commissioned to edit and write several memoirs and books including his authored work on the history of cinema in Dubai. Maan was a co-host of Culture Bites, an arts and culture podcast by The National, reporting on exhibitions, events, and critical shifts in the regional art world. His work on the show earned him a Signal Award for Best Co-Host in 2024. In addition to writing, Maan has moderated panels and spoken at festivals, forums, and academic institutions on topics including literature, arts writing, regional art history, and the evolving local arts ecosystem. He is represented by Jacandra Literary Agency for his fiction work and is currently developing several literary projects.

Rebecca Anne Proctor is an independent journalist, editor, author and broadcaster based in Dubai and Rome from where she covers the Middle East and Africa. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar Art and Harper’s Bazaar Interiors. Her writing has been published in Artnet News, Frieze, The New York Times Style Magazine; Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East, BBC Worldwide, Galerie, South China Morning Post, Vogue Arabia, Wallpaper, The National, Architectural Digest, Monocle, Arab News, Al-Monitor, The Defense Post, The Forward, The Jewish Insider and The Business of Fashion. She is the author of Art in Saudi Arabia: A New Creativity Economy? written with Alia Al-Senussi and published by Lund Humphries in November 2023.