What do we need to know about the MENA region today?

For the past decades, culture, including visual art, has not been a priority for most governments in the region, and this has led to the status quo in fine arts we experience today. The isolation between the public and the arts is the result of the lack of serious programmes to educate both students and the public. The public in general seems to have no interest in fine arts and for this reason governments don't feel the need to invest effort and money in it.

The only people aware of this dilemma are the artists themselves and the few individuals highly interested in the arts. It seems – for now at least – that there is no common ground for these two sides to start discussing ways out of the status quo. Initiatives by fine artists and cultured people should be encouraged and discussed in order to convince not only the governments but also the private sector to be more involved with creating real and effective institutions working for the benefit of culture.