Art in Embassies

Reading by Nasreen Haroon — Art in Embassies

For over five decades, Art in Embassies (AIE) has played a leading role in U.S. public diplomacy through a focused mission of vital cross-cultural dialogue and understanding through the visual arts and dynamic artist exchange.
The Museum of Modern Art first envisioned this global visual arts program in 1953, and President John F. Kennedy formalized it at the U.S. Department of State in 1963. Today, Art in Embassies is an official visual arts office within the U.S. Department of State, engaging over 20,000 participants globally, including artists, museums, galleries, universities, and private collectors. It encompasses over 200 venues in 189 countries.
Through this program, Nasreen’s work has hung in US embassies in Dhaka Bangladesh, Islamabad Pakistan, Dakar Senegal, Abu Dhabi UAE, Algiers Algeria, Abuja Nigeria, and Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

Nasreen was appointed Cultural Envoy to the United Arab Emirates in 2007, where she taught master classes in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, and was chosen to represent the United States as “American Artist Abroad” in Algeria in 2008. During her visit to Algiers in Algeria, Nasreen participated in numerous children’s art workshops and coordinated the painting of a mural at a local non-governmental organization for battered women and children. She also hosted a roundtable discussion at a local art gallery, taught master classes at the Academy of Fine Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts; the trip was publicized by several radio interviews and two TV interviews, during which she discussed her art and role in the US Department of State’s Art in Embassies program. While a guest on “Bonjour D’Algerie,” a talk show similar to “Good Morning America,” she spoke for more than a half-hour to showcase the program and demonstrate the diversity of the United States.

Gallery

Gallery

Visit the official Art in Embassies Website