An Abrouc in the Archive: Fatma Charfi’s Golfe in Brief Historiographic Perspective

Episode 244: An Abrouc in the Archive: Fatma Charfi’s Golfe in Brief Historiographic Perspective On the occasion of the exposition Fatma Charfi: Human Being–Being Human, presented at the A.Gorgi and Blue Wind Project through October 25, 2026, a public program was dedicated to the work and trajectory of the artist Fatma Charfi (1955-2018), organized in partnership with the Centre d’Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT) as part of its program dedicated to the arts and history of art in the Maghreb. The event began with a guided tour of the exposition, followed by presentations and a conversation dedicated to Fatma Charfi’s artistic practice and the place of her work in the history of contemporary art in Tunisia and beyond. This podcast is part of the two-part event program, in which art historian Jessica Gerschultz discusses Fatma Charfi’s work Golfe presented at the 1991 Lausanne Biennale and Charfi’s engagement with textile art and spatial environments throughout her work. Jessica Gerschultz is a Lecturer at the School of Art History at the University of St. Andrews. Her research examines modern and contemporary textile art, artistic practices related to artisanal techniques, and feminist histoires of art. She is the author of Decorative Arts of the Tunisian École: Fabrications of Modernism, Gender, and Power (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2019), produced with a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies. Her current project, Fiber Art Constellations, traces transregional networks of artists across sites in the Arab world, Africa, and former Soviet-bloc countries to propose a feminist history of modern tapestry. This podcast was recorded at the A.Gorgi gallery in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, on the 30th of September 2026. We thank Mr. Souheib Zallazi, (student at CFT, Tunisia) and Mr. Malek Saadani (student at ULT, Tunisia), for their interpretation of “el Ardh Ardhi” of Sabri Mesbah, performed for the introduction and conclusion of this podcast. Souheib on melodica and Malek on guitar. Montage : Lena Krause, AIMS Development and Digital Resources Liaison au Centre d’Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT).