Syrian Pavilion in Venice: Artist with Assad Links Reignites Debate (faz.net)

• Artist painted for Assad's inner circle; now represents Syria post-Assad.
• First Syrian pavilion after regime change, but old networks persist.
• Debate over art's complicity with authoritarian regimes.

"Sara Shamma, whose portraits hung in the office of Assad's wife, will curate the first Syrian pavilion at the Venice Biennale since the dictator's fall. This raises questions about continuity of elite ties in post-war cultural representation."