The emergent cities in the Gulf region and conflict-ridden countries in the Middle and Near East are engaging issues in media coverage. The Western eye is influenced by extreme images from these areas. The publication counteracts their manipulative aesthetics in works that reveal a more complex approach to examining social conditions. Common Grounds makes reference to the scientific model of grounding, the assumption that there is a common space of knowledge between partners in communication that facilitates successful dialogue. This public space constitutes the subject of the works being presented, which point out subjective narrative styles beyond collective historiography. In Christian Palestinian Archive (CPA), for instance, Dor Guez arranges archival material that documents personal stories by Palestinians of the Christian faith from the first half of the twentieth century. Die vorgestellten Künstler (Auswahl)/Artists featured (selection): Abbas Akhavan, DAAR, Parastou Forouhar, Babak Golkar, Dor Guez, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Hazem Harb, Susan Hefuna, Bouchra Khalili, Sophia Al Maria, Ahmed Mater, Nasser Al Salem Exhibition: Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, 12.2.–17.5.2015
