Al Noor Library
Initiated by Charles Pocock in 1999, The Al Noor Library, housed at Meem Gallery, is regarded as the most comprehensive resource centre for the study of Middle Eastern arts in the region. Comprised of an extensive collection of over 20,000 books, journals, rare volumes and auction catalogues relating to ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, architecture and archaeology, as well as an expanding digital archive holding over 100,000 images connected to the subject, the library attracts visiting researchers and scholars in the field from all over the world.
The Al Noor Institute of Middle Eastern Art (NIMEA), established in 2008 is an outgrowth of the Al Noor Library and Meem Gallery. The institute’s mission is to encourage public appreciation of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, and to preserve the legacy of the region’s material culture through the archiving, creation and collection of important resources and research material, often in collaboration with leading artists, art historians, museums and academic institutions.
A non-profit institute, NIMEA aims to enhance the study and research of the arts of the region through Meem Editions, the respected in-house publishing programme of Meem Gallery. Notable publications include the Meem Editions monographs, Dia Al-Azzawi: Retrospective and Tanavoli: Monograph as well as books on artists Kamal Boullata, Ibrahim Salahi, Abbas Kiarostami and Marwan and collected essays in Meem Projects 2012 and Meem Projects 2013.
Art in Iraq Today, published in 2012 is an extensive volume co-published with Skira Editore. Dedicated to the preeminent art critic Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, it highlights works shown in the contemporary Iraqi art exhibition series held at Meem Gallery. The publication was sponsored by Crescent Petroleum to commemorate its 40th Anniversary.
NIMEA has worked with leading cultural bodies and foundations around the region including Mathaf (The Arab Museum of Modern Art), Doha, on its Mathaf Encyclopedia of Modern Art and the Arab World, The Haus der Kunst, Munich; The Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; The Guggenheim, Abu Dhabi; The Louvre, Abu Dhabi and The Whitechapel Gallery, London.
The Al Noor Library is named after the daughter of Charles Pocock, Isadora Ines Noor Pocock.