Contemporary art and the sense of place. The case of Tunisia

In the nineties and in the first decade of the 21st century a new relation between art and places characterized the art world, i.e. a growing de-materialization of the art works and related artistic practices. The loss of place, namely the unhomely matter, considered as a character of modernity, affected in contemporary art both the object of artistic representation, and the condition of many nomadic/diasporic artists, men and women. In the processes and transformations which are synthetically defined Arab springs the resets of relation between territory and identity suggests the new cultural form of artistic post-nomadism: the native/local artist who doesn't leave, but stays in his/her country for working critically. The article will use this analytic category to discuss the great explosion of creativity, languages and artistic practices occurred during and after the Tunisian revolution, from street art to cinema, from photography to music.