First Arab then artist: media discourse on Arab art in Western European digital media. The case of El Mundo, The Guardian and Libération

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the media discourses and frames around Arab art that operate across Western European digital media platforms. In order to do so, sixty press articles published in 2015 in the arts and culture sections of El Mundo (ES), The Guardian (UK) and Libération (FR) were examined following the parameters of the framing theory and critical discourse analysis. This paper concludes that Western media persistently report on Arab arts as a pretext to perpetuate hegemonic discourses around Arabs, especially influenced by Orientalism and Eurocentrism, whereby Arab arts and their artistic relevance are very seldom discussed in isolation. Such findings underline the need for media to revise their journalistic practices for a more ethical coverage of Arabs, particularly when focusing on Arab art and their practitioners.