Staging the Orient: Photography & the Western Imagination

The Alliance is thrilled to partner with the University of Chicago’s Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) and the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) on a program exploring the role of photography in shaping Western perceptions of the East during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

• As part of a broader discussion on Orientalist visual culture, ISAC Museum Director & Chief Curator Marc Maillot will speak about his work in Egypt and Sudan and present the Museum’s current exhibition, Staging the East: Orientalist Photography in Chicago Collections (April 17–August 17, 2025).
• Guests will also hear from Nicolas Revire, Daniel F. & Ada L. Rice Research Fellow at the AIC, who will examine how colonial-era images of Cambodia’s ancient temples constructed a powerful—and often romanticized—vision of the “mysterious East.” Drawing on a rich selection of colonial-era photographs and their legacy, he will explore how Angkor was visually constructed as a romantic ruin, fueling “Angkormania” in Europe and North America and influencing museum narratives to this day.
• Their lectures will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Alex Jen, AIC Assistant Curator in Prints & Drawings and Arts of Asia.

After the program, guests will have the chance to speak with the panelists over a complimentary glass of French wine.

Doors at 6:00. Program at 6:30 p.m. Please enter via 54 W Chicago Ave. Non-alcoholic options will be available.

Whether you’re a lover of art, photography, or history, this event offers fresh insight into the visual legacy of colonialism and the cultural myths it helped create.

About the Speakers

Nicolas Revire

Nicolas Revire holds a doctorate from the Université Paris 3–Sorbonne nouvelle and specializes in the Hindu‒Buddhist art and archeology of early Southeast Asia, with a focus on Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. He is currently the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Research Fellow at the Art Institute of Chicago and managing editor of the Journal of the Siam Society. His publications include Before Siam (2014) and Decoding Southeast Asian Art (2022).

Marc Maillot

Marc Maillot received his Ph.D. from Sorbonne University in 2013 and is now an associate member of the UMR 8167 “Orient et Méditerranée” (French National Research Center-CNRS). Before his appointment as a Courtesy Assistant Professor at University of Central Florida in 2015, Dr. Maillot conducted seminars on late antiquity urbanism and architecture at Paris-Sorbonne University, and Shendi University in Sudan. His research interests include vernacular architecture both in Egypt and Sudan, Meroitic iconography, Social Anthropology, and urbanism in antiquity. Dr. Maillot has worked on archaeological sites abroad since 2007, with a special focus on the Middle Nile Valley, on sites such as Muweis, el-Hassa, and Sai Island. His field experience also includes the archaeology of Roman settlements in France, particularly on the shores of the Marne River. His past research has been focused on technical approaches to the study of cultural transmission, and more specifically on the theme of casemate foundations for monumental brick structures along the Nile. Dr. Maillot’s current research focuses on the Osirian cult practice in the Meroitic royal pageantry, architectural representation in the iconography of the Middle Nile Valley, and late antiquity Sudanese towns as production machines for a centralized power based at Meroe. He is Director and Chief Curator of the ISAC Museum of the University of Chicago since January 2023.

Alex Jen

Alex Jen is Assistant Curator in Prints & Drawings and Arts of Asia at The Art Institute of Chicago. His interests include postwar American and Asian art, California conceptualism and its successors, and contemporary art across Southeast Asia. Alex has held internships at LACMA, the Chinati Foundation, and the MFA Houston, and has curated exhibitions of Chicago artists at Each Modern in Taipei (2023) and Produce Model in Pilsen (2021). His criticism and essays appear in Frieze, The Financial Times and ArtAsiaPacific, among other venues. From 2019 to 2022, Alex was Special Assistant to the President & Director at The Art Institute. He earned his MPhil in Art History from the University of Hong Kong, writing on David Diao, and his BA from Williams College.

Get Here

The Alliance Française de Chicago is one block from the Chicago Red Line stop. Best bus routes are the 22 on Clark and the 66 on Chicago.

Parking Information

$12 for 12 hours at InterPark (100 W Chestnut St). Validation is available at reception.