Colonialandimperialpowershaveoftenportrayedaridlandsas“empty“spacesreadytobeoccupied,exploited,extracted,andpolluted.Despitetheundeniablepresenceofhumanandnonhumanlivesandforcesindesertterritories,the“regimeofemptiness“hasinhabited,andisstillinhabiting,manyimaginaries.DesertsAreNotEmptychallengesthiscolonialtendency,questionsitsrootsandramifications,andremapstherepresentations,theories,histories,andstoriesofaridlands--whichcompriseapproximatelyone-thirdoftheEarth’slandsurface.Thevolumebringstogetherpoemsinoriginallanguages,conversationswithcollectives,andessaysbyscholarsandprofessionalsfromthefieldsofarchitecture,architecturalhistoryandtheory,curatorialstudies,comparativeliterature,filmstudies,landscapearchitecture,andphotography.Thesedifferentapproachesanddiversevoicesdrawonaframeworkofdecolonialitytounsettleandunlearnthedesert,openinguppossibilitiestosee,think,imagineitotherwise.WithcontributionsfromSaphiyaAbuAl-Maati,MennaAgha,AsaielAlSaeed,AseelAlYaqoub,YousefAwaadHussein,AriellaA簿shaAzoulay,DanikaCooper,BrahimElGuabli,TimothyHyde,JillJarvis,BonganiKona,DalalMusaedAlsayer,Observatoiredesarmements,FranciscoE.Robles,PauloTavares,AllaVronskaya,andXqSu.
