Tunisia’s art scene has gained momentum since the fall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011 but its restaurant and food culture has not kept pace. However, behind closed doors in supper clubs and even private art salons, a new and exciting interpretation of Tunisian cuisine is beginning to emerge.

The old Medina quarter of Tunis is the epicenter of an artistic and cultural movement that has blossomed since the revolution of 2011. It is home to a number of public festivals such as Dream City, a multidisciplinary contemporary art event that has grown over the past seven years and inspired other festivals, such as the art biennial Interference. 

At Medina's southern edge in an old stone house is the atelier of Sabri Ben Mlouka, Tunisia’s best-known fine art nude photographer. A grand gate and a candlelit passageway lead to a large black-walled salon that opens onto a modernist garden. His works in progress hang on the walls, graceful nudes photographed surreptitiously in Catholic cathedrals, private rooms or roadsides in front of grazing sheep. One disarmingly intimate photo is of a 70-year-old woman in a bath, lost in thought. 

Ben Mlouka eschews public galleries in favor of private exhibitions. He told Al-Monitor, “The work is very intimate, so during the course of the private viewing, I want my guests to enjoy this feeling of intimacy. I don’t seek publicity or public promotion; I prefer to keep things discreet.”