Artists featured in Art in Isolation
Afaf Zurayk and Rami Saab
b. 1948, Beirut, Lebanon; lives in Beirut
b. 1991, Beirut, Lebanon; lives in New York City
Afaf Zurayk’s artwork is in the permanent collections of the British Museum, London; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; Sursock Museum, Beirut; and Darat al-Funun, Amman. She is represented by the Saleh Barakat Gallery in Beirut and has held numerous positions as a professor and lecturer at major institutions in the United States and Lebanon, including continuing education programs of the Corcoran College of Art and Design and Georgetown University in Washington D.C. She received a BA in Fine Arts from the American University of Beirut (1970) and a MA in Fine Arts from Harvard University (1972). She received the Jouhayna Baddoura prize for art in 2017.
Rami Saab is a managing and creative partner at Twig Collaborative, a design firm that specializes in bridging theory and practice through exhibitions, graphics, spaces, and publications. Saab is also a faculty member at Parsons School of Design in New York. He received his BA in Architecture from the American University of Beirut (2014) and a MA in Design Studies from Parsons School of Design, The New School (2018).
Afraa Ahmed
b. 1992, Aden, Yemen; lives in Kuala Lumpur
Afraa Ahmed is a Yemeni multimedia artist and graphic designer living in Malaysia who harnesses her experience as an expatriate to explore notions of place, displacement, and isolation. Ahmed holds a degree in Multimedia Technology from Asia Pacific University. Her work explores the relationship between constructed landscapes and those that inhabit them. Her recent projects examine the human impact of ancient heritage sites threatened by war in Yemen. She has exhibited in both Malaysia and Yemen, and was commissioned by the Museum of the UN to participate in the exhibition My Mark: My City. Ahmed is a member of the artist collective Al Yamaniah.
Alia and Maitha Damithan
b. 1997, Dubai, UAE; lives in Dubai
Alia and Maitha Damithan are multimedia artists who use their collective graphic design backgrounds to create simple yet playful examinations of the everyday. They graduated from Zayed University in 2019 with BA degrees in Art and Design and a specialization in graphic design. The twins have joined together as an artistic team and have participated in the exhibition Plastic at Tashkeel Gallery in Dubai. Together they challenge traditional medium boundaries by conflating painting, video, and design to convey their unique perspective. Alia and Maitha Damithan are part of Hamzat Wasl Studio, a creative community collective.
Amer Al Akel
b. 1987, Damascus, Syria; lives in Berlin
Amer al Akel is a Syrian multimedia artist who uses installation, film, illustration, and sculpture to explore themes of displacement, nationhood, and personal identity imbued in place. Akel graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, Syria (2010) and received his MA in Fine Arts from Weißensee Kunsthochschule, Germany (2020). He has exhibited widely in Syria and Europe, and recently participated in exhibitions at Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz, Berlin (2020), Melpomène Beaux-Arts de Paris (2019), and Galerie Postel, Hamburg (2018), among others. He held an artist-in-residence position at Kunsthalle Exnergasse-Wuk in Vienna in 2015 and has been nominated for several awards, including the DAAD Prize for outstanding achievements at Berlin Weissensee School of Art which he won in 2019.
Amina Ayman Kadous
b. 1991, Cairo, Egypt; lives in Cairo
Amina Ayman Kadous is an Egyptian artist who uses images and text to explore the complexity of memory, the evolution of her own identity, and the connection between history and contemporary life. Kadous has exhibited internationally in Europe, Africa, and the United States. She recently participated in the Photography Biennale of the Contemporary Arab World at the Cite Des Arts in Paris (2019) and the Bamako Biennale of Photography (2019). She was awarded the Centre Soleil d’Afrique Prize for her project, “A Crack in the Memory of My Memory.” Kadous received her BFA from Tufts University and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (2015).
Asim Ahmed
b. 1996, Aden, Yemen; lives in Aden
Asim Ahmed is a visual artist who often uses the medium of photography to reflect on his experience living within a conflict zone. In addition to his own projects, Ahmed is a content creator for social media and is a film production assistant for Adenium, based in Aden, Yemen. He has been featured in ArtNews, i-D and Hypebeast and has participated in exhibits internationally, including Turning On the Light at Arsheef Gallery, Yemen (2020). He received a BA in International Business Management while living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Athar Jaber
b. 1982, Rome, Italy; lives in Antwerp
Athar Jaber is an Iraqi sculptor who was born and grew up in Italy. His style bridges the Iraqi heritage of his parents, both artists themselves, with the Italian tradition of marble sculpture. Jaber received his BA (2007) and MA (2008) in Visual Arts from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium. Additionally, he is a current PhD Associate in the Arts candidate at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp where he teaches several courses. Jaber has exhibited internationally and held numerous solo exhibitions in Italy, Germany, Belgium, and Cuba. He held artist-in-resident positions at Picha Centre D’Art, Lubumbashi, Cuba (2019); the National Musuem of Fine Arts Havana, Havana, Cuba (2017-2018); and the Palestinian Museum, Birzeit, Palestine (2017).
Carol Mansour
b. 1961, Beirut, Lebanon, lives in Beirut
Carol Mansour is a Lebanese documentary filmmaker and producer whose recent projects have focused on the current pandemic and the ensuing isolation. Mansour is the founder of Forward Film Production based in Beirut. She has over 20 years of documentary film production experience and has traveled widely covering issues of human rights, social justice, refugees, mental health, and war and memory. She has won numerous awards for her films, including Best Short International Documentary for her film on the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon, A Summer Not To Forget, at the New Zealand Festival. Before launching her production company, Mansour directed, produced, and hosted numerous programs for Future Television in Beirut
Dahlia Abdelilah Baasher
b. 1991, Khatoum, Sudan; lives in Khartoum
Dahlia Abdelilah Baasher is a Sudanese artist whose figurative paintings explore the ways the feminine figure is imbued with social and cultural concerns. Baasher is a self-taught artist living in Khartoum, Sudan. In addition to her works on canvas, she also creates digital work. She is an artist assistant at Khartoum International Community School as well as a graphic designer at OVCI La Nostra Famiglia and Usratuna Sudanese Association for Children with Disabilities in Omdurman, Sudan. She has exhibited widely in Sudan, most recently in L’Effet Papillon at the French Cultural Center (2020) and in “Sudan Week” at Khartoum International Community School (2020).
Erhan Us
b. 1987, Ankara, Turkey; lives in Istanbul
Istanbul-based Erhan Us is a conceptual artist and author whose work interacts with concepts of commoditization, manipulated realities, and corruption. Us is a member of Photographic and Visual Arts Federations and has won many awards for his photography, including Photo of the Month twice from Ankara Photography Artists’ Association (AFSAD). Us has exhibited internationally in both solo and group exhibitions, including The Digital Captivity for the Iklim Art Project, Turkey; Boarders at Gaziantep Zeugma Museum, Turkey; and Mass at Filmgate, Miami. This year he is also participating in SyArt 4th Sorrento Festival and digitally in Festival De Arte Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. He is currently continuing his studies on Sociology and Philosophy at Istanbul and Anadolu Universities.
Ebtisam Abdulaziz
b. 1975, Sharjah, UAE; lives in Washington, D.C.
Ebtisam Abdulaziz is a visual artist who creates photography, videos, performances and paintings that reflect the connections between human nature, abstraction, and mathematics. Abdulaziz is an artist and writer living in Washington, DC. Her studio is located in the Halcyon Arts Lab and she has exhibited widely in both the United States and the UAE. Her work is included in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt, Germany; Renaut Collection, France; and the DC Commision on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, DC. She has won several awards, including 1st Prize at the Emirates Fine Arts Society Annual Exhibition, Sharjah Contemporary Art Museum, UAE (2012). Abdulaziz graduated with a BA in Mathematics and Science from Al Ain University, UAE (1999).
Fatema Al Fardan
b. 1998, Abu Dhabi, UAE; lives in Abu Dhabi
Fatema Al Fardan is an Emirati multimedia artist creating photography, performance video, poetry, and sculpture. Al Fardan lives between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. She earned a dual BA in Art and Art History: Art Practice and in Economics from New York University Abu Dhabi (2020). Her body of work surrounds issues of Emirati female identity including stereotypes, minority representation and family. She has participated in multiple exhibitions in Abu Dhabi and New York City, and won “Best Photo Associated with Sustainability” at the Abu Dhabi Ports Photography Competition (2017). Most recently, she projected still and moving images for Al Raheel | Departure (2020) a contemporary performance premiered at The Arts Center
Firouz FarmanFarmaian
b. 1973, Tehran, Iran; lives in Paris, Marbella and Marrakech
The work of Firouz FarmanFarmaian, an Iranian-born artist living in exile in Europe and Morocco, is informed by memory, symbolism and the multiplicity of current affairs. Farman Farmaian is an artist working in painting, sculpture, film, installation and music. His work intersects issues of nature, architectonics, diaspora, and the impact of circumstance. After fleeing the Islamic Revolution in Iran, he went on to study Architecture and Visual Arts. He has recently participated in exhibitions and art fairs, including Memorandum of the Unknown Path at the Theatre Royal de Marrakech, Marrakech (2020); Permanence of Trace at We R the Nomads and Space@50, London (2019); Poetry of the Tribe at Salomon Arts Gallery and Leonard Tourne Gallery, New York City (2018); and Memory and Future/Future and Memory at Shirin Gallery, New York City (2016
Heba Amin
b. 1963, Cairo, Egypt; lives in Cairo
Heba Amin is a visual artist from Cairo, Egypt. She graduated from the American University in Cairo majoring in Mass Communication in 1988, and over the next few years participated in a number of free studies in painting. She founded Art Lounge Gallery in 2012 in Cairo curating art exhibitions and organizing events and workshops in different creative fields such as painting, creative writing, and filmmaking. She participated in many group exhibitions since 2000 and won an award by the Center of Arts in Cairo
Helen Zughaib
b. 1959, Beirut, Lebanon; lives in Washington, D.C.
Helen Zughaib is a painter and multimedia artist whose work comments on Middle East diaspora and cultural identity, and creates an important dialogue between Arab and American cultures. Zughaib was born in Lebanon and lived primarily in the Middle East and Europe before coming to the United States to study art. She graduated from Syracuse University with a BA in Fine Arts (1981). Her art is in the collection of many institutions worldwide, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the White House, Washington, D.C., the Library of Congress, and several U.S. embassies abroad in connection with the Art in Embassies Program. She has won eleven awards from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and has spoken abroad about art diplomacy at the invitation of the US Department of State.
Ilyes Messaoudi
b. 1990, Tunis, Tunisia; lives in Paris
Ilyes Messaoudi is a Tunisian visual artist working in painting, collage, and embroidery. His work, which is rooted in his North African heritage, connects tradition and modernity to reveal identity struggles, taboos and stereotypes within the Middle East, and critiques on contemporary culture. Messaoudi lives between Tunisia and France and attended the School of Science and Technology in Tunis. Since 2015, he has exhibited his work in France, Tunisia and the UK, including in the show Pop Art From North Africa at the Arab British Centre, London (2017) and Water at Gallery 102, Washington, D.C. (2018). In 2019, Messaoudi illustrated his first book, “The Loves of Antar and Abla.” His work is in the permanent collection of the Arab World Institute in Paris and in several notable private collections.
Jack Persekian
b. 1962, East Jerusalem, Palestine, lives in Jerusalem
Jack Persekian is a Palestinian artist and curator from Jerusalem. Persekian is the founder and director of Al-Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art and Gallery Anadiel. Previously, he held the position of Director and Head Curator of the Palestinian Museum (2012–2015); Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation (2009–2011); Artistic Director of the Sharjah Biennial (2007–2011); Head Curator of the Sharjah Biennial (2004–2007); Founder and Artistic Director of The Jerusalem Show (2007–present), and Qalandiya International (2012-2014). He has exhibited widely at major institutions including ICA, London; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; MoMA, New York City; Rote Fabrik, Zurich; and Darat Al Funun, Amman. Persekian is recipient of the Order of Culture, Science and Arts, from the State of Palestine (2016
Jamila Rizgalla
b. 1972, Tripoli, Libya; lives in Tripoli
Jamila Rizgalla is a self-taught Libyan artist who works in pastel to achieve quick, emotive compositions. Rizgalla has participated in several exhibitions in Libya and Malta, recently Take us on your journey through quarantine at Art House, Libya (2020) and Wings of my Soul at Manoel Theatre, Malta (2008). Her work is featured in collections internationally, including Tempra Museum for Contemporary Art, Malta; Museo Tempra della Biennale de Malta, Italy; Museo della Grafica, Italy; and Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Libya. In addition to her visual arts practice, Rizgalla is a veterinarian by education and is currently a lecturer in the Department of Aquaculture at the University of Tripoli.
Katya Traboulsi
b. 1960, Beirut, Lebanon; lives in Beirut
Katya Traboulsi is a Lebanese multimedia artist whose practice is characterized by the emotional intensity with which she confronts the effects of the Lebanese civil war. Traboulsi’s work has been exhibited internationally since 1986 in Paris, London, Dubai, Kuwait and North America, and she has participated in exhibitions at the Algerian Museum of Modern Art, the International Armory Show, and the United Nations in New York City. Her work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Tabari Artspace, Dubai (2014 -15) and at Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut (2018). Notably, in her exhibition at Saleh Barakat Gallery titled Perpetual Identities, she exhibited 46 handcrafted replicas of Lebanese war bomb shells colorfully adorned with beads, paint, and sculpted forms, which were shown at the MEI Art Gallery in October 2019. Traboulsi lived and worked in Dubai for several decades before returning to her home-city Beirut in 2016
Lena Kassicieh
b. 1989, Albuquerque, USA; lives between New Mexico and Dubai
Lena Kassicieh is Palestinian-American ceramicist and mixed media artist currently living between New Mexico and Dubai. Kassicieh grew up between New Mexico and Amman, and received a MS in Cultural and Social Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam. In 2017 she co-founded Daftar Asfar, a collaborative sketchbook project based in the Middle East. She has participated in exhibitions in the Middle East and the United States, including Women’s Work at Ghostwolf Gallery, Albuquerque (2018), Daftar Asfar with Art Dubai UAE (2019) and a group exhibition at The Studio in Amman, Jordan (2014). Kassicieh was formerly the communications manager of Amman Design Week, and managing editor of several lifestyle, art and cultural magazines and websites.
Mahmoud Al Haj
b. 1990, Khanyounis, Palestine; lives in Khanyounis
Mahmoud Al Haj is a Palestinian visual artist and arts teacher. Al Haj received a BA in Journalism and Media from Al-Aqsa University (2012) and has been a visual arts teacher at the Palestine Red Crescent Society since 2017. In 2019, he collaborated with artist Suzanne Groothuis on a land art workshop titled “Intimate Terrains” for the Palestine Museum. He has exhibited widely in Palestine and Europe, including recent participation in Within the Vacuum at Shababek for Contemporary Art, Palestine (2019), Contemplative Contrasts at the A.M. Qattan Foundation, Palestine (2019) and Orient 2.0 at Pulchri Studio Den Hague, Netherlands (2017
Manal Deeb
b. 1968, Ramallah, Palestine; lives in Fairfax, Virginia
Manal Deeb is a Palestinian-American visual artist whose work is concerned with global tensions over Palestine, feminism, identity and building cultural bridges. Deeb studied Studio Art at University of Illinois, Chicago and received a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies of Psychology of Art from George Mason University in Virginia. In 2016, her work was selected to be included in the annual Director’s Collection by the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA. She was also selected as one of the Arab Women of the Year in 2013 by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). From 2012 - 2013, thirty of her works were chosen to represent Palestine at the United Nations Visitors Centre in New York City. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions internationally and recently published her first book, Dome of the Soul, in collaboration with a Palestinian poet
Mansour el Habre
b. 1970, Aley, Lebanon; lives in Beirut
Mansour El Habre is a Lebanese painter and printmaker living in Beirut. His works explore the approach between reality and the perception of reality, deconstructing the metaphysical world around him, fragmenting and reconstructing images at the verge of psychosis and surrealism. El Habre received a BA in Fine Arts from the Institute of Fine Arts at the Lebanese University, Beirut (1994) before pursuing a MA from Balamand University. As an artist living and working in Beirut, he teaches at the Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts. He has exhibited widely in the Middle East, Europe, and North America, including the Europ’Art Fair, Geneva (1999); The Artist’s View II, Cork Street Galleries, London (2004); and Art-Dubai Art Fair (2009, 2010 & 2011) and Abu Dhabi Art Fair (2010). In 2010, he participated in the exhibition Convergence - New Art from Lebanon at the Katzen Art Center at American University, Washington, D.C. His work can be found in private and public collections including Audi Bank, Beirut; Solidere Headquarters, Beirut and the Cité Social, Fameck, France
Maysaloun Faraj
b. 1955, Hollywood, California, USA; lives in London
Maysaloun Faraj is an Iraqi-American painter, sculptor and curator living in London. Displaced by decades of war, Faraj creates work that is deeply rooted in her personal connection to Iraq, the intersection of place and identity, and overarching societal concerns. Faraj received a BS in Architecture from the University of Baghdad (1978) and studied ceramic sculpture at Putney School of Art and Design. Faraj was also a resident artist at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2015-2018). Her artistic career spans four decades and she has become an integral figure in the rise of contemporary Middle Eastern art, curating Strokes of Genius, the first international exhibition of Iraqi modern art which toured internationally (2000-3) and co-founded Aya Gallery, London to advance art from Iraq and the Middle East. Her work is in many major institutions, including The British Museum, London.; National Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; and the Barjeel Foundation, Sharjah.
Mehdi Djelil
b. 1985, Makouda, Algeria; lives in Hydra
Mehdi Djelil, also known as Bardi, considers the contemporary political and social upheaval in his home country through his large-scale works. Djelil graduated from the Superior School of Fine Arts of Algiers in 2011. He had his first solo exhibition, Unlimited, at Seen Art Gallery (2016) and has participated in exhibitions at the VI Mediterranean Art Meeting of Alicante, Spain (2019) and Waypoint Algeria, Stockholm (2019). Most recently, Mehdi’s work was presented in the exhibition Waiting for Omar Gatlato at Wallach Art Gallery, New York (2019). He has also exhibited internationally in fairs and biennials, including the 6th Biennale of Art, Tunis (2010) and the Algerian Cultural Week in Moscow (2010)
Melissa Chimera
b. 1972, Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA; lives in Honolulu
Artist, curator and conservationist Melissa Chimera is a Honolulu native of Lebanese and Filipino descent. Her work investigates globalization, human migration, and species extinction. Chimera studied natural resources management at the University of Hawai‘i and worked for two decades as a conservation manager. Her most recent project is The Far Shore: Navigating Homelands for the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan (2018). The exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War and concerns the contemporary issue of Arab immigration to America. Chimera is the recipient of the Catherine E. B. Cox Award from the Honolulu Museum of Art. She has exhibited internationally and her work resides in the collections of the Arab American National Museum, MI; the Honolulu Museum of Art, HI; and the Hawai’i State Foundation of Culture and the Arts, HI
Moath Alofi
b. 1984, Madina, Saudi Arabia; lives in Madina
Moath Alofi is an artist and researcher whose video and photographic work often responds to the cultural, commercial, and religious complexity of Madina, his birthplace. Alofi is currently the director of Cultural Programs at the Madina Development Authority. In addition to managing the Madina Arts Center, he is the founder of the artistic studio Al-Mthba, and the co-founder of Erth Team, a production group trained and specialized in safari trips and travel documentation. He received a BA in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development from Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia. Alofi has exhibited internationally, most recently in The Place I Call Home, a commissioned exhibition by the British Council to be exhibited throughout the Gulf and the UK (2020). Moath was also commissioned by Ithra to curate Bridges to Seoul, an cultural initiative to strengthen Saudi Arabian and Korean ties (2019
Mous Lamrabat
b. 1983, North Morocco; lives in Brussels
Mous Lamrabat is a Moroccan photographer who grew up in Belgium. A self-taught artist, he is inspired by fashion photography, western culture, and his own Moroccan heritage. Lamrabat studied interior design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium before becoming a photographer. His work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions internationally, including Mousganistan, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium (2019); Dounia at Voice Gallery, Marrakech, Morocco (2019); and East to East Photo Exhibition at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, UAE. In 2019, he was nominated by the British Journal of Photography to be included in their “Ones to Watch” list.
Qais Assali
b. 1987, Nablus, Palestine; lives in Chicago and Houston
Qais Assali is an artist, designer and educator based in the United States and raised in Palestine and the UAE. His interdisciplinary art practice engages with issues of time and memory, collective trauma, and diaspora related to current events and his own identity. Assali received a BFA in Graphic Design from An-Najah National University, Palestine (2009) before continuing on to receive two master’s degrees, a MFA from Bard College, NY and a MA in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2018). He has lectured internationally, and was recently the Visiting Assistant Professor for the Critical Race Studies Residency Program at Michigan State University (2018-19). He is currently a Fellow and Artist-in-Residence for the Core Residency Program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. His work has been included in solo and group exhibitions internationally at institutions including the Chicago Cultural Center; Rashid Diab Arts Centre, Khartoum; Jeune Création, Paris; and Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo.
Raafat Ballan
b. 1990, al-Sweidaa, Syria; lives in Utrecht
Raafat Ballan is a Syrian painter whose work bridges academic compositions with the current political and social strife of events in Syria and the Middle East. Ballan received a degree in Drawing and Oil Painting from Damascus University (2014). He has been an artist-in-residence in several institutions internationally and currently holds this position at AGALAB in Amsterdam. He recently exhibited in Stages of Life at SANAA Galerie, Utrecht (2019), Art Rotterdam (2018), Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2018) and Tijdelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2017). In 2019 he was one of two winners of the Galatea prize in association with Galerie Pymalion, Maarssen. He exhibits regularly through “Just Shout,” an artist collaborative.
Ralph Khoury
b. 1995, Bikfayia, Lebanon; lives in Bikfayia
Ralph Khoury is an illustrator, painter and designer living in Lebanon. Khoury is a visual artist as well as interior architect. He received a BA in Sociology and Economics from Collège des Sœurs des Saints Cœurs, Bikfaya (2013) and a BA in Interior Architecture from Alba, Université De Balamand, Dekouaneh (2016). He recently graduated with a MA in Interior Architecture from Alba (2018). Khoury has worked as part of the Beirut Art Fair team and as an interior architect at GM Architects, Beirut
Rania Matar
b. 1964, Beirut, Lebanon; lives in Boston
Rania Matar is a Boston-based Lebanese photographer whose work is informed by her cross-cultural personal narrative as a woman and mother living in America. Matar is currently an associate professor of photography at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She recently received a Guggenheim Fellowship (2018), an artist-in-residency grant from the Mellon Foundation (2017), and a Legacy Award at the Griffin Museum of Photography (2001). A mid-career retrospective of her work was on view from 2019 to 2020 at the Cleveland Museum of Art and at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, titled In Her Image: Photographs by Rania Matar, and at the American University of Beirut Museum, titled An Image and Her Women. Matar’s work has been widely exhibited in museums worldwide, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg; and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.
Reem Al Jeally
b. 1998, Khartoum, Sudan; lives in Khartoum
Reem Al Jeally is an architect, designer and visual artist whose work is based on curre
nt social change, women’s issues in Sudan and her own sentiments and life experiences. Al Jeally graduated from the University of Khartoum, Faculty of Architecture in 2018. She established The Muse in 2019, a creative social enterprise with the goal of assisting fellow artists in Khartoum. She has had solo exhibitions at the Gunied Cultural Center, Khartoum (2017) and at Twentynine92, Khartoum (2018). She has also participated in exhibitions at the French Cultural Center, Khartoum (2020); AMNA, Khartoum (2019); and the National Museum of Sudan, Khartoum (2018).
Sama Tari
b. 1984, Tehran, Iran; lives in Tehran
Sama Tari is an Iranian painter whose work explores the intersection of academic and contemporary art. Tari received a BA and MA from Azad University, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Tehran in 2007 and 2009, respectively. This year she received a PhD in Philosophy in Art from Azad University. She currently teaches at Pars University of Art and Architecture, Tehran, University of Applied Science and Technology, Tehran, and Soore University, Tehran. She has had solo exhibitions in Tehran at Ro Cafe Gallery (2009), Golestan Art Gallery (2012), and Vali Art Gallery (2018). Tari is a member of Iran Painters Association and Iran Institute for Promotion of Contemporary Visual Arts
Sepideh Salehi
b. 1972, Tehran, Iran; lives in Washington DC and New York
Sepideh Salehi is a multidisciplinary artist born in Tehran. She left Iran to attend Accademia di belle Arti in Florence Italy where she received her MFA in Visual Art and Multimedia. She works in various media and utilizes different processes ranging from painting and drawing to printmaking, video art, and painting in motion. By incorporating aspects of storytelling and letter writing, Salehi recollects the experiences she had growing up in post-1979 Tehran. She weaves personal narrative and cultural history into her work, reflecting on the ways in which she, and other women, navigated the shifting social and political landscapes. Some of the venues for her shows include: an exhibition of Iranian women artists titled A Bridge Between You and Everything curated by Shirin Neshat at High Line Nine, NYC, Photo London, Somerset House London curated by Roya Khadjavi Projects, Mirrored Re-Collection at the University of Maryland Stamp Gallery, REVEAL at The Space by Advocartsy LA, Patterning curated by Samantha Friedman at Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY, STRAPPA, Rogue Space Chelsea NY, Craft and Folk Art Museum LA, Tribeca Video Art NY, Centre for Contemporary Art Luigi Pecci, Virgiliano Museum and International Bologna Art Fair, Italy. She currently lives and works between Washington DC and New York.
Sina Ata
b. 1955, New York, USA; lives in Amman
Sina Ata is an Iraqi artist born in the United States. Ata has exhibited extensively, including in solo exhibitions in Amman, Baghdad, Bahrain, Dubai and London, including at Orfali Gallery, Amman; Jacaranda Gallery, Amman; and Janet Rady Gallery, London. He has also participated in exhibitions at Alif Gallery, Washington, D.C. and AB Gallery, Switzerland. In 2006, his work featured in the British Museum's Word into Art Exhibition and is now in the Museum's collection. In addition to his visual art practice, he has also held art director positions in several companies. Ata graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering from University of Technology, Baghdad in 1977 and then moved to London to pursue a MS in Building Management from the University of London, 1980.
Sinan Tuncay
b. 1986, Istanbul, Turkey; lives in New York and Istanbul
Sinan Tuncay is a New York-based Turkish artist who works in photography and video. His projects often grapple with issues of patriarchy, gender roles, and his own queer identity. Tuncay received his BA from Sabanci University, Istanbul in Visual Communication Design (2010) and his MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York in Photography, Video and Related Media (2013). His work has been exhibited internationally and acquired in private and public institutions such as the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Musée de l’Elysée and Odunpazarı Museum of Modern Art. In 2016, he was awarded a fellowship by the New York Foundation for the Arts and has since won several awards for his music video projects with Turkish recording artists. He has had solo exhibits in New York and Istanbul, recently including Reserved for the Men I’ve Never Became at C.A.M. Gallery, Istanbul (2019).