Cultural Narratives, commissioned by Rima Nasser, features works from established and emerging artists in the Middle
East, North Africa, and the Gulf. The exhibition highlights regional artistic achievements and fosters appreciation and
understanding of its cultures. Showcased in traveling exhibitions, it brings the region’s vibrant art scene to global audiences.
cultural narratives tayseer hamed artwork

Tayseer Hamed

Biography Tayseer Hamed, born in Cairo in 1955, graduated from the Faculty of Applied Arts in 1978. He is a seasoned member of Egypt’s contemporary art vanguard. Throughout numerous solo exhibitions in…

cultural narratives sami mohammad artwork

Sami Mohammad

Sami Mohammad is a Kuwaiti artist and sculptor considered one of the pioneers of cultural movements in Kuwait and throughout the region.

cultural narratives sara rahmanian artwork

Sara Rahmanian

Biography Sara Rahmanian, born in 1993 in Tehran, Iran, earned her BFA in Painting from the University of Art Tehran in 2016 and her MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University…

cultural narratives sogol kashani artwork

Sogol Kashani

Biography Sogol Kashani, born in 1979 in Tehran, is an Iranian contemporary artist who grew up during the Iran-Iraq war. She began drawing and painting at a young age and studied graphics…

Zouhair Dabbagh

Zuheir Dabbagh was born in Aleppo in 1953 and studied at Damascus University …graduation project was about the massacre of Tal al-Zaatar (1976).

Nabil Saouabi

Since his first solo exhibition, Nabil Saouabi has participated in numerous exhibitions in Tunisia and abroad, including in biennials such as Dak’art, Beijing, and the 5th International Biennial of Engraving of Île de France.

Noor Bahjat

Born in Damascus in 1991, Noor Bahjat lives and works in the United Arab Emirates.

cultural narratives ghada dahdaleh artwork

Ghada Dahdaleh

Biography Ghada Dahdaleh, born in 1963 in Amman, is a Palestinian-Jordanian artist who graduated from the Central Technical College of Art in Toronto, Canada. She creates abstract cityscapes with a distinctive style,…

Manuella Guiragossian

Born in Beirut in 1972 to famous Armenian, Lebanese modernist Paul Guiragossian, Manuella Guiragossian grew up surrounded by people with a passion for art and culture.

Klay Kassem

Born in Alexandria in 1977, Klay Mohamed Abdel Aziz Kassem graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria in 2000 and holds an MA (2008) and a Ph.D. (2013) in Art Studies.

Mohamed Abusal

Born in Gaza in 1976 Mohamed Abusal explores the precarity and absurdity of living under siege. A painter, photographer, and video and installation artist, Abusal’s works offer a provocative and critical reflection on the trappings–both technological, political, and social–of living in Gaza today.

cultural narratives elias ayoub artwork

Elias Ayoub

Biography Elias Ayoub, born in 1986, is a contemporary artist based in Beirut. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University and a Master…

cultural narratives riham elsadany artwork

Riham Elsadany

Riham Elsadany was born in 1978 in Cairo. She holds a BFA in Arts, an MFA and PhD from the Faculty of Art Education at Helwan University. She is also the founder and director of MUST Gallery at Misr University for Science & Technology Cairo, in 2007.

Bashar Alhroub

Bashar Alhroub is a Jerusalem-born artist known for his eclectic artistic practice, which includes collage on paper; sculpture; autobiographical photography; figurative paintings depicting haunting figures; detailed line drawings of Jerusalem and its surroundings.

cultural narratives abir tabbara tukan artwork

Abir Tabbara Tukan

Biography Abir Tabbarrah Tukan, born on December 26, 1976, in Como, Italy, is a contemporary Arab artist specialising in oil painting. She grew up between war-torn Beirut, Lebanon, and peaceful Amman, Jordan,…

Leila Jabre Jureidini

Leila Jabre Jureidini’s painting and sculptural work bridge the gulf between classical and conceptual art. Born in Lebanon in 1963, the Beirut-based artist studied in Paris and New York and worked as a designer for many years.

Walaa Dakak

Walaa Dakak was born in 1978 in Damascus, Syria. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Damascus and later studied Contemporary Art and New Media at the Université Paris.

Mohamad Khayata

Mohamad Khayata obtained his degree in Fine Arts from the Damascus university. Since moving to Lebanon in 2012, he has held three solo exhibitions at 392RMEIL393 in 2013, 2015, and 2017 and participated at the Beirut Art Fair in 2017.

Nadia Jelassi

Nadia Jelassi, born in Tunisia in 1958. Jelassi presented her first works in 1990 at the Biennial of Young Creators from Europe and the Mediterranean at the Museum of Vielle Charité in Marseille, and later in 1992 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Gibellina, Italy and the Metropolitan Museum in Tokyo.

Omar Zeidan

Omar Zeidan is a mixed media Lebanese artist who works predominantly in painting and digital media.  Zeidan’s unique style borrows techniques from digital art as well as music and sound composition, owing to his experience as a techno composer.

Marwan Sahmarani

Born in 1970 in Beirut, Lebanon, Marwan Sahmarani studied at l’École Supérieur d’Art  Graphique in Paris, France. His oil paintings are notable for his explosive use of color and frenetic brushwork that imbues the dense scenes he paints with energetic movement. 

cultural narratives elmira mirmiran artwork

Elmira Mirmiran

Biography Elmira Mirmiran is a visual artist based in Tehran, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and a Master’s degree in Painting from the University of Science and Culture in Tehran.…

Sliman Mansour

Suleiman Mansour is one of Palestine’s leading contemporary artists. He is best known for his 1974 painting Camel of Hardship, which depicts the concept of summud, or steadfastness.

cultural narratives farbod elkaee artwork

Farbod Elkaee

Biography Farbod Elkaee, born in 1992 in Tehran, graduated in painting from Soore Art University in 2015. Living and working in Tehran, he has been active in painting and sculpture since 2006.…

cultural narratives alaa sharabi artwork

Alaa Sharabi

Alaa Sharabi was born in Damascus in 1988 and studied printmaking at the University of Damascus where he was later appointed as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts. His bold paintings combine rich palettes with frenetic lines and complex compositions.

cultural narratives samia osseiran jumblatt artwork

Samia Osseiran Jumblatt

Biography Samia Osseiran Jumblatt, born in Saida, South Lebanon, in 1944, studied Fine Arts at Beirut College for Women, graduating in 1965, and earned her MFA from the Pius XII Institute in…

cultural narratives ghasemi brothers artwork

Ghasemi Bothers

Biography The Ghasemi Brothers – Morteza, Sina, and Mojtaba Ghasemi Sheelsar – have been collaborating since 2015. While they each pursue their own painting projects individually, they also come together to work…

Nihad Al Turk

Born in Aleppo in 1972, self-taught artist Nihad Al Turk’s work focuses on the existential crisis of the individual caught up in power struggles between good and evil. Based in Beirut, Al Turk situates his work against a backdrop of literature and philosophy, painting a recurrent cast of mythical demons, outcasts, and antiheroes.

Aula Al Ayoubi

Aula Al Ayoubi was born in Damascus in 1973 and studied mathematics and educational sciences at the University of Damascus.

Barsoum Barsouma

Born in Hasaka in 1947, Barsoum Barsouma studied painting at the University of Damascus before working as a patterning expert at the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums.

Ahoo Maher

B. 1990, Tehran, living in Vienna since 2008.

Fereydoun Ave

Born in Tehran, Iran in 1945, Fereydoun Ave is a central figure in the Iranian art scene as he is one of the most important and influential
contemporary artists of Iran.

Ginane Makki Bacho

Born in Beirut, Ginane Makki Bacho is a multimedia artist whose work offers a unique perspective on the disruptive and brutal effects of the Lebanese Civil War and on-going wars in the contemporary world.

cultural narratives hind nasser artwork

Hind Nasser

Biography Hind Nasser, born in Amman in 1940, graduated with a BA in History and Politics from Beirut College for Women (now the Lebanese American University) in 1961. She began studying painting…

Nja Mahdaoui

Born in Tunisia in 1937, Nja Mahdaoui graduated from the Academia Santa Andrea in Rome and the École du Louvre in Paris in 1967. As a visual artist he has mainly focused on calligraphy. Initially inspired by abstract painting, his work is remarkably innovative in the artistic field of the “written word”.

Thaier Helal

Born in Syria in 1967, Thaier Helal has been a student of notable painters such as Mahmoud Hammad during his studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus.

Shadi Abousada

Shadi Abousada is a painter, installation and video artist whose work explores the complex socio-political reality and absurdity of his cultural milieu.