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.

Ismail Al Rifai

Ismail Al Rifai was born in Mayadin in 1967 and studied Fine Art at the University of Damascus. Al Rifai has served as a member of the Syrian Fine Arts Syndicate as well as the UAE Fine Arts Society and currently works as a researcher in the Department of Culture and Information in Sharjah.

Abed Al Kadiri

Abed Al Kadiri is a Lebanese artist and curator who has played a sizable role in developing and showcasing art from the region.

Bahram Hajou

Bahram Hajo was born in Syria in 1952. He studied at the Fine Arts
Academy in Dusseldorf Germany and in 1984 graduated from the
Kunstakademie Münster.

Mohannad Orabi

Dubai-based painter Mohannad Orabi was born in Damascus in 1977 and graduated from the Faculty of Fine Art in Damascus in 2000.

cultural narratives raana dehghan artwork

Raana Dehghan

Biography Raana Dehghan, born in 1986 in Tehran, Iran, is a sculptor and painter living and working in Tehran. She earned her BA in Painting from Azad University of Tehran in 2013.…

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.

cultural narratives perryhan el ashmawi artwork

Perryhan El Ashmawi

Biography Perry El Ashmawi was born in Bahrain in 1988 to Egyptian parents. She earned a BA in Fine Arts, specialising in Painting and Drawing, from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, in 2009.…

cultural narratives farrokh nooroney artwork

Farrokh Nooroney

Biography Farokh Nooroney is an Iranian-Canadian artist specialising in painting and sculpture. He has showcased his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions across cities such as Las Vegas, Seattle, Paris, Dubai,…

cultural narratives nadya zarraghoui artwork

Nadya Zarrougui

Biography Nadya Zarrougui, born on January 27, 1988, in Tunis, is a visual artist. She has a master’s degree in Fine Arts with a focus on painting and research in Aesthetics and…

Sinan Hussein

Born in 1977 in Iraq, Sinan Hussein graduated from the University of Fine Arts in Baghdad. He is a member of the Iraqi Fine Arts Artist Society and of the Union of Iraqi Artists. Sinan Hussein’s whimsical characters seem weightless in an environment reminiscent of Limbo.

Salama Al Mazrouei

Born in the United Arab Emirates, Salama Al Mazrouie graduated from the School of Fine Arts, UAE University, and is a member of the Emirates Fine Art Society.

Nazir Ismail

Born in Damascus, Syria in 1948, Nazir Ismail took part in over 60 exhibitions throughout his artistic career. His colourful oil paintings capture human figures and roosters in warm, earthy colours, while his watercolours on paper convey the realities of modern Syria.

Nawal Alsadon

Born in 1953 in Baghdad, Nawal Alsadon graduated in 1980 in Graphic Design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest, Romania. She began participating in group exhibitions in 1975, beginning with The Association of Iraqi Artists gallery in Baghdad, and since then has had her art shown in numerous exhibitions across the world, including in Romania, Yemen, Syria, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Scotland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Turkey.

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.

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…

Mahmoud Obaidi

Born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1966, Mahmoud Obaidi is an IraqiCanadian globally exhibited Avant-garde artist who deals with any medium that would best represent his concept: painting, sculpture, photography, installation.

Joseph Harb

Joseph Harb was born in Beirut in 1964 and studied at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) and the Lebanese University. His paintings of seemingly disparate objects that borrow techniques from collage point to Harb’s desire to blur the formal artistic boundaries in his abstract mixed media works.

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…

Ymen Berhouma

Born in Tunisia in 1976, self-taught artist Ymen Berhouma lives and works between Paris and Tunis. Her debut in the art world began through her vibrant painting whose characters invited spectators into a dream-like world.

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…

Kourosh Salehi

Born in Khuzestan, Iran and raised in London, Kourosh Salehi
studied traditional Persian painting as a child and later attended
art school in the UK. He is based in Abu Dhabi.

Imed Jemaiel

Born in Bizerte, Tunisia in 1965, Imed Jemaiel shifted his attention to the arts after two years of medical school. In 1990, he earned a degree in Fine Arts, specialising in printmaking. In 1992, he started teaching at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Tunisia.

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.…

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.

Aly Said

Aly Said was born on the north side of the river Nile near the historical city of Rosetta in Egypt. He began his study at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria in 1997, graduating from the painting department in 2002 and earning his master’s degree in 2012.

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.

Leila Kubba Kawash

Leila Kubba was born of a Swiss American mother and Iraqi father. She was educated in Baghdad and went on to graduate with a National Diploma of Art and Design from the Manchester School of Art and Architecture in the UK and also studied for a period of five years at the Corcoran College of Art in Washington DC, as well as taking courses in printmaking and painting at Saint Martins College, London.

Nedim Kufi

Nadim Kufi was born in Bagdad in 1962. Since 1994 he has been residing and working permanently in the Netherlands as a multidisciplinary visual artist.

Walid El Masri

Walid El Masri was born in Syria in 1979. Prior to receiving his BA from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus in 2005, he studied mosaic-making.

Ayman Essa

Ayman Essa lives and works in Gaza. He obtained his BA in Fine Arts, specializing in Photography, from Al-Najah University in Nablus in 1999 and holds a Master’s from Helwan University in Egypt. His distinct color palette comprised of mainly blue, red and pinkish hues, defines his bold large-scale figurative paintings series.  Focusing solely on the female form, Essa’s works are recognizable through their exaggerated, curvaceous forms and at times coquettish gestures. He has participated in several group exhibitions including The Path at Dar Al-Karameh Hall in 1999 and the Red Crescent Society in Gaza in 2001. His work has also been exhibited internationally, including the Biennial for Young Artists in Rome in 1999 and the We Will Become exhibition (2004-5) which involved ten artists traveling from Gaza to several cities in France.

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.

Walid Agha

Walid Agha was born in Damascus in 1953 and studied Visual Communications at the University of Damascus before establishing his own silk-screening workshop.

cultural narratives hakeem aboukila artwork

Hakeem Aboukila

Biography Hakeem AbouKila is an artist from Alexandria, Egypt. Born in 1989, he graduated from the Graphic Arts Department of Alexandria University in 2012, specialising in printmaking. His interest in various mediums…

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.

Ahmad Kleige

Ahmad Kleige was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1964. He studied at the Fathi Mohamed Fine Arts Center in Aleppo.

Afaf Zurayk

spired and guided by both music and poetry, Zurayk’s drawings explore, in her words, “the fluctuating gradations of emotional experience,” which is reflected in intense painterly markings that capture both movement and flux – a technique that also characterizes her brushwork in both figurative and abstract artworks.

Alfred Tarazi

Born in 1980, Lebanese artist Alfred Tarazi received a degree in Graphic Design from the American University of Beirut. One of his great achievements is the “Krinzinger Projekte” residency, which took place in Vienna.