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 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…

Nizar Othman

Nizar Othman is a visual artist born in Lebanon and of Syrian descent. Outhman began his professional career working as a journalist and caricaturist, for which he was awarded the Bronze medal at the Guangxi international comics in 2007 (University city Guangxi); the “Excellence Award at e Competition of Guangxi international comics in 2007 (University city Guangxi) China; a Special Honorary Prize – Competition of the International Journal of Rhino (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 2008. 

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.

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…

Hani Zurob

Hani Zurob is an influential contemporary Palestinian artist, currently working in Paris.  He is known for his affectionate paintings which are informed by the personal events that shaped his life – namely, his imprisonment by Israel in 2002 and forced exile from Palestine in 2006.

Ekram Tira

Ekram Tira was born in Tunisia in 1982 and holds a degree in Fine Arts, with a specialization in engraving, and a master’s degree in Sciences and Techniques of the Arts from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts of Tunis. She has been teaching art since 2007.

Amer Shomali

Born in Kuwait in 1981, Amer Shomali holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Birzeit University in Palestine and an MA in
Animation from Bournemouth University in the UK.

Ayman Baalbaki

Ayman Baalbaki was born in Adeisseh in 1975, the same year the Lebanese civil war began. A lot of his work tackles this conflict and its aftermath. It looks at destruction, displacement, loss, identity, and collective memory. Baalbaki is best-known for his large-scale paintings, executed primarily in thick acrylic paint, distinct for their sense of organised chaos.

cultural narratives rawda nour artwork

Rawda Nour

Biography Rawda Nour, born in 1990, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Graphics Department at Alexandria University. She has received several awards, including first prize at the Youth Salon,…

Simone Fattal

Born in Damascus in 1942, Simone Fattal studied philosophy in Paris and Beirut before emigrating to California in 1980, during the Lebanese Civil War.

Oussama Baalbaki

Oussama Baalbaki was born in Beirut in 1978, where he studied at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Art. His delicate paintings, often executed
in photo realistic detail, consist of black-and-white self-portraits, most
containing a single surrealistic element.

Anachar Basbous

Biography Born in 1969 in Lebanon, Anachar Basbous lives with his family in Rachana, a village renowned for its open-air sculptures overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Raised in a family of artists—his father,…

Jacques Rizkallah

Born in 1959 in Deir El Kamar, Lebanon Jacques Rizkallah graduated from the Lebanese University of Fine Arts, after which he studied Mural and Fresco Painting in Rome, Italy.   His abstract works explode with color.

Tarek Butayhi

Born in Syria in 1982, Tarek Butayhi studied painting at Damascus University. He focuses on female figures in his work that seek to challenge traditional representations of femininity in art – namely, the role of women as muses.

cultural narratives ali neema artwork

Ali Neema

Artwork

cultural narratives farsam sangini artwork

Farsam Sangini

Biography Farsam Sangini, born in Tehran in 1988, is a contemporary figurative painter and art teacher. Self-taught in graphic design, painting, and animation, he has been teaching drawing, painting, composition, and anatomy…

Mirmohammad Fattahi

Born in Karaj, Iran in 1987, Mirmohammad Fattahi obtained a
diploma in painting from the School of Fine Arts in Iran, followed by
a BA in painting from Soore Art University of Tehran.

Khaled Ben Slimane

Born in Nabeul, Tunisia in 1951, Khaled Ben Slimane graduated from the Escola Massana of Barcelona in 1977 and then from the Technological Institute of Art in Tunisia in 1982. His multidisciplinary practice includes paintings on paper, canvas and wood. He is mostly known for his ceramic and bronze sculptures.

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.

Hanaa Malallah

Born in Theeqar, Iraq in 1958, London-based Hanaa Malallah is a visual artist and educator. She received a bachelor’s degree in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad, an MA in Painting, a Ph.D.

Safwan Dahoul

Born in Hama, Syria in 1961, Safwan Dahoul was initially trained by leading modernists at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus before travelling to Belgium, where he earned a doctorate from the Higher Institute of Plastic Arts in Mons.

cultural narratives mohamad el rawas artwork

Mohammad El Rawas

Mohammad El Rawas is one of Lebanon’s most prominent contemporary artists.  He was born in 1951 in Beirut, Lebanon, where he studied at the Institute of Fine Arts at the Lebanese University, and later moved to London to study printmaking at the Slade School of Fine Art. 

Saoud Al Dhaheri

Born in Al-Ain city, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1987, Saoud Al Dhaheri [RF1] joined the Higher Colleges of Technology Photography Club, and later the Emirates Photography Society, to pursue his artistic passion.

Aly Sirry

Born in Egypt, Aly Sirry is a self-taught artist who works in various mediums including pottery, paper-making, metal, wood, ink and acrylic. He is a full-time diplomat with a real passion for the creative fields.

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.

Assadour

Artwork

cultural narratives nehad saeed artwork

Nehad Saeed

Biography Nehad Saeed is a Cairo-based artist with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and a master’s degree in fine arts from Helwan University, Cairo. She has participated in several biennials, including…

Liane Mathes Rabbath

Liane Mathes Rabbath is a Beirut-based artist who for the past 20 years or so, has experimented with the diverse medium of collage, creating elaborate geometric works that attest to the versatility of her chosen medium.

cultural narratives sarah abou mrad artwork

Sarah Abou Mrad

Lebanese artist Sarah Abou Mrad was born in 1988. She is a Fine Arts
graduate of Painting from the Lebanese University. In 2010 she established the Art department at “Sainte-Anne des Sœurs de Besançon” school in Beirut where she taught arts for 10 years.

Mahmood Shubbar

Mahmood Shubbar was born in Babel in 1965. He received a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Baghdad University in 1986 and later went on to receive his Ph.D. in Fine Arts.

cultural narratives afsaneh

Afsaneh Modiramani

Biography Afsaneh Modiramani was born in Tehran. She studied the crafts of Iran at the University of Fine Arts in Isfahan and has over 30 years of experience in textile design. Modiramani…