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.

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.

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.

Jean Boghossian

Born in Aleppo, Syria in 1949, Jean Boghossian is an abstract, multidisciplinary
artist of Armenian descent. He studied Economics and Sociology at Saint Joseph
University (USJ) in Beirut while working for the family jewellery business. In 1975,
he moved to Belgium to escape the civil war in Lebanon.

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.

Ahmad Kleige

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

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).

cultural narratives asmaa genidi artwork

Asmaa Genidi

Biography Asmaa Genidi was born in 1983 in Giza. She is a teacher at Helwan University, Art Education College, and holds a PhD in Art Education Philosophy, earned in 2016. She has…

Carla Salem

Born in Lebanon in 1978, Carla Salem is a papermaker and printmaker whose work explores the relationship between language and form.

cultural narratives mostafa Sarabi Artwork

Mostafa Sarabi

Biography Mostafa Sarabi was born in 1983 in Kermanshah, Iran. He received an MA in Painting from Shahed University, Iran. Sarabi employs a simple and direct visual language to create mysterious landscapes,…

cultural narratives elnaz salehi artwork

Elnaz Salehi

Biography Elnaz Salehi, born in 1987 in Iran, holds a BA in Sculpture from Tehran Fine Art University. Since graduating, she has run a collective studio with other artists in the suburbs…

Hanibal Srouji

Born in Lebanon in 1957, Hanibal Srouji studied in Lebanon and Canada and has been living between Beirut and Paris since 1989. His muted canvases which appear abstract at first glance, are in fact inspired by the artist’s own memories. 

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…

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,…

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 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,…

Mohamad Omer Khalil

Mohamad Omer Khalil is a leading figure in the contemporary Arab art world whose work in painting and print-making has influenced two generations of artists from the region.

cultural narratives nada rizk artwork

Nada Rizk

Biography Nada Rizk is a Lebanese Finnish artist specialising in ceramics and bronze. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the London School of Economics and a…

cultural narratives masoumeh mozafari artwork

Masoumeh Mozafari

Biography Masoumeh Mozafari is an Iranian artist born in 1958 in Tehran, Iran. She holds a Master of Arts from Azad University, Tehran, and a Bachelor of Arts in Painting from Tehran…

cultural narratives eman hussein artwork

Eman Hussein

Biography Eman Hussein was born in 1986 in Cairo, Egypt. She is an Egyptian architect and artist who leads a creative studio that blurs the boundaries between art, architecture, and design. Eman…

cultural narratives sadra mirhsarifi artwork

Sadra Mirsharifi

Biography Sadra Mirsharifi, born in 1996 in Tehran, is a graduate of the Tehran School of Fine Arts. He was a former member of the Eastern Whistle collective and has exhibited his…

Sadik Kwaish Alfraji

Born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1960, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji lives and works in Amersfoort, Netherlands. In 1987, he received a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad and a diploma in Graphic Design from CHK Constantin Huygens in the Netherlands.

Ghassan Zard

Born in Lebanon in 1954, Ghassan Zard lives and works in Beirut. Influenced by lyrical abstraction, Zard began his artistic career as a painter but later focused predominantly on sculptural works rendered in polished wood, aluminium and raw steel.

cultural narratives omar al shahabi artwork

Omar Al Shahabi

Biography Omar Al Shahabi was born in Iraq in 1983. He earned a BFA from the University of Baghdad in 2007 and now lives and works in Qatar. He has held solo…

cultural narratives azadeh ghotbi artwork

Azadeh Ghotbi

Biography Azadeh Ghotbi was born in Iran and is currently based in London. She is a painter and photographer who studied International Relations at Brown University in the United States. Her 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.

cultural narratives afshan daneshvar artwork

Afshan Daneshvar

Biography Afshan Daneshvar, born in 1972, is a Dubai-based Iranian visual artist. Mentored in Persian calligraphy by her father, she has incorporated it into her practice since 2004. Her meditative work focuses…

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.

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.

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 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…

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…

Hussain Sharif

Hussain Sharif is one of the United Arab Emirates’ foremost
conceptual artists, who has contributed widely to the development
of art in his native country, founding the Emirates Fine Art Society
in Sharjah along with his brother, Hassan Sharif, and Mohammed
Kazem, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim and Abdullah Al Saadi.

cultural narratives mahsa karimi artwork

Mahsa Karimi

Biography Mahsa Karimi was born in 1981 in Sabzevar, Iran. She earned an Associate Degree in Graphic Design from Valiasr University, Tehran in 2003, an Associate Degree from TAFE University, Sydney in…

cultural narratives sina choopani artwrok

Sina Choopani

Biography Born in Sari, Iran in 1992, Sina Choopani considers himself an experimental artist. He studied Sculpture at the University of Tehran. In his work, he mainly experiments with destruction and combines…

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.

Nadim Karam

Nadim Karam is a multidisciplinary artist, whose work incorporates painting, drawing, and sculpture through a distinct artistic style that draws from Oriental and Japanese theories of space.

Azza Al Qubaisi

Born in Abu Dhabi, Azza Al Qubaisi studied in London where she received an MA in Cultural and Creative Industries HCT-CERT Abu Dhabi and a BA in Silversmithing, Jewellery Design, and Allied Crafts from London Guildhall.  Often referred to as the Emirates’ First Jewellery Artist, Al Qubaisi produces wearable jewelry pieces and large-scale sculptural works that are influenced by the desert landscape of the United Arab Emirates and its rich ancestral past.

Omar Bey

Born in 1973, Tunisian artist Omar Bey graduated from L’Institut Supérieur des Beaux-arts in 1998 and completed a residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in 2012.

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…

cultural narratives zaid shawwa artwork

Zaid Shawwa

Biography Zaid Shawwa, from Jordan, studied Engineering at the University of Jordan and earned an MBA from the American University in Dubai. He began with classic charcoal portraits and landscapes before transitioning…