Biography Shaqayeq Arabi is a painter, sculptor, and installation artist from Iran. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Al-Zahra University in Tehran, a BFA from the University of Valenciennes…
Iran
Cultural Narratives, commissioned by Rima Nasser, features works from established and emerging artists in the Middle
Lebanon
Born in Damascus in 1942, Simone Fattal studied philosophy in Paris and Beirut before emigrating to California in 1980, during the Lebanese Civil War.
Lebanon
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.
Iran
Biography Aidin Xankeshipour, born in 1981 in Rasht, Iran, began painting seriously in his hometown in 1997. He holds a BA in Painting from the University of Sistan and Baluchestan and two…
Iran
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…
Lebanon
Born in 1960, Katya Traboulsi is a Beirut-based multimedia artist whose practice is characterized by the emotional intensity with which she confronts the effects of the Lebanese civil war.
Lebanon
Artwork
Iran
Biography Amir Soghrati, born in 1979 in Rasht, Iran, graduated in Publication and Press Graphic Arts from the Center for Media Studies and Research in Tehran in 2002. He has been a…
Iran
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…
Lebanon
Artwork
Iran
Artwork
Iran
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…
Lebanon
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.
Lebanon
Artwork
Lebanon
A Syrian-Lebanese painter, born in Lebanon in 1968, Fathallah Zamroud studied interior architecture at the Lebanese American University, going on to spend seven years training with painter Louna Maalouf.
Syria
Khalid Takriti is a renowned Syrian artist, who was born in Beirut in 1964. He graduated from the Architecture and Painting Academy in Damascus after which he worked as an architect in Damascus’ General Directorate of Antiquity and Museums.
Iraq
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.
Palestine
Raed Issa was born in Al Bureij refugee camp in Gaza in 1975. Portraying scenes of tragedy and bereavement that come with living under siege, Essa’s work is highly emotive. His portraits of young children, martyrs, and wounded bodies capture the vulnerability and tragedy of living in precarity.
Iraq
Born in Kerbela in 1964, Fathel Neema is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts, Bagdad and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, The Hague Royal, where he also completed a post-graduate course in graphic techniques from 2008 to 2009. He is a member of ArtiBrak, Voorburg and Pulchri Studio, The Hague. His solo exhibitions began in 1997 at Gallery Celeste, Wenen, Austria, followed by many others in Brunssum (1998), Berlin’s Pergamon Museum, Museum fur Islamische Kunst (2003), the Museum Swaensteijn, Voorburg (2003), Gallery Kolff Zoeterwoude, the Netherlands (2013), Stand Up Gallery with Jaco Putker, The Hague, the Netherlands (2013), Al Urgewan Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon (2014), The Graphic Art Studio, Beirut, Lebanon (2015) and Almarkhiya Gallery with Qahtan lamina in Doha, Qatar (2015). Since 1995 he has participated in numerous international group exhibitions, including in Jordan, the Netherlands, Germany, India, Iraq and China.
Iran
Artwork
Iraq
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.
Iran
Artwork
Iran
Artwork
Syria
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.
Lebanon
Artwork
Iran
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,…
Morocco
Tahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan author, poet and painter born in 1944 in Fez. Although he started drawing before writing, he only began painting in the past ten years. After attending a bilingual French-Moroccan primary school, he studied at the French lycée in Tangier until he was 18.
Sudan
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.
Jordan
Biography Ufemia Rizk studied at the American University of Beirut, Sorbonne University in Paris, and the Fahrelnissa Zeid Royal Institute of Fine Arts, where she focused on art. At Dawson College in…
Iran
Biography Rozita Sharafjahan, born in 1962 in Tehran, Iran, began her art education at the age of 15. She continued her studies and graduated with an MA degree from Tehran University in…
Lebanon
Artwork
Syria
Born in Homs in 1977, Mouteea Murad studied Fine Arts at the University of Damascus. His works are inspired by traditional Islamic art in which spirituality and formalism are unified in geometric form.
Iran
Born in Tehran, Iran in 1982, Mohsen Ahmadvand received his BA
in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tehran University. He
prefers drawing over painting for its efficiency and directness.
Iran
Biography Dariush Zandi’s love for photography began as a child in Tehran, where he spent summers helping at a local studio and received his first camera at eight. His passion for photography…
Syria
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.
Iran
Biography Sepideh Sakhaei, born in 1993 in Tehran, Iran, is a multidisciplinary artist. She earned her BFA from the Art University of Tehran in 2016 and a Master’s degree in General Psychology…
Lebanon
Born in Lebanon in 1957, Hala Choucair is a painter who is best known for her intricate paintings that focus on the minute detail of the objects she draws.
Iran
B. 1990, Tehran, living in Vienna since 2008.
Syria
Artwork
Tunisia
Born in 1983 in Sidi Bouzid, Slimen Elkamel is a young visual artist and an extensively published art critic for newspapers, publications, and art catalogues.
Egypt
Born in Beheira, Egypt in 1984, Hady Boraey lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt. He received a BFA in 2005 and an MFA in 2011 as well as a Ph.D.
Egypt
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…
Kuwait
Ghadah Alkandari is an artist living and working in Kuwait, born in India in 1969 with a BA in Mass Communications from the American University in Cairo (1992).
Iran
Biography Bita Fayyazi, born in 1962 in Tehran, is an artist known for her performative and social practice. More than a sculptor, installation artist, or ceramicist, she engages in a collaborative approach…
Lebanon
Artwork
Lebanon
Jad El Khoury is best known for his fictitious characters, referred to as Potato Nose, which includes a series of doodled cartoon characters drawn in black outline with exaggerated yet simple features.
Tunisia
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.
Syria
Born in Syria in 1991, Anas Albraehe is a Beirut-based artist who
primarily works in painting and theatre. In 2014, he received a
bachelor’s degree in Painting and Drawing from the Fine Arts
University of Damascus, Syria.
Iran
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.…
United Arab Emirates
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.