A Platform for Contemporary Arab Visual Artísts
(We are in the process of adding artists.)
Esraa Elfeky
Egyptian multi-disciplinary artist (born in 1989, Cairo).She lives and works in Cairo. Artist’s statementWhen I was ten years old, my family took a vacation to Arish, a city in North Sinai. My cousin and I were sent to buy snacks just up the road from where we stayed. Finding the shop closed, we decided to […]
Egyptian multi-disciplinary artist (born in 1989, Cairo).
She lives and works in Cairo.
Artist’s statement
When I was ten years old, my family took a vacation to Arish, a city in North Sinai. My cousin and I were sent to buy snacks just up the road from where we stayed. Finding the shop closed, we decided to keep on. The road changed and offered us new challenges, though none of them fulfilled our original goal. Despite her anxiety and skepticism, I kept convincing my cousin to wander further away. No longer in pursuit of snacks, I was drawn to this foreign place, attracted by every detail of the landscape. Eventually, we came upon a place where a number of soldiers were gathered. They told us to turn back. Otherwise, I’m not sure when I would have returned.
This story of exploration, with its departures, digressions, and detours, is a metaphor for my artistic practice. Out of curiosity, I observe and question everything to develop a recursive relationship to my subject. Research and experimentation take me to the next step: to know and understand more.
My works express connections that I create between objects and concepts. I work with a variety of mediums including video, sculpture, found objects, drawing, and textiles to test and find the best way of giving my ideas a form.
Over the past years, my art has been tackling the obsession with power and the ways in which people with this obsession have repeatedly changed, redrawn, and transformed whole countries, all my previous projects discuss the complete transformation of a community by the use of different forms of mind control exercised by those in power which stripped the people of the freedom to express theirs, as we have grown impatient with the contemporary society, Afterwards, I decided to create a world that helping me to unleash my power and encourage me to explore and deconstruct, to sneak into the future through fictional narratives this made me addicted to the power of landscape and how it occupies the mind, body, and emotions as since many years ago I used to go on trips in the desert which last several days, walking for hundreds of kilometers between valleys and mountains. This kind of journeys made me comes in contact with a special community living in remote places. and Through narrative and experience, field research, storytelling, and relying on the surrounding environment as a source of knowledge; My research explores links between art-making, physical and psychological experience in being in landscape on the personal aspect and on the societal aspect to explore possibilities for marginalized communities and co-existence. to express value, social, and political definitions and balance of power.
Education
2021-Present BEYOND THE “NEW-NORM” online program masterclass in filmmaking and media arts, organized by Arab Media Lab, Morocco.
2018/19 MASS Alexandria independent study program for contemporary arts, Alexandria, Egypt.
2018 Roznama Studio Program, Organized by Medrar for contemporary art in collaboration with D-CAF.
2011 Bachelor of Arts with high honors, Faculty of Art Education, Helwan University, Cairo.
Group Exhibitions
2021
Online exhibition curated by Davood Madadpoor, Sumac Space. (Upcoming)
Group exhibition curated by Mohamed Dessoki, Institut français d’Egypte à Alexandrie, Egypt. (Upcoming)
Roznama 8 exhibition curated by Narimane Abou Elseoud, CIC, Cairo, Egypt.
Egypt international art fair, Dusit Thani Lakeview Cairo, presented by Medrar for contemporary art.
2020
Film Screening in Papatunga gallery for contemporary art, curated by James Tapsell-Kururangi Auckland, New Zealand.
“Quarantined” virtual exhibition organized by Lila Arman and Yosra El-Mallah, supported by Goethe – Institut Alexandria, Egypt.
2019
End of year MASS exhibition curated by Wael Shawky and Berit Schuck, Alexandria, Egypt.
The 12th edition of the Bamako Encounters – African Biennale of Photography with the participation of a group project from MASS students, curated by Aziza Harmel, Bamako, Mali.
No ISBN, installation by Bernhard Cella, part of the exhibition “How to Maneuver: Shape-Shifting Texts and Other Publishing Tactics” curated by Kayfa Ta (Maha Maamoun and Ala Younis), Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The 29th letter of the Alphabet exhibition organized by Art D’Égypte, Tamara building, Cairo, Egypt .
No ISBN, installation by Bernhard Cella, part of the exhibition “How to Reappear: Through the Quivering Leaves of Independent Publishing” curated by Kayfa Ta (Maha Maamoun and Ala Younis), Beirut Art Centre, Beirut, Lebanon.
Roznama 7 exhibition, Townhouse gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
2018
Cairo art fair, Art smart gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
Roznama open studio, closing event, studio program with D-CAF, Cairo, Egypt.
2017
Supermarket Art Fair in Stockholm, Sweden
2016
The 27th Youth Salon, Palace of Arts at Cairo’s Opera House, Egypt
Roznama 5 Competition, Mashrabia Gallery, Egypt
Shifting borders, Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art, Poland
The 25th Youth Salon, Palace of Arts at Cairo Opera House, Egypt
2014
The 25th Youth Salon, Palace of Arts at Cairo Opera House, Egypt
Mohamed Abla Painting Award, Cairo Opera House, Egypt
2013
The 23rd Youth Salon, Palace of Arts at Cairo Opera House, Egypt
Bearing Witness, Medrar for Contemporary Art, Cairo, Egypt
2010
The Solous Irish / Arabian Avant-Garde film, Mermaid Arts Centre, Ireland
2009
Pick 4, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
Awards/Grants/Artist in residences
2020
Warehouse421 Project Revival Fund, UAE.
Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts, received grant to attend course for “Randa Mirza and Lara Tabet”.
“Al Fostat art residency for one month for artists” Cairo, Egypt organized by Al Nafeza for contemporary art by artist Mohamed Abouelnaga.
The Lab at Darat Al Funun, Amman, Jordan. (postponed)
2016
The 25th Youth Salon Prize for Installation Art, Cairo’s Opera House
Artist Residency in Poland, The Centre for Creative Activities in Ustka
The Egyptian Ministry of Culture’s Travel Grant
2015
North and South Grant and Residency, Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
Mohamed Allam
Egyptian video artist (born in 1984, Assiut).He lives and works in Cairo. Education2008 B.A, Faculty of Art Education, Helwan University, Cairo Artist’s statement: Mohamed AllamVisual artist Born in Assiut in 1984, Allam studied at the Arts Education Faculty of Helwan University in Cairo. Allam lives and works in Cairo using different mediums such as video,
Egyptian video artist (born in 1984, Assiut).
He lives and works in Cairo.
Education
2008 B.A, Faculty of Art Education, Helwan University, Cairo
Artist’s statement:
Mohamed AllamVisual artist Born in Assiut in 1984, Allam studied at the Arts Education Faculty of Helwan University in Cairo. Allam lives and works in Cairo using different mediums such as video, performance and sound. He is interested in different forms of performativity, as he playfully creates narratives and interves with existing ones. His work also explores relationships between humans and objects, and the physical environment and context that brings them both together. He has participated as an artist in numerous events since 2003. Allam is also concerned with art management and has participated in organizing several art events in Cairo. He is a co founder of the Cairo-based artist initiative ” Medrar for Contemporary Art ” which aims at the promotion of contemporary artistic practices of young artists in Egypt.
Solo Exhibitions
2016 The contents of the grocery bag, solo exhibition, CIC, Cairo
2013 My Nineties, Metro Al Madina Theater, Beirut.
2013 My Nineties, The Townhouse Gallery, and Rawabet space, Cairo.
2011 M Budget, Audiovisual performance in collaboration with artist Mohamed Abdelkarim, at Kunst Halle Sankt, St Gallen, Switzerland.
Group Exhibitions
2020
– Fit’ri:na a spontaneous festival in the show window, by philomena+ art & architecture platform, Vienna, Austria
– BIDEODROMO Internacional Experimental Film and Video Festival, September, Bilbao
2019
– Raksa Ciné-Danse du Monde, 2019, Paris, France
– 15th Athens Digital Arts Festival, June 2019, Athens, Greece
– Zawya Short Film Festival IV, 2019. Cairo 1
– Raksa Ciné-Danse du Monde, Paris, France, 2019
2017
– Ayam Beirut Al Cinema’iya, Arab film Festival – 9th edition, 2017, Beirut, Lebanon
– 2nd Zawya Short Film Festival, 2017, Cairo
– 29th Festival Les Instants Vidéo, 2016, Marseilles, France
2016
– Shnit International Shortfilmfestival 2016 – Cairo
– Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival 2016, The Rotating Exhibition Room at Tshimologong Precinct, Johannesburg, South Africa
– Cairotronica, Cairo
– Video Art Festival Turku (VAFT) 2016, Turku, Finland
– 2-minutes short film award – 29 by Stuttgarter Filmwinter, at theater rampe, Stuttgarter, Germany.
2015
– Tokyo Story, Exhibition at Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo, Tokyo, Japan
– Food from the spoon of the world exhibition at MAXXI, the National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome, Italy.
– The 18th Japan Media Arts Festival, Tokyo
2014
– Digital Marrakech, Morocco
2012
– Dream City festival, September 2012 Tunis.
– Alternative News Agency at Contemporary Image Collective (CIC), Cairo, May 2012
– Cairo Documenta 2 a group exhibition at Viennoise hotel, downtown, Cairo January 2012
2011
– Fifteen Ways to Leave Badiou, a book by 15 artists, curated by ACAF, November, 2011, Alexandria.
– “So close in the distance” a video program of young arab video art by Zakharif, curated by Charolotte Bank at EMAF european media art festival, April 2011, Osanbruck, Germany.
– April Ful’s Night Video Program curated by Aida Eltorie at OMCA’s Gallery of California Art, April 2011, California.
– Display at telegraph21.com form 31st Jan to 3rd 2011.
2010
– Screening program curated by ArteEast at Zoom contemporary art fair, 2010 Miami, USA.
– A Survival Guide exhibition curated by Naglaa Samir, Sharjah Gallery, American University in new Cairo, December 2010.
– Hiwar exhibition curated by Khadija Hamdi, Darb 17 18, October 2010, Cairo.
– Land of Hyperreal, exhibition curated by Khaled Hafez – Jose Marti Memorial museum, July 2010, Havana, Cuba.
– Gaza International Festival for Video Art, June 2010, Palestine.
– 2nd AllArtNow Festival, May 2010, Damascus, Syria.
– Hiwar exhibition curated by Khadija Hamdi, Le Violon Bleu Gallery, May 2010, Tunis.
– 100 LIVE electronic music festival, Darb 17 18, May 2010, Cairo
– On Look Films Benefit: Featuring Films from the Middle East at Elastic Art space, curated by On Look Films, May 2010, Chicago.
– The Left Side exhibition curated by Wessam Quraish, Ahmed Shawki Museum, 2010, Cairo.
– Why Not exhibition curated by Mohamed Talaat, Palace of art, February 2010, Cairo.
2009
– (one)self as (an)other video curated by Sarah Rifky for Limited access 2,October 2009, Tehran, Iran.
– Video program by Townhouse gallery Abu Dhabi Art Fair, 2009, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
– The Place, competition and exhibition, Mekias Khan, 2009, Cairo.
– SOLUS Irish/ Arabian’ Avant-Garde’ film tour – Ireland, Film tour organized by Solus Collective shown at:Cork Film Center, CORK, ‘Live@8’ Club, Galwy City, Darklight Film Festival, Dublin , Cobblestone Bar, Dublin, The Joy Gallery and Studios, The Odessa Club, Dublin, ‘Gort-Vibes’ Cinema Club, Gort, Galwa, 2009
2008
– Video program curated by Sherif Awad at Dubai Art Fair, 2008, Dubai, UAE.
– Selection of PhotoCairo 4, Brandts Museum, 2008,Odense, Denmark.
– PhotoCairo 4, The Townhouse Gallery, December 2008, Cairo.
– 100mm Miniature Arts Exhibition, Artellewa, April 2008, Cairo.
– Tales around the Pavement Chapter Two, CIC, January 2008, Cairo.
2007
– Tales around the Pavement unclassified of “Meeting point 5”, CIC, 2007, Cairo.
– PICK 3 exhibition, The Townhouse Gallery, 2007, Cairo.
– Alfanous exhibition, Ahmed Shawky Museum, 2007, Cairo.
– The Baggage exhibition, Alexandria Atelier, 2007, Alexandria.
– 2nd Cairo Video Festival, CIC, 2007, Cairo.
2006
– Roznama, a photography and video exhibition, CIC, December 2006, Cairo.
– 1st Meeting for Image, French Cultural Centre (CFCC), 2006, Cairo.
2005
– 1st Cairo Video Festival, CIC 2005, Cairo.
2nd “Form through Light” exhibition, 2004, Palace of Arts, Cairo.
2004
– 1st and 2nd “Form through Light” exhibition, 2004, Palace of Arts, Cairo.
– 15th, 16th, 17th and 19th Youth Salon exhibition, Palace of Arts, 2004/2008, Cairo.
2003
– 6th and 7th Salon of Small Art Works exhibition, Zamalek Arts Center, 2003, 2004, Cairo.
Awards/Grants/Artist in residences
Awards, Grants:
Production grant of Culture Resource, 2016
Production grant of Young Arab Theater Fund (YATF), 2011
Visual arts grant of The Arab fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), 2010
Sabbatical leave of the Ministry of Culture in Egypt, 2009
1st Prize at the Place: competition and exhibition, Mekias Khan, 2009, Cairo
3rd prize at 17th Youth Salon, Palace of Arts, 2005, Cairo
Honorary prize at the 16th Youth Salon, Palace of Arts, 2004, Cairo
Art residencies and visits:
International creator residency program, Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo, Japan, 2015
Dream City festival, Tunis, 2012
Prohelvetia residency program, St. Gallen, Switzerland 2011
Accented residency program at Ashkal Alawan, Beirut, Lebanon, 2010
Mohamed Abdelkarim
Egyptian Multi-disciplinary artist (born in 1983, El Minya).He lives and works in Cairo. Education2016: Master of Arts in Public Spheres, at École de design et Haute école d’art du Valais (édhéa/ecav), HES-SO University of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sierre, Switzerland. 2005: B.A. Faculty of art education, Helwan University, Egypt. Artist’s statement:Abdelkarim’s practice is performance oriented. He
Egyptian Multi-disciplinary artist (born in 1983, El Minya).
He lives and works in Cairo.
Education
2016: Master of Arts in Public Spheres, at École de design et Haute école d’art du Valais (édhéa/ecav), HES-SO University of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sierre, Switzerland.
2005: B.A. Faculty of art education, Helwan University, Egypt.
Artist’s statement:
Abdelkarim’s practice is performance oriented. He considers performance as a research method and a practice through which he produces texts and images that embody the forms of poetry, scripts, sound, and video. Employing and reflecting on different performative acts like narrating, singing, dancing, detecting, and doing, his work is concerned with the performance of renegades in a time of crisis, complicating the relationship between geography and the fugitive.His performances have been included in Guild Master of Cabaret Voltaire Manifesta11, Zurich, 2016; Sofia Underground Performance Art Festival, Bulgaria, 2016; Live Works Performance Act Award Vol.5, 37°EDIZIONE DRODESERA, Italy, 2017. As part of his performative practice, he established „Live Praxes“ – a performative project that brings together lectures, debates, readings, critical responses, and creative quests, alongside organizing performance nights. Abdelkarim currently lives and works in Cairo.
Solo Exhibitions
2015: “Ahmed’s Revenge and Other Untold Stories” The American University in Cairo, Egypt
Group Exhibitions
2020: A Sequence of Events in the Lives of the Dormant, Curators: Lara Khaldi and Aneta Rostkowska, Temporary Gallery, Cologne, Germany.
2020: The convention of restorative anatomy and prosopopeia, at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo at Kunsthal Gent (curated by Valerio del Baglivo)
2018: At the crossroads of different pasts, presents, and futures, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, (curated by Valerio del Baglivo)Turin, Italy.
2018: “Live Praxes” at Townhouse Gallery, (curated by Mohamed Abdelkarim) Cairo, Egypt.
2017:House of Wisdom | Bilgelik Evi Dzialdov, (curated by Collective Çukurcuma) Berlin, Germany.
2017: [A Gift to Those Who..] LIVE WORKS Performance Act Award Vol.5, 37°EDIZIONE DRODESERA. Italy.
2017: [Count! How many renegades I still have?] a performance at One Gee In Fog, Geneva, Switzerland.
2017: [Epistles on Knowledge Engagement] a performance at Sofia Underground International Performance Art Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria.2017: PhotoCairo 6 Contemporary Image Collective – CIC – (curated by Andrea Thal) Cairo, Egypt.
2017: Plattform 17, Kunsthaus Glarus Glarus, Switzerland.
2016: Cabaret der Künstler – Zunfthaus Voltaire Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich, Switzerland.
2016: Do it Sharjah Art Foundation Art Spaces, (curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Hoor Al Qasimi) Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
2016: (a(version)s) Cuchifritos Gallery + Project SpaceNew York City, NY, USA.
2013: In Search of Europe? Kunstraum Kreuzberg / Bethanien, (curated by Daniela Swarovski) Berlin, Germany.
2013: Tokyo Story Part 3: Identities in the World TWS Tokyo Wonder Site Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.
2012: Videoakt, Videoakt International, Barcelona, Spain.
2012: PhotoCairo 5 Contemporary Image Collective (curated by Mia Jankowicz) CIC. Cairo, Egypt.
2010: Beyond the Desert Darb 1718 (curated by Simon Njami), Cairo, Egypt.
Awards/Grants/Artist in residences
2018: The Camargo Foundation, Fellowship Spring, Cassis, France.
2018: Gleis70, The Gastatelier artists residency, Zurich, Switzerland.
2017: “Madrassa” curatorial research program, Morocco.2017: Pro-Helvetia Research Residency, Lausanne, Switzerland.
2015: kunstpot göschenen، Göschenen, Switzerland.2014: Residency program at [BarProject] Barcelona, Curated by Juan Canela,
2013: FUTURA – Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Republic.
2013: Unesco-aschberg bursaries for artists, Dar Al-Mamun, Marrakech, Morocco.
2012: TWS, Tokyo wonder site, Tokyo, Japan.2011: Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, Pro Helvetia, Switzerland.
2010: VASL International Artists’ Residency, Karachi, Pakistan.
info.abdelkarim@gmail.com
mona essam eldin
Egyptian multi-disciplinary artist (born in 1989, Cairo).She lives and works in Cairo. Solo ExhibitionsAugust’s Rooms” at the SOMA Art Gallery, January 2019 Group Exhibitionsshish bish at Medrar for Contemporary Art, 2021Mashrabya gallery, 2020Supermarket art fair Stockholm Sweden, 2020The 2nd international video forum dammam, 2019The collective summer art exhibition at SOMA Art Gallery, May 2018 Arab
Egyptian multi-disciplinary artist (born in 1989, Cairo).
She lives and works in Cairo.
Solo Exhibitions
August’s Rooms” at the SOMA Art Gallery, January 2019
Group Exhibitions
shish bish at Medrar for Contemporary Art, 2021
Mashrabya gallery, 2020
Supermarket art fair Stockholm Sweden, 2020
The 2nd international video forum dammam, 2019
The collective summer art exhibition at SOMA Art Gallery, May 2018
Arab Artists in the Syndicate of Fine Arts in Alexandria in 2016
“Naema Yanzaf Office 2” exhibition at Gallery Medrar in 2016.
Awards/Grants/Artist in residences
In 2008, she acquired the First place award in the Human rights exhibition at Faculty of Art Education, and in 2016, she obtained Roznama 5 Award by Medrar gallery.
ROZNAMA 5|Roznama 5 exhibition | Medrar gallery| Soma Art Gallery /Cairo,Egypt/2016 HUMAN RIGHTS | First Place Award /Human rights exhibition / Faculty of art Education/Cairo,Egypt/2008
https://www.instagram.com/mona.essameldin/
https://www.facebook.com/monaessameldinart/
monaliza289@gmail.com
Amr Elkafrawy
Egyptian painter (born in 1980, Cairo).He lives and works between Cairo and Montreal. Education2021 MFA, Concordia University, Montreal,2003 Bachelor of Fine arts, Painitng, University of Helwan, Cairo Artist statementsSince the start of my artistic career, I have experimented with multiple art forms but have found myself most keen on drawing, painting and printing. I find
Egyptian painter (born in 1980, Cairo).
He lives and works between Cairo and Montreal.
Education
2021 MFA, Concordia University, Montreal,
2003 Bachelor of Fine arts, Painitng, University of Helwan, Cairo
Artist statements
Since the start of my artistic career, I have experimented with multiple art forms but have found myself most keen on drawing, painting and printing. I find myself always returning to classical forms as the drive for my own mode of self-expression, especially in regard to concepts that I am most intrigued by like the city, urbanization, and the social relations that develop within them. I always carry my camera around the city during my daily journeys to capture the presence of life in front of me, then for long hours, I go through the many spontaneous photographs that I took. I never know what caused me to identify with this photo or that; is it because of a strong presence? Or because of an absolute solitude? I am interested in the poetics of spaces and the aesthetics of cityscapes, Urbanism and What inspire me the most are cities. I consider myself as a cityscape artist, sometimes I work with deferent concepts but I always go back to make more and more work about cities, and how they represent a collage of lives and destinies of their residents and visitors; of finding and defining the similarities and differences between people, buildings, districts, and streets in multiple different cultures and creating a visual pattern of these concepts. I would like to understand the impact of the cities on its residents; how cities were created and evolved, and what is the history of the buildings itself. Also, I am interested in combining deferent art forms like poetry, photography, documents, drawings, maps and old photography to recreate realistic prospects that reflects my ideas. My work repeatedly involves sets of images that complement each other. I use photography and laser digital printing, following which I paint over them with watercolors and ink to recreate realistic visual concepts. This technique allows me to evoke realistic scenes that intensify a dreamy and mysterious dimension to the way I reconstruct my experience about the city.
Solo Exhibitions
2020 Gallery Misr, Cairo Egypt
2019 MFA Concordia University, Montreal
2018 MFA Concordia University, Montreal
2014 Mashrabya gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2013 Sukar Mazbot, Markhya Gallery, Doha, Qatar
2011 Routofaprik Zurich, Switzerland
2009 Wall 6 MekiasKhana, Cairo, Egypt
2009 Black Point Artellewa Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2008 10 Portrait Centre of Art and Nature in Farrere, Catalonia, Spain
2007 Drawings Khan Al-Maghraby Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
Group Exhibitions
2020 The Mureen Show (Online Version), Montreal, Canada
2018 Central Exhibition Hall, St. Petersburg, Russia
2018 The Anderson Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
2017 Kraftwerk Berlin, Contem, orary art from QatarBerline, Germany
2016 Firestation, Doha, Qatar
2015 50ms, Markhya Gallery, Doha, Qatar
2014 Masbiro, Darb 17/18, Cairo, Egypt
2012 Contemporary Egyptian artists, HANIKAH, Sarajevo, Bosnia
2011 Kunsthalle Luzern, Luzern, Switzerland
2011 Okk of Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
2010 Museum of Contemporary Art, Assilah, Morocco
2010 Korian Museum, Budapest, Hungary
2010 Cairo Documenta, Vinwaz, Cairo, Egypt
2009 The invisible presence, Mashrabia art gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2009 Daret Al-Founon, Oman, Jordan
2009 Different Visions, Sharja, UAE
2008 100 Millimetres Artellewa Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2008 Contemporary Egyptian Artist Havana, Cuba
2007 Near the Sea Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland
Grants/Awards/Artist in residence
2016 Firestation Artist Residency, Doha, Qatar
2011 Prohelvetia Artist Residency, Zurich, Switzerland
2010 Montada Assilah, Assilah, Morocco
2009 The Rooftop Studios Project, Cairo, Egypt
2009 Youth Salon, Drawing Competition
2008 Center de Art i Natura, Catalonia, Spain
2008 Certificate of Merit, Egypt
2006 Critic Comity, Youth Salon
Links
http://www.mashrabiagallery.com/amr-el-kafrawy.html
http://www.misrgallery.com/Artist-20.html
Email amr_elkafrawy@hotmail.com
Ala Younis
Jordanian multi-disciplinary artist (born in 1974, Kuwait).She lives and works in Amman. Artist’s statementAla Younis is a research-based artist. Collaboration forms a big part of her practice, as do curating and joint book projects. Using objects, film and printed matter, Younis often seeks instances where historical and political events collapse into personal ones. She also
Jordanian multi-disciplinary artist (born in 1974, Kuwait).
She lives and works in Amman.
Artist’s statement
Ala Younis is a research-based artist. Collaboration forms a big part of her practice, as do curating and joint book projects. Using objects, film and printed matter, Younis often seeks instances where historical and political events collapse into personal ones. She also has explored the formation of the modern Arab world and the potential for renewed thought and action the era continues to inspire. She holds a BSc. in Architecture from University of Jordan and MRes in Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London. She is a recipient of the Bellagio Creative Arts Fellowship, as well as awards from Cairo Youth Salon (2005) and Jordanian Artists Association (2005). She is co-founder of the publishing initiative Kayfa ta, on the advisory board of Berlinale’s Forum Expanded, and member of the Academy of Arts of the World (Cologne).
Education
1997 BSc. in Architecture from University of Jordan
2016 MRes in Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London
Solo Exhibitions
High Dam. Modern Pyramid, curated byRado Ištok, VI PER, Prague [16.12.2020–6.2.2021]
Steps Toward the Impossible, curated by Ryan Inouye, Sharjah Art Foundation, [29.9.2018–5.1.2019]
Research Room at Studio-X, Columbia GSAPP, Amman [3.10.2018–4.6.2019]
Plan (fem.) for Greater Baghdad, 17ESSEX, New York [21.4–2.6.2018]
Solo exhibition, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville [15.2–10.6.2018]
Plan for Feminist Greater Baghdad, Delfina Foundation, London [31.1–24.3.2018]; Project Space Art Jameel, Dubai [1.3–14.4.2018]
A second original after several conversions, MMAG Foundation, Amman, [1.11.2017–20.1.2018]
UAR, solo exhibition at Gypsum Gallery, Cairo [2014]
Nefertiti, solo exhibition at Delfina Foundation, London [2010]
Solo exhibition at Darat al Funun, Amman [2009]
Solo exhibition at Institut Français, Amman [2005]
Group Exhibitions
2021
What Makes Another World Possible?, curated by Corina L. Apostol, Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn [18.09–05.12.2021]
Limitless [SIN LIMITES: Artistic (de)construction of the Borders], curated by Khalid Khreis and Rocío Villalonga, Museo del Revellín de Ceuta (Revellín Museum of Ceuta) [8.4–10.6.2021] [catalog]
Video exhibited as part of the March program of aashra, Ashkal Alwan’s audiovisual streaming platform, Beirut
2020
Publishing As Method, curated by Mediabus / The Book Society, Art Sonje Center 1F Project Space, Seoul [30.10–20.12.2020] [catalog]
Last Flood, exhibition with Alia Mosallam, Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo [postponed due to Covid-19 disruptions]
Limitless [SIN LIMITES: Artistic (de)construction of the Borders], curated by Khalid Khreis and Rocío Villalonga, Casa Arabe, Madrid, [11.3–17.5.2020]; Casa Arabe, Cordoba [15.10.2020–4.1.2021] [catalog]
2019
Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991–2011, curated by Peter Eleey and Ruba Katrib, MoMA PS1, NYC [3.11.2019–2.2020]
On fail[l]ed tales and ta[y]lors, curated by Madrassa Collective, Tabakalera, International Centre for Contemporary Culture, San Sebastian [9.11.2019–16.2.2020]
This Land’s Unknown, second edition of the Biennale d’Architecture d’Orléans, curated by Nora Akawi [11.10.2019-19.1.2020]
History Is Not Here: Art and the Arab Imaginary, Minnesota Museum of American Art (The M), curated by Heba Y. Amin and Maymanah Farhat [12.9.2019–5.1.2020]
The Whole Life: Archives and Reality, Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, co-organized by Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art and Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Dresden [19–25.5.2019]
ANTIKINO (The Siren’s Echo Chamber), curated by Stefanie Schulte Strathaus, Anselm Franke, Maha Maamoun, and Ulrich Ziemons, Berlinale’s Forum Expanded show, silent green Betonhalle, Berlin [7.2–9.3.2019]
This Must Be True, curated by Mario D’Souza, Mila Samdub and Radha Mahendru, KHOJ International Artists’ Association, New Delhi [28.1–11.3.2019]
2018
Crude, curated by Murtaza Vali, Art Jameel Centre, Dubai [11.11.2018–30.3.2019]
Punk Orientalism, curated by Sara Raza, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Canada [10.11.2018–17.2.2019]
Behind the Screen, curated by Stefanie Schulte Strathaus in the context of Tashweesh (Goethe-Institut Cairo), Medrar for Contemporary Art, Cairo [6–27.11.2018]
Submerged – on rivers and their interrupted flow, Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo [9.10–15.12.2018]
Imagined Nations / Modern Utopias, 12 Gwangju Biennale, curated by Clara Kim, Gwangju [7.9–11.11.2018]
Power Play, curated by Aaron Cezar, SongEun Artspace, Seoul [30.8–1.12.2018]
Truth is black, write over it with a mirage’s light, Darat al Funun, Amman [3.7–4.10.2018]
In the Margin, The Factory, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman [28.6–3.11.2018]
Bagdad Mon Amour, curated by Morad Montazami, Institut des Cultures d’Islam, Paris [29.3–29.7.2018]
Riots: Slow Cancellation of the Future, curated by Natasha Ginwala, ifa-Galerie Berlin [26.1–1.4.2018]; ifa-Galerie Stuttgart [27.4–24.6.2018]
A Mechanism Capable of Changing Itself, Berlinale’s Forum Expanded, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
2017
Tell It to the Stones. The Work of Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub, curated by Annett Busch and Tobias Hering, Akademie der Künste, Berlin, [14.9–19.11.2017]
New Literacy, 4th Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art, Ekaterinburg, [14.9–12.11.2017]
Suspended Territories Artists from Middle East and North Africa, curated by Michael Kroeger, Marta Herford, Herford, [24.6–24.9.2017]
No to the Invasion: Breakdowns and Side Effects, exhibition of works drawn from the collection of the Barjeel Art Foundation, curated by Fawz Kabra, CCS Bard Galleries, NY, [24.6–29.10.2017]
Imagined Life In a Museum Vitrine, 4th Chapter of “If Not For That Wall”, Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo, [3.5–22.6.2017]
House of Wisdom, curated by Collective Çukurcuma, Dzialdov project space, Berlin, [29.4–4.6.2017]; Nejat Eczacıbaşı Building, within the scope of the 15th Istanbul Biennial’s Public Programme, Istanbul, [12.9–12.11.2017]; Framer Framed, Amsterdam, [24.11.2017–7.1.2018]
2016
VIII Tashkent Biennale, Tashkent [cancelled]
Under Arms: Fire & Forget 2, Museum Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt [10.9.2016–26.3.2017]
But a Storm Is Blowing from Paradise: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa, curated by Sara Raza, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York [29.4–5.10]
Do it بالعربي, curated by Hoor Al Qasimi and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah [23.1–23.4] and Darat al Funun, The Khalid Shoman Foundation, Amman [24.9.2016–Mid January 2017]
Transcultural Flux, Stiftelsen 3,14, Bergen [22.1–20.3]
Transcultural Flux, Akershus Kunstsenter, Lillestrøm [12.5–12.6]
2015
All the World’s Futures, 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Okwui Enwezor, Venice
Fire and Forget. On Violence, curated by Ellen Blumenstein and Daniel Tyradellis, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin
The Current State of Experimental Cinema, curated by Aily Nash, Cine Tonala, Mexico
2014
MADATAC 06, Contemporary Festival of New Media Arts & Advanced Audio Visual Technologies, Madrid
New York Film Festival, New York
Here and Elsewhere, exhibition curated by Massimiliano Gioni and team, New Museum, New York. Participation took the form of a curated exhibition at the 5th floor titled An Index of Tensional and Unintentional Love of Land
Multitude, Sesc Pompeia, Sao Paulo- Tea with Nefertiti, Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, Munich
Meeting Points 7, Ten thousand wiles and a hundred thousand tricks, Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo; ParaSite, Hong Kong; Beirut Art Center, Beirut
2013
Meeting Points 7, Ten thousand wiles and a hundred thousand tricks, curated by What, How and for Whom/WHW, Gallery Nova, Teslina 7, Zagreb; Museum of Modern Art (M HKA), Antwerp
Tea with Nefertiti, IVAM Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia (catalog)
Le Théorème de Néfertiti, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
59th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Lichtburg Filmpalast, Oberhausen
2012
Tea with Nefertiti, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha
ROUNDTABLE, 9th Gwangju Biennial, curated by Nancy Adajania
The Ungovernables, exhibition curated by Eunjie Joo, New Museum Triennial, New York
Amman Journal, Forum Schlossplatz, Aarau, curated by Sibylle Omlin
A Gathering, curated by Maria-Thalia Carras and Olga Hatzidaki, Athens London Palestine Film Festival, London
2011
Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial), curated by Adriano Pedrosa and Jens Hoffman, Istanbul
24th Instants Video Festival, in collaboration with Transitio Festival, Mexico
Houston Palestine Film Festival, Houston, TX
Dream of a Nation Film Festival, Columbia University, NYC
Toronto Palestine Film Festival, Toronto
2010
Home Works 5’, forum and exhibition curated by Christine Tohme, Beirut Art Center, Beirut
2009
Where are you?, exhibition curated by Beate Keinert-Engel, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo
The Jerusalem Show: Jerusalem Syndrome, curated by Jack Persekian and Nina Möntmann, Jerusalem
All Art Now 1st International Video Art Festival, 11 different venues in Damascus
A Starting Point: Intrude 366—Dynamics of change and growth, from 1, Jan. to 31, Dec, 2008, Zendai MoMA, Shanghai, China
PhotoCairo 4: The Long Shortcut, Museet for Fotokunst, Odense
2008
PhotoCairo 4: The Long Shortcut, curated by Aleya Hamza and Edit Molnar, Hungarian Cultural Center, Cairo – Intrude: Art & Life 366, Shanghai Juvenile Prison, Shanghai
The Third International Biennale for the Artist’s Book 2008, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria
2006
12th Asian Art Biennale, Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka
2005
17th Youth Salon, Palace of Arts, Opera Complex, Cairo
Awards/Grants/Artist in residences
2021 Fellowship, Akademie der Künste der Welt, Cologne.
2021 Fellowship, Civitella Ranieri Fellowship, Umbertide [postponed to 2022]
2015 Jury member, Forum Expanded – Think:Film Award, with Karim Aïnouz, Ala Younis, and Mohamed Beshir
2015 Residency, Delfina Foundation, London
2015 Residency, Cimatheque: Alternative Film Center, Cairo
2015 Mentored two participants in the March Project, production and workshops program at Sharjah Art Foundation
2014 Jury member, Forum Expanded – Think:Film Award, with Marcel Schwierin, Ala Younis, and Mohamed Beshir
2013 Residency and fellowship, Bellagio Creative Arts Fellowship, The Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio
2013 Jury member, Short Films category, Oran Film Festival, Algeria, with Ridha Behi, Karim Sargouh, Samia Méziane, Doaa Teama and Ala Younis
2012 Residency, Living Archive – Archive Work as a Contemporary Artistic and Curatorial Practice, Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst, Berlin, with a grant from Goethe Institut
2011 Residency, La Galerie, Contemporary Art Centre, Noisy-le-Sec / Paris
2011 Residency, Ashkal Alwan, Beirut
2010 Residency, Accented Residencies, Delfina Foundation, London
2008 Residency, Digital Residencies, Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo
2007 Residency, F+F School of Art & Media Design, Zürich
2005 Award, Second prize for non-Egyptian participants, 17th Youth Salon, Cairo
Award, Third Prize at the Annual Exhibition of the Jordanian Artists Association, Amman