Noor Al Suwaidi, United Arab Emirates
Artist & Curator, born in 1981. Al Suwaidi grew up in Abu Dhabi and since age nine she has dedicated herself to a creative career that—over the past years—has reached a seminal phase in its development. A particular interest in painting led her to pursue studies in the UK and the US, through which she conceived, expanded, and consequently refined her artistic style. She Studied Visual Communication at the American University, Sharjah Graduated in 2004 with a BA in Studio Art from the American University, Washington D.C. Graduated in 2009 with an MA in Curating Contemporary Design from Kingston University, London. Her experiences include an internship at ING art management department, ING Amsterdam 2008, and Sotheby;s Middle east department, London, UK 2009. Her most recent artist residencies were in London, Rome and Berlin. Her first solo show took place last April 2011 at the Cork Street gallery, Mayfair, London. She is currently represented by Cuadro Fine Art Gallery in Dubai, UAE.
Bembol dela Cruz, Philippines
Santiago Borja, Mexico
Carlos Castro, Colombia
Noa Charuvi, Israel/USA
Born in Jerusalem, Israel, Noa moved to New York City to pursue a Master's degree in Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts. She has been awarded participation in the AIM program at the Bronx museum, Yaddo artist colony, Triangle Arts Workshop in Brooklyn and AAI Rotating Studio Program. Her work was featured in group shows in Wave Hill Center, the Bronx Museum, Lombard Freid Projects, Cuchifritos Project Space, and Parker’s Box in New York City. Noa is currently part of the studio program at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts.
Blue Curry, Bahamas/UK
Blue Curry (b. Nassau, Bahamas, 1974) is an artist based in London, UK, who works primarily in sculpture and installation. He received a BA in Photography & Multimedia from the University of Westminster, London and an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, London. He was included in the Catlin Guide to the 40 important new artists in the UK in 2010 and was featured in the 6th Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool the same year. He had a major solo show of his work at the Nassauischer Kunstverein in Wiesbaden, Germany in 2011 and has had solo presentations with Toomer Labzda Gallery, New York and AF Projects, London. Curry has participated in many group exhibitions at galleries and institutions such as The Art Museum of the Americas, Washington DC, El Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Puerto Rico, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas and Le Musée International des Arts Modestes, France. His work can be found in the permanent collection of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, the Kay Saatchi Collection and in other private collections.
Agathe de Bailliencourt, France/USA
Born in Paris in 1974, Agathe de Bailliencourt’s media range from canvas and paper to public spaces and architecture. Exhibiting internationally since 2004, she participated in the Singapore Biennale in 2006 with a site-specific paint installation. In 2007 she completed her first large-scale light projection at the IHZ-Building/Berlin, followed by another light installation in 2008 at the Berliner Dom and an installation for the Shanghai Zendai Museum. In 2009, she was invited by Mori Art Museum in Tokyo for an installation, then by Tokyo Wonder Site Residency. In 2010, she published an artist book with Revolver Publishing and had her first New York solo exhibition, showing work on canvas. In 2011, she completed a permanent public installation for a High School in France. She is currently participating in a 9-month residency with Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
Rosemarie Fiore, USA
(b. 1972, New York, United States) is an artist based in Bronx, NY. Fiore completed her BA at the University of Virginia and MFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
She has received grants through The New York Foundation for the Arts, The Bronx Council on the Arts, The Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation, The Dieu Donne Papermill and Lower East Side Print Shop in NYC. She has exhibited both locally and abroad including 4 solo shows in NYC and at Priska Juschka Fine Art, NY, Anderson Gallery, Richmond, Grand Arts, Kansas City, The Bronx Museum, The Weatherspoon Art Museum, NC, The Queens Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park, NY, The Roswell Museum, NM, Winkleman Gallery, NY, and The Franklin Institute of Science, PA.
Her work can be found in many collections including the Weatherspoon Museum, NC, the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, NM, the Aspen Collection, NYC, Neuberger Berman, Rome, Italy, Flaunt Magazine, CA, Capital One, VA, and The Franklin Institute of Science, PA.
Kiluanji Henda, Angola
Samah Hijawi, Jordan
is a cross-disciplinary visual artist working in various media with a particular interest in participatory works in public spaces. Her works include The Sexual Psychology of Hermaphrodites (2011) for Meeting Points 6 curated by Okwui Enwazor; This work Does Not mean Anything to Me; Musings on Art and Art Discourse (2011) for Darat Al Funun in Amman curated by Abdellah Karroum; 'Where Are the Arabs?' 2009 shown in several cities including Abu Dhabi for Disorientation curated by Jack Perkisian; Arab Unity Chorale 2009 for The Other Shadow of the City, curated by Saram Martha. Samah is also working in the collective Makan art Space in Amman.
Hijawi is also a cultural manager in several local independent projects in the visual arts, and works as a with Makan Art Space in Amman. She is also a researcher on modern and contemporary Jordanian arts with contributions in several local and international publications, and also lectures in Contemporary Art in Jordan and the Arab World.
Ivelisse Jimenez, Puerto Rico
Ahmed El Shaer, Egypt
Born in Cairo, Egypt in 1980; lives and works in Egypt.
is a multi-disciplinary artist (installation, photography, sound, video), with a particular interest in digital technologies. His videos combine Machinima, stock footage, 3D animation and experimental soundscapes. His work has been highlighted in numerous exhibitions and festivals, among which: Fugitive Video Project 2009 (International Festival for Alternative Film and Video, Dublin and Mantua, 2009); Under Current: Contemporary Art from Egypt (SAWA Gallery, Dubai, 2009); Orebro International Video Art Festival (Orebro, Sweden, 2008); International Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, Bari, Italy (2008). He is the recipient of numerous awards and has participated in several residency programs, such as the Pro Helvetia Artist-in-Residence cycle (Zurich, Switzerland, 2009) and the Summer Academy of Fine Arts (Salzburg, Austria, 2006 and 2007).
Kakyoung Lee, South Korea/USA
works with moving images, print, drawing, and installation. She received a BFA and MFA from Hong-Ik University, Seoul and Purchase College, NY (MFA). Lee has exhibited widely in Korea and the USA including at the Drawing Center, the Lower East Side Print Shop, and the Museum of Modern Art, the Queens Museum, New York, and the Seoul Arts Center in Korea. As a recent participant in the Marie Walsh Sharpe Space Program, Brooklyn, she has also held residencies at Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY; the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH; the Lower East Side Printshop, NYC; and the Jamaica Center for Arts &Learning, NY. Lee is a recipient of awards from the Pollock Krasner Foundation grant, the Korea Arts Foundation of America award for Visual Arts, and the AHL foundation Visual arts, NYC. Lee's works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, and Library of Congress, Washington D.C. among others.
Lia Lapithi, Cyprus
born in 1963 in Cyprus, lives and works in Nicosia. After studying art and environmental design at the University of Santa Cruz California (USA), followed by a Master in Philosophy at Lancaster University (UK) In 1991 she obtained a degree in architecture at Kent Institute of Art and Design in Canterbury, UK , and in 1994,a master in Art Education from the University of Wales. At first influenced by the relationship to medicine/medical art, her artistic work later evolved around environmental and political issues, especially on the Cyprus issue, and the most sensitive forms of the tense political situation of the divided island. Her recent works are on art-food related event and performances.
Lia Lapithi work was presented in exhibitions and international festivals, including Gounaropoulou Museum of Athens, the Grand Palais in Paris, and at Dumbo Arts Center Brooklyn, New York. Works can be found at the Cypriot National Collection of Contemporary Art in Nicosia, Cyprus, in the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna, and Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Frank Martinez Gonzalez, Cuba
Born on September 6, 1972, Havana, Cuba. Graduated from the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts in 1993 and the College of Art (ISA) in 2000. Has given two Graphics Workshops at ISA headquarters and the Carlos Cruz Dies Illustration and Design Museum in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2008. Has staged 16 personal exhibitions in Cuba, Germany, UK and the U.S., and has participated in 101 collective exhibitions in Cuba, the U.S., Germany, UK, Brazil, Spain, Venezuela, Mexico, Japan, etc. Has been granted several awards, including La Joven Estampa Prize by Casa de Las Américas in 2001 and the Visual Arts Development Center in 1997.
His work is part of private and other collections in over 10 countries.
Jasmina Metwaly, Poland
Jasmina Metwaly is a visual artist, videographer based in Cairo, Egypt. Metwaly was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1982 and grew up in Warsaw and Cairo. She completed an MA at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland in 2006, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma at the Byam Shaw School of Art at Central Saint Martins. Metwaly practiced as a visual artist in London 2008 and 2009 where she held various exhibitions including at the Concourse Gallery, Byam Shaw, Kings Gate and the Islington Arts Factory.
Erik Olofsen, The Netherlands
Zohra Opoku, Ghana/Germany
(born 1976, German/ Ghanaian) uses African history for reference and quotation, to create a “black“ present. Her art disturbs and unbalances the stereotype subjective interpretations of African culture. The originally question behind her actions is the question of identity. Her work spans the mediums from textile objects, fashion and installations, to photography and street interventions.
As Graduate Fashion Designer, trained at the University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, she worked in different fields of the fashion industry before she concentrated fully on visual art since end of 2008. She is currently represent by Gallery Peter Herrmann Berlin and the ifa Gallery in Berlin & Stuttgart. Recent exhibitions are Dual Art Duala, Cameroon - 2012/ Nubuke Foundation Accra, Ghana/ Goethe Institut Accra / Capetown City Hall, Southafrica - 2011/ CCA Lagos, Nigeria/ Kunsthaus Hamburg, Germany - 2010/ Fortaleza Maputo, Mozambiqe/ Le Mànege, Dakar, Senegal/ KNUST University Kumasi, Ghana - 2009.
Zohra lives and works in Accra & Hamburg.
Mrugen Rathod, India
Gamaliel Rodriguez, Puerto Rico
Gamaliel Rodriguez (b. 1977 Bayamon, Puerto Rico) is an visual artists currently working in a series of drawings based on the concepts of appropriation, re-interpretation and deconstruction of messages based on Roland Barthes and his analysis of Semiotic. Rodriguez obtained his Master Degree in Visual Arts at the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Kent 2005 and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2011. recent shows include, Solo Projects-ARCO Madrid: Focus Latinoamerica. DA2 Domus Artium 2002 Salamanca (Group show). Spain, “The End of History... and The Return of History Painting”. Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem (MMKA). Arnhem, The Netherlands.
Sonie Ruffin, USA
Sonié Joi Ruffin is an award winning fabric artist, born, raised and educated in Joplin, MO. Sonié has led workshops and lectures on African American quilting at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, Flint Library Museum, Guldner Gallery, the Nerman Museum, Kansas City Museum, the Nelson Atkins Museum, and the American Jazz Museum.
She is a self-taught fabric artist; whose fabric art, and written stories have made her an established figure within the local and national arts community. In Ruffin's quilt-inspired art there is an inter-stitching not just of fabric but of community and culture. Her quilts draw from a centuries old wellspring that explores humanity through the crux of the African American experience.
Sonié designs and stories are distinctive; her writing shares stories from her life’s experiences, the African American culture, hardships, triumphs and courage of change. Her designs are improvisational and intuitive; she paints and embellishes fabric, incorporating the boldness of African fabric, mixed with hand dyed or commercial print fabrics.
Sonié is a Charlotte Street Foundation Fellow, the 2010 recipient of the Charlotte Street Visual Arts Award, Kansas Master’s 2010 /11, and the 2012 “Women to Watch: Fiber and Textiles”.
Her artwork has been exhibited at the Truman Medical Center Healing Arts Gallery, the Rozier Museum, Carter Art Center, Lincoln University, International Quilt Market, Leedy Voulkos Art Center and the New England Quilt Museum.
Her artwork can be found in the collections of galleries, museums, private and corporate collections. Her fabric collections “My African Village and Drums of Afrika” have appeared in national magazines. To her credit, she is the author of “Soulful Art of African American Quilts and Opening Day” published by Kansas City Star Quilt book division.
Sonié is presently the visiting curator for the American Jazz Museums’ Changing Gallery; in the historical 18th and Vine Jazz District located in Kansas City, MO.
Salvatore Scalora, Italy
was born in Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, living and working between Olbia (Sardegna) and Syracuse in Italy. Active in the field of video installation and performance art, his work explores the relationship between performance art and the public. His performances stem from an idea to reality; they aim to create an accessible atmosphere of exchange and confrontation to all those who conceive how important it is to act through ritual, addressing social issues related to work, freedom of expression and to restore logic. Scalora graduated in 2001 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, later obtaining a teaching qualification at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania. He is currently professor of Visual Arts at the Art School of Olbia.
Alexander Seton, Australia
(Australian b. 1977) practice is about engaging with the analogue in a digital world. There are powerful emotions and ideas attached to the notion that things can still be crafted. Seton's work uses the tension between the loaded history of the carved object and the use of contemporary subject matter and concerns to explore the nature of contradictions – perceptual and conceptual - whether it be through marble, plastics or digital works that question the nature of the monumental or even personal acts of expression.
Alexander Seton is a Sydney-based artist who graduated from the College of Fine Art, University of NSW, Sydney in 1998. His work has been exhibited throughout Australia as well as Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. Current projects include working with local artists in Pietrasanta, Italy on two major public artworks. Symposiums include the 14th Simposio Internazionale Di Scultura Su Pietre Del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy in 2011 and the Hanyu International Sculpture Cup in Shenzen, China in 2007. His work has been acquired by numerous public and private collections both in Australia and overseas, including Art Gallery of South Australia, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, University of QLD Art Museum, Art Gallery of NSW Society Collection and the Danish Royal Collection.
Matt Shane, Canada
Jay Shinn, USA
was born in the United States. Shinn received a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and also attended the Memphis College of Art as well as the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He currently lives and works in New York City and Dallas, Texas.Shinn is a multi-media artist working in painting, sculpture and light based installation. He has exhibited widely in the United States and Berlin, Germany. Recent exhibitions were at Kunstverein Neukolln, Berlin, Marty Walker Gallery, Dallas and Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston. A solo exhibition is scheduled for October 2012 at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Downtown Gallery. Shinn's work is included in several public collections including the US State Department, W-Hotels,and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Els Vanden Meersch, Belgium
Els Vanden Meersch lives and works in Belgium, Antwerp.
She studied visual arts at the Sint-Lukas Hogeschool Brussels (BE) and was participant at the Rijksakademie voor Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam (NL) 2001-2002, at Triangle Artist workshop (NY) 2006, at Platform Garanti, Istanbul (TR) 2008, and at the Bellagio Center of the Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio (IT) 2012.
In her work she explores the relationship between politics and architecture. She published 3 photobooks: Transient constructions (Genk Flac©, 2003), Paranoid Obstructions (Leuven University Press, 2004) and Implants (Mer, paper kunsthalle, 2006).
She had solo exhibitions a.o. in Vander Kelen museum, Leuven (BE), 2006, gallery Annie Gentils, Antwerp (BE) 2006/2008/2011 and La Chambre Blanche, La Biennale en art actuel de Quebec, (CA), 2008.
Group exhibitions are a.o.‘Vérité exposée’ Ernst Museum Budapest (HU) 2009, ‘The order of things’ Museum Contemporary Art, Antwerp (BE) 2008, Biennial of contemporary art, Sinop, Turkey (2010)
She is represented by Annie Gnetils Gallery, Antwerp
Andy Webster, UK
was born in Mansfield, UK in 1964. He studied for a BA(Hons) in Fine Art at Manchester Met and MA Fine Art at the University of Brighton. He recently completed a practice-led PhD at University College Falmouth.
Andy's work can be described as a sculptural practice that is usually site specific, temporal, often collaborative and participatory, one that frequently integrates performance, moving image, sound, and drawing. Each of his projects emerge by engaging with and responding to particular qualities of contexts and sites which he encounters, and they are often set up in open-ended ways so that feedback and interactions with the environment are instrumental in the realisation of the work. Andy's most recent work has emerged through a dialogue with and in response to the political, economic, social and environmental crises that define our contemporary context. Andy’s work has been shown nationally and internationally and recently he has participated in shows including ‘Dawn Chorus’, Solo 2012, Waterfront Gallery, University Campus Suffolk, UK (2012); ‘A minor miracle’, Miterdale forest, Lanternhouse, Cumbria, UK (2011); ‘Crazy tourist’, Cape Farewell, University of Arts, London, UK (2009); ‘Emergência’, Itau Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil (2008); 'Maverick Machines', Matthew Gallery, Edinburgh, UK (2007) and 'Living Architectures Laboratory', Demarcació de Girona, Spain, (2007). Andy currently is a researcher for the Art, Nature & Environment research group (RANE) at University College Falmouth, UK.
Yi Cao, China
