ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS

Rudeina A. Baasiri (Opening Remarks and Introduction)

M. Waleed Gaber (Moderator)

Sama Alshaibi
Associate Professor- The University of Arizona
Iraqi-born artist, Alshaibi negotiates spaces of conflict in her artwork such as the aftermath of war and exile. Her practice is primarily based in photography, video/object hybrids, multimedia installations and sculpture. Alshaibi was awarded two national teaching awards and the title of University of Arizona 1885 Distinguished Scholar. She has also exhibited in over ten solo exhibitions. Her group exhibitions include the 55th Venice Biennial (Maldives Pavilion, 2013), #COMETOGEHER: Edge of Arabia, London (2012), Come Visit Us, You’ll Strike Gold, Vienna (2012), and The Changing Room, Turin and London (2011 and 2012).

Khaled Hafez
Cairo-born Egyptian artist, Hafez gave up a medical practice for a career in the arts. His work spans the mediums of painting, video, photography, installation and interdisciplinary approaches. He has exhibited in 21 solo exhibitions and has participated in several international group exhibitions. His work was shown at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Denmark, The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, NY, Centre George Pompidou, Paris, France, and Saatchi Gallery, London, UK, to name a few. His awards include a Fulbright Fellowship in 2005 and The Rockefeller Bellagio Fellowship in 2009.

Steve Sabella
Jerusalem-born artist and Berlin-resident, Steve puts shape and form to the emotions and psychic experiences of “exile.” His artworks have been collected by the British Museum in London, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Ars Aevi museum in Sarajevo and leading collectors in the Middle East including Cuadro Fine Art in Dubai, Salsali Private Museum and Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah. In 2008 Sabella was awarded Ellen Auerbach Award by the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.

Stephen Stapleton
British artist, curator and Co-founder of Edge of Arabia, an independent arts initiative and an internationally recognized platform for dialogue and exchange between the Middle East and western world. Edge of Arabia attempts to develop the appreciation of contemporary Arab art and culture with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia. In 2012, Stephen curated #COMETOGEHER, an ambitious exhibition in East London that featured large-scale, multi-media work by thirty established and emerging Arab and Islamic World artists.