Resume

 

Sama Alshaibi

b. 1973, Basra, Iraq
Regents Professor
Photography, Video & Imaging | School of Art | University of Arizona
Director, Racial Justice Studio| Race/Remix | Arizona Arts

Education

2005   MFA, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
1999   BA, Columbia College Chicago, Illinois

Monograph

2023 “Sama Alshaibi: Tell it the River,” text by Dr. Huma Gupta and Sama Alshaibi. Forward by Dr. Nina Heydemann, curatorial essay/interview by Mo Reda and Cima Azzam, Maraya Art Centre, UAE. 155 pages, including 50 photographs and text.

2015Sama Alshaibi: Sand Rushes In,” foreword by Salwa Mikdadi, text by Alfredo Cramerotti, and book editor and interview with Isabella Ellaheh Hughes, Aperture Foundation Press, NYC. 112 pages, including 102 photographs and text.

Selected Fellowships, Grants & Awards

2024  Resident Fellow, The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Bellagio, Italy
2024 Mellon-Fronteridades Faculty Fellowship, Confluencenter, University of Arizona, AZ, USA
2023 Artist2Artist Betty Parsons Fellow, Art Matters, NYC, NY, USA
2022-2024  Racial Justice Studio Fellow, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
2022  Regents Professor, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
2021 Guggenheim Fellowship, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, NYC, NY, USA
2021 Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ, USA
2019 First Prize, Project Development Grant, The Center at Santa Fe, NM, USA
2018 Artist Research and Development Grant, AZ Commission on the Arts, USA
2018 Research, Discovery and Innovation Faculty Grant, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
2017 AFAC Visual Artist Grant, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut, Lebanon
2016 Sovereign MENA Art Prize, Sovereign Art Foundation, Nominee
2014-15 Fulbright Scholars Fellowship (Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine), IIE Council for International Exchange of Scholars, USA
2014 Public Art Commission, Light it UP, City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture Public Art Program, Phoenix, AZ, USA
2014 Arab American Book Award - The Evelyn Shakir Non-fiction Award, We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War, The Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan, USA
2013 1885 Distinguished Scholar, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
2010 Faculty Research Development Grant, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
2008 Honorable Mention – National Teaching Award, Excellence in Photographic Education, CENTER, Santa Fe, NM, USA
2007 Grant Recipient, Feminist Review Trust, London, UK

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2025
Paratext, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE, forthcoming

2023
Sama Alshaibi: Silsila, Hattan Gallery at Colorado State University in collaboration with the Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO, catalog
Tell It To The River, Maraya Art Center, Sharjah, UAE (Curators: Mo Reda and Cima Azzam), catalog

2022
Sama Alshaibi: Generation After Generation, Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award solo exhibition, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Sama Alshaibi: Four Series, Zane Bennett Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2021
Sama Alshaibi: Grainlines, Kittredge Gallery, University of Washington at Puget Sound, WA
Model of Motions, form & concept gallery, Santa Fe, NM (Collaboration with Michael Fadel)

2019
Staging the Imagined, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE, catalog
Until Total Liberation, Artpace, San Antonio, TX (Curator: Dr. Deborah Willis)

2017
Sama Alshaibi: Silsila, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, NY

2016
Sama Alshaibi: Silsila, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ, USA (Curator: Claire C. Carter), catalog

2015
Collapse, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE (Curator: Maymanah Farhat)
Sand Rushes In, Ayyam Gallery, London, UK (Curator: Isabella Ellaheh Hughes)

2011
End of September, Selma Feriani Gallery, London, UK
vs. Him, Lawrie Shabibi Gallery, Dubai, UAE

2010
Zero Sum Game, Selma Feriani Gallery, London, UK
Between Two Rivers, Al-Hoash Gallery, East Jerusalem
FLIGHT, Lycoming College of Art Gallery, PA

2009
Between Two Rivers, Al-Kahf Gallery, Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine
SUMOUD, Hoffmaster Gallery at Lawrence University, Appleton, WI

2006
My Apartheid Vacation, Zero Station, Portland, ME

2005
Women, War, and Peace: Feminist Interventions in a Time of Conflict,
St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN

2004
Where Do the Birds Fly After the Last Sky? El Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española, Antigua, Guatemala
Where Do the Birds Fly After the Last Sky? La Fabrica Arte Contemporaneo, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2003
Zaman I Remember, La Fabrica Arte Contemporaneo, Guatemala City, Guatemala

Selected Group Exhibitions


2025
Uncanny, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C., forthcoming
The Lost Paintings, P21 Gallery, London, UK, forthcoming

2024
Nepantla: The Land is the Beloved, Tacoma Art Museum, Washington (Curator: Maymanah Farhat)
A Love Letter to This Bridge Called My Back, Urban Arts Space, Ohio (Curators: Dr. Joni Acuff and Dr. gloria j. wilson)
Staging Oneself, Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns City, Australia (Curator: Julietta Park)
Reclaiming Visions, Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, Abu Dhabi, UAE (Curator: Dr. Michaela Watrelot), catalog
Family, Community, Belonging: Works from the Collection, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ

2023
Something Else, Third Edition of the Off Biennale Cairo, Egypt (Curator: Simon Njami)
Resonating Tides, Women’s Pavilion, COP28, Expo City Dubai (Curator: Janet Bellotto)
Iraq: Beyond the Two Rivers, Keller Gallery at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA (Curator: Dr. Huma Gupta)
<terminal>, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN
Crafting Resistance, Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ (Curator: Erin Joyce)
Being and Belonging, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada (Curators: Fahmida Suleman and Silvia Forni), catalog
We Love Life Whenever We Can, Washington & Lee University, Lexington, VA
Revolt Against The Sun, Shasha Film Program & Festival, Feb 1st – April 31st, online

2022
LOCATE: State of the Art 2020, Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH
The Intimacy of Distance: Explorations of the Figure/Ground, Marshall Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (Curators: Douglas Marshall and Lawrence Gipe)
This Land Is Your Music, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN (live music and composition by musician Pieta Brown with film screening)
LOOKING AT US: Examining Institutional Critique, Idyllwild Arts, Idyllwild, CA (Curators: Roshii Montano and Ninabah Winton)
Heterotopia, Cihan Gallery, Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq (Curator: Ahmad Nabaz)
SXSW 2022: Wonder House, Austin, TX
LOCATE: State of the Art 2020, Art Museum South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX 
LOCATE: State of the Art 2020, MOCA Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL
What Photography Is, Eleanor D. Wilson Museum, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA (Curator: Kyra Schmidt), catalog

2021
EL devenir / The Becoming, The Front Arte & Cultura Gallery, San Diego, CA
Converging Lines: Tracing the Artistic Lineage of the Arab Diaspora in the U.S., Middle East Institute Gallery, Washington D.C. (Curator: Maymanah Farhat)
Roots, Granga Paraiso, Germantown, NY
Women in the Face of History, Tisch Art Galleries, NYU University and Photoville, NYC, USA (Curator: Dr. Deborah Willis)

2020
State of the Art 2020, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art / the Momentary, Bentonville, AR (Curator: Lauren Haynes, Allison Glenn, and Alejo Benedetti)
Reframed, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa, FL
The Fourth Wall, the 21st Biennale of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (Curator: Mo Reda)
100 Years, 100 Women, Park Avenue Armory, NYC, NY (includes commission; co-organized by Dr. Deborah Willis & NYU Tisch)
Migration(s) and Meaning in Art, Meyerhoff Gallery, MICA, Baltimore, MD (Curator: Deborah Willis), catalog
The Democracy Project: 2020, Artillery Magazine, virtual exhibition (Curators: Lawrence Gipe, Antoine Girard)
Echoes & Perceptions, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE
Geo-Graphies: Identity Rituals and Fragile Ecosystems, Palmieri’s Foundation, Lecce, Italy

2019
13th Cairo International Biennale, Cairo, Egypt
Women's Work: Art & Activism in the 21st Century, Pen + Brush, NYC, NY (Curated by Grace Aneiza Ali), catalog
Person, Perception, Persona, Northlight Gallery, Phoenix, AZ

2018
Tribe: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World, American University Museum, Washington D.C., USA (Curated by Janet Bellotto and Dr. Woodman Taylor)
30 Years: An Open Eye to the Arab World, Institut Du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
BredaPhoto International Festival 2018: From Infinity and Beyond, Breda, Netherlands
Water/Trespassing Liquid Highways, Gallery 102, Washington D.C.
(Curator: Ikram Lakhdhar)
The Arrangements of the Soul in the Universe, Langgeng Art Foundation, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (Curator: Mo Reda)
Arizona Biennial 2018, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ (Juror: Rebecca R. Hart)
Palestine Through Photography: 70th year of the “Nekba,” Beirut Spring Festival 2018, Beirut, Lebanon
you+topia, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE
Zeytinburnu International Photography Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
Walk in My Shoes, Gallery at Tempe Center for the Arts, Tempe, AZ (Curator: Michelle Nichols Dock)

2017
Frammenti Senza Tempo (Timeless Fragments), Palazzo Granafei-Nervegna, Brindisi, Italy
Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor, Tucson Museum of Art, AZ (Curator: Julie Sasse), catalog
Suspended Territories: Artists from the Middle East and North Africa, Marta Herford Museum of Art, Herford, Germany, UK, catalog
No to The Invasion: Breakdowns and Side Effects, CCS Bard Hessel Museum and Galleries, NY (Curator: Fawz Kabra), catalog
Our Night Is Long, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE
Beautiful Stranger, Museum De Wieger, Deurne, Netherlands, (Curator: Diana Wiegersma), catalogue
Middle of Now | Here, Honolulu Biennial 2017, Honolulu, Hawai'i (Curatorial Director: Fumio Nanjo; Curator: Ngahiraka Mason)
Boundaries, Brentwood Arts Exchange, Maryland

2016
The People of the Sea (The Sea is Mine), Qalandiya International 2016, Haifa (commissioner: The Arab Culture Foundation; curator: Mohamed Badarne)
Krisis, Bonington Gallery at Trent University, Nottingham, UK
April Showers, Desai Matta Gallery, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA (Curator: Tomiko Jones)
New York Light Festival, New York City, NY

2015
Arab Territories, as part of "Constantine – Capital of Arab Culture 2015", Palace of Culture, Algiers, Algeria, (Curator: Nadira Laggoune-Aklouche), catalog
View from Inside: Contemporary Arab Photography, Video and Multimedia Art, Abu Dhabi Festival, Emirates Palace Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE (Curators: Wendy Watriss and Karin Adrian von Roques), catalog
10, Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, MI (Curator: Maymanah Farhat)
VIVA Festival, Malta
Unexplored Territories, Pirineos Sur Festival, Spain

2014
Chain of Fire: Prologue Exhibition of the Honolulu Biennial, Hawai’i (Curators: Dr. Kóan Jeff Baysa & Isabella Ellaheh Hughes)
International Symposium on Electronic Art, Dubai, UAE (curated by Joshua Watts)
Portable Nation, Fondazione Fish - Visual Arts Center Museum of Contemporary Art, Pesaro, Italy (Curator: Camilla Boemio)
Intelligence Report, Peacock Visual Arts Center for Contemporary Art, Aberdeen, Scotland (Curator: Jay Murphy)
Fluid Forms II, Samsung Blue Square & Busan Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
(Curator: Yu Yeon Kim)
FotoFest 2014 International Biennial, Houston, TX (Curators: Wendy Watriss and Karin Adrian von Roques), catalogue
Opposing Gestures| two-person exhibition with Joseph Farbrook. University of Southern Maine Art Galleries, Portland/Gorham, ME
Architecture of Memory| two-person exhibition with Dena Al-Adeeb, Mana Contemporary, New Jersey City, NJ
MADATAC – 6th New Media Festival, Centro Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid, Spain (Curator: Iury Lech) 
Intelligence Report, Peacock Visual Arts: Center for Contemporary Art, Aberdeen, Scotland (Curator: Jay Murphy) 

2013
Edition #1, Edge of Arabia Gallery, London, UK
The 55th Venice Biennale (Maldives Pavilion), Venice, Italy (Curators: Aida Eltorie and Alfredo Cramerotti), catalog
The Map Is Not The Territory, Jerusalem Fund Gallery, Washington D.C.
En Foco/In Focus: Selected Works From the Permanent Collection, Venice Art Gallery, Venice, LA, CA (Curator: Elizabeth Ferrer), catalog
Semblance, Center for Visual Art, Metro State University, Denver, CO
The 6th Madrid Palestine Film Festival, Madrid, Spain
ikono On Air Festival, Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, Germany
Visual Arts Festival Damascus, DEPO, Istanbul, Turkey

2012
Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema from the 1960s until Now, Museum of Modern Art, NYC, NY (Curators: Rasha Salti and Jytte Jensen)
Primal Seen Revealed: Selections from the CU Art Museum’s Collection of Photography, CU Art Museum, Boulder, CO
#COMETOGETHER: Edge of Arabia, Old Truman Brewery, London, UK.
Presenting Absence: Moving Images of Palestine, Bonnington Gallery, Nottingham, UK (Curator: Dr. Anna Ball), catalog
Come Visit Us, You’ll Strike Gold, HilgerBROTKunsthalle, Vienna, Austria (Curator: Diana Wiegersma from Nadour), catalog
The Changing Room, The HUB: official programming of the London 2012 Festival/Cultural Olympiad, UK (Curator: Aida Eltorie), catalog
Alienation, Barjeel Foundation, Sharjah, UAE (Curator: Mandy Merzaban), catalog
Corps Dévoilés, Institut Du Monde Arabe, Paris, France, catalogue
NOT ABOUT BOMBS, Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis, MN (Curator: Tricia Khutoretsky)
3rd Digital Marrakech, Centre Culturel Atlas Golf Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco
London Palestine Film Festival, Barbican Cinema, London, UK; SOAS, London, UK; UCL, London, UK
Mahatat for Contemporary Art, Lazoghly Square, Cairo, Egypt

2011
Renditions, CAVE/Contemporary Arab Video Encounter, Maraya Art Center, Sharjah, UAE
The Changing Room: Arab Reflections on Praxis and Times, Spazio Qubi in association with Metro Quadro Gallery (Rivoli), Turino, Italy(Curator: Aida Eltorie), catalog
En Foco/In Focus: Selected Works from the Permanent Collection, Lightwork, Robert B. Menschel Media Center, Syracuse, NY
Breaking Ranks: Human/Nature, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
Of Mind and Memory| two-person exhibition with Dena Al-Adeeb, Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley, CA (Curator: Anuradha Vikram)
24th Instants Video Festival - International Video Art and Multimedia Festival, Mexico City, Mexico
LUMEN - International Video and Performance Art Festival, Staten Island, New York City, New York 
Houston Palestine Film Festival, Houston, Texas
Dreams of A Nation Palestine Film Festival, Columbia University, New York City, New York

2008-2011
THE VEIL: Visible & Invisible Spaces: (Curator: Jennifer Heath)
• Santa Clara University, de Saisset Museum, CA, 2011
• The Art Museum at the University of Kentucky, KY, 2011
• Penelec-Bowman-Megahan Art Galleries of Allegheny College, PA, 2011
• California State University - Dominguez Hills, Feb, 2010
• CAS Galleries, Kean University, Union, NJ, 2010
• DePauw University, Richard E. Peeler Art Center, 2010
• Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art, University of Connecticut, Jan, 2009
• Indiana University East Art Galleries, March, 2009
• Drury University Pool Art Center Galleries, Oct, 2009
• Dairy Center for The Arts, Boulder, CO, April, 2008
• DePauw University, Peeler Art, IN, Sept, 2008
• University of Arkansas Fine Arts Center Gallery – Fayetteville, AR, Oct, 2008
• Union Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Nov, 2008
catalog

2010
JASAD/BODY: Sama Alshaibi and Ninar Esber| two-person exhibition, Mole Vanvitelliana, Adriatic Mediterranean Festival, Ancona, Italy
The State, Traffic Gallery, Dubai, UAE. (Curator: Rami Farook), catalogue
Bringing The War Home, Impressions Gallery, Bradford, UK, (Curator: Pippa Oldfield), catalogue
Hiwar, DARB 1718, Cairo, Egypt (Curator: Khadija Hamdi)
Hiwar, Le Violon Bleu, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia (Curator: Khadija Hamdi), catalogue
War and The Body, London, UK (Curator: Sarah Maltby)
This Is Not A Love Song, The Empty Quarter, Dubai, UAE (Curator: Elie Domit), catalog
Bearing Witness, LightWork Gallery, Syracuse, NY
Carrying Across, Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, PA (Curator: Yvonne Lung)
Zoom Contemporary Art Festival, Miami, Florida
Al-Kasaba International Film Festival, Al-Kasaba Theater and Cinematheque, Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine 
Toronto Palestine Film Festival, Toronto, Canada
Dust To Dust: Remains in the Desert, Salon Covadonga, Roma, Mexico
The Chicago Palestinian Film Festival, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, Illinois

2006-2009
Our People, Our Land, Our Images, catalog
(Curators: Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie and Veronica Passalacqua)
• Amerind Foundation, Dragoon, AZ, July 8, 2008 – March, 2009
• Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN, Feb 4 – May 11, 2008
• Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA, Oct 6, 2007 – January 27, 2008
• Burke Museum, Seattle, WA, March 3 – May 27, 2007
• Carl Nelson Gorman Museum, Davis, CA, April 8 – June 23, 2006

2009
Inside/Outside & Other Oxymoron’s, Levantine Cultural Center Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Beyond Borders, Rafia Gallery, Damascus, Syria (Curator: Rafia Kod), catalog
Incheon Women Artists' Biennale, Incheon, South Korea, catalog
BLOWOUT, Empty Quarter, Dubai, UAE (Curator: Elie Domit)
Mapping Palestine, ArtSchool Palestine, ArtDubai Projects, Dubai, UAE (Curator: Samar Martha), catalog
Aperture 27,000, Le Violon Bleu, London, UK (Curator: Selma Tuqan), catalog
Motherhood and Revolution: Sama Alshaibi and Beth Krensky|two person exhibition, CalArts, Valencia, CA
17 Days Video Art Exhibition, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
MidEastCut, Copenhagen, Denmark; Helsinki, Finland  
1st Video Art Festival, All Art Now Foundation, Damascus, Syria 

2008
Border Walls, Boltax Gallery, Shelter Island, NY, USA (Curator: Nuala Clarke)
Enfoco Presents: Sama Alshaibi and Myra Greene| two-person exhibition, Umbrella Arts Gallery, New York City, NY
Jordan Short Film Festival, Amman, Jordan 
Happy Days, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Thessaloniki, Greece
DokuFest, Prizren, Kosovo
A Day of Collaborative Performance | with 6+ Collective | Bronx Museum, New York City, New York 

 
2007 -2008 Centers and Borders (Curator: Dr. George Rivera)
• XYZ Gallery, 798 Art District, Beijing, China, 2008
• Black Bridge Art Gallery, Beijing, China, 2008
• Ningxia Exhibition Center, Yinchaun, China, 2007
• The Gallery of School of Fine Arts, Yinchaun, China, 2007

2007
Sultana’s Dream, Exit Art, New York City, NY, catalog
Pingyao International Photography Festival, Pingyao, China, catalog
Selection From The Collection, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Jordan
Women on The Move: Refugees, Migration and Exile, University of West England, Bristol, UK
We Make The Road By Walking| two-person exhibition with Beth Krensky, Mizel Museum, Denver, CO, catalogue
CinemaEast Film Festival, IFC Center, New York City, New York

2006-2008 Secrets, catalog
• Glass Curtain Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA, 2008
• The Dairy Center for the Arts, Boulder, CO, USA, 2007
• Al Hoash Contemporary Art Gallery, East Jerusalem, 2006
• The Khalil Sakakini Center, Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine, 2006
• Al-Kahf Gallery, Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine, 2006

2005
Juannio, Subasta Para el Arte Contemporaneo 2005, Museo De Arte Moderno “Carlos Merida”, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Afrofuturism, Soap Factory (juried by the Obsidian Arts), Minneapolis, MN
Mizna 3rd Annual Arab Film Festival, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Multiplex Film Festival, The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, Minnesota
PREFACIO, La Fabrica Arte Contemporaneo, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Re-interpreting the Middle East Beyond the Historical Stereotype
• Sisson Gallery, Henry Ford College, Dearborn, MI
• Southern Graphics Council International, Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington D.C.
• Mackenzie Fine Arts Center, Dearborn, MI
• Virginia Tech University, WV

2004
The Discourse of Others, Salon de Artes Plasticas, Mexico City, Mexico
Visiones del Norte, Academia de San Carlos, Mexico City, Mexico, catalogue

2003
BLOOD Lines & Connections, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO

Residencies

2024 The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency, Bellagio, Italy
2024 SHPRS/ASU Art Museum Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, Arizona State University, AZ, USA
2022 Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO, USA
2021 University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA
2019 Artpace International Artist Residency, San Antonio, Texas, USA
2015 Palace of Culture, Algiers, Algeria
2013 Ward Culture and Arts Center, Ofolk, Egypt
2011 A.M. Qattan Foundation, Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine
2010 Light Work, Syracuse, New York, USA
2008 Darat Al Funun, Shoman Foundation, Amman, Jordan
2007 Darat Al Funun, Shoman Foundation, Amman, Jordan
2005 Dar Annadwa, Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine

Public Collections

The Photography Institute Archive at The Getty Research Institute, The Getty Museum, CA, USA (part of the Photography Institute Archive)
The Center for Creative Photography, AZ, USA
ASU Art Museum, Tempe, AZ, USA
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, NY, USA
Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ, USA
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA
The Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, Michigan, USA
The Gorman Museum, CA, USA
The Prints Collection Archive, The University of Mississippi, MS, USA
The Corcoran College of Art & Design, Washington D.C., USA
The ‘Colorado Collection,’ University of Colorado Art Museum, CO, USA
The University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA
St. Louis Artists’ Guild, MO, USA
LightWork Collection, NY, USA
En Foco Collection, NY, USA
Henry Ford Community College, MI, USA
Nadour Collection, Germany
The Khalid Shoman Foundation - Darat Al Funun, Jordan
Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
The Samawi Collection, Dubai, UAE
Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, UAE
Farook Collection, Traffic Gallery, Dubai, UAE
Museum of Tunisia, Tunisia
The International Center of Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine

Selected Presentations & Curatorial Projects

2024
The Circle Was a Point: Photography From The Barjeel Art Foundation, The Foundry, Dubai, UAE (Co-curated with Amir Hazim)*
Panelist, “The Circle Was a Point: Mohammed Somji in conversation with Sama Alshaibi and Amir Hazim,” The Foundry Downtown, Dubai, UAE
Panelist, Sama Alshaibi in conversation with Jason Bruner, Chouki El Hamel, Shahla Talebi and Estibalitz Ezkerra Vegas, School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA

2023
Panelist, “Future of Visual Art,” Dialogues in Contemporary Art, Fenaa Alawwal, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Conversation,Gender, Art and Body Politics: Dr. Nadje Al-Ali and Prof Kathryn Spellman Poots in conversation with Sama Alshaibi,” Brown University, RI, USA               
Conversation, From the Great Flood to the Great Migration: Dr. Huma Gupta in conversation with Sama Alshaibi and Sadik Kwaish Alfraji,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Artist Talk, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Conversation, Beyond the Western Gaze: Reclaiming Identities in the Art of Sama Alshaibi,” Royal Ontario Museum, Canada
Keynote Speaker, “Decolonial Feminist Ecologies: Exploring Gendered Landscapes of Body, Migration, and Climate,” University of Glasgow in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and University of Strathclyde, UK
Artist Talk, San Jose University, San Jose, CA, USA
Keynote Speaker, “An Index of Return,” Society for Photographic Education National Conference, Denver, CO, USA

2022               
Artist Talk, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
Artist Talk, Phoenix Art Museum, AZ, USA
Panelist, “Water,” Elements of the Anthropocene Symposium, New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE
Panelist, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX, USA
Artist Talk, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO, USA
Artist Talk, University of Houston, Texas, USA
Artist Talk, MOCA, Jacksonville, FL, USA

2021               
Artist Talk, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Conversation, Double Exposure: Sama Alshaibi and Hazem Harb,” Afikra podcast, Beirut, Lebanon
Artist Talk, University of Washington at Puget Sound, WA, USA
Panelist, “Cultural Hybridity and the Art of Diaspora,” Middle East Institute, Washington D.C.
Panelist, “Imagine Democracy,” Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, UK
Artist Talk, “Decolonizing Art Narratives: Sama Alshaibi in conversation w/ Beral Madra,” Virginia Commonwealth University, Doha, Qatar
Artist Talk, “Sama Alshaibi and Rania Matar,” Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, USA
Panelist, “Photography from the Middle East: A Window into Time and Place,” Intersect Art Fair. Moderator: Sueraya Shaheen.
Panelist, “Women and Migrations: Meanings in Art and Practice,” Chairs: Cheryl Finley, Spelman College; Deborah Willis, Tisch School of the Arts NYU. Alshaibi: “Instrument and System: bracketing Middle Eastern women within the photographic image,” College Arts Association National Conference. Online.

2020                
Artist Talk, “Visiting Artist Colloquium: Sama Alshaibi,” University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Panelist, “Women in Photography: In Front of and Behind the Camera,” Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa, FL, USA
Panelist, "New Paradigms that Celebrate Achievement and Diversity, Round Table discussion with Rebecca Senf, Fatemeh Baigmoradi, and Sama Alshaibi,” Medium Summit | Medium Photo, CA, USA
Panelist, “Reading the Moment, Session #1: Who Gets to Picture, Narrate, Position?” Light Work (NY), the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) and SUNY Oswego (NY)
Panelist, “Photography, History and Systems of Power,” Photoville, NYC, NY, USA
Artist Talk, “Speak to Silence,” Women & Migrations: Responses in Art, History and Policy Symposium, NYU Washington D.C. campus, Washington D.C.
Panelist,Migration(s) and Meaning in Art,” MICA, Baltimore, MD, USA
Artist Talk, “Body as Site: Politics and Art with Sama Alshaibi,” University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AK, USA
Artist Talk,Imaging the Imagined,” University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

2019               
Featured Speaker
, “Carry Over,” Review Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Artist Talk, “Carry Over,” Women & Migrations conference, NYU Abu Dhabi campus, UAE
Artist Talk, Artpace, San Antonio, TX, USA

2018   
Panelist, “Arts of Intervention,” Center for the Study of Social Difference at Columbia University, NYC, NY, USA
Image Maker Talk, “Ever Farther,” Society for Photographic Education National Conference, Philadelphia, PA, USA

2017               
Artist Talk, Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Artist Talk, “Unchain My Feet,” Decolonizing Vision Speaker Series, New York University Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality and A/P/A, NYC, NY, USA
Artist Talk, “Carry Over,” Women & Migrations conference, NYU Florence campus, Italy
Artist Talk, “The Length of the Neck,” Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Panel Discussion, “Migration, Patterns and Ecologies,” with Brett Graham, The Hub, Honolulu Biennial 2017, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

2016       
Artist Talk, “Silsila,” Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Artist Talk, “Sand Rushes In,” in conversation with Maymanah Farhat, Aperture Foundation, New York City, NY, USA
Artist Talk, “On Art and Beauty,” Montclair State University, New Jersey, USA
Artist Talk,Spring Photo Lecture Series: Sama Alshaibi,” Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, USA

 

2014               
Panel Discussion, “New Frontiers: Art, Media, and Islamic Communities,” Hawai'i International Film Festival and the Honolulu Biennial Foundation, Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA
Artist Talk, “Sand Rushes In: The Desert, The Border, The Body in the artwork of Sama Alshaibi,” Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ
Panel Discussion, “Gender in the Photographic Arts: Middle East, North Africa,” moderated by Maya El Khalil, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA
Panel Discussion, “Roundtable Discussion with FotoFest Exhibiting Artists,” Arab Cultural Center, Houston, Texas, USA
Artist Talk, “Sand Rushes In: The Desert, The Border, The Body in the artwork of Sama Alshaibi,” Contemporary Arab and Muslim Culture Institute, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

2013               
Director’s Talk, “Letters to An Emerging Artist,” Society for Photographic Education Southwest Conference, Denver, Colorado, USA
Panel Discussion, “How Can Iraq Speak Its History,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, USA
Panel Discussion, “Artists in Conversation: Sama Alshaibi and Neil Chowdhury,” Center for Visual Art, Denver, Colorado, USA

2012
Panel Discussion, “New Perspectives from The Edge of Arabia”, Art Salon, Art Basel, Miami Beach, Miami, Florida, USA
Panel Discussion, “The Socializing Role of Technology: Working With Communities,” #COMETOGETHER: Edge of Arabia, Old Truman Brewery, London, UK
Artist Talk, “My Artistic Evolution, American Corner,” United Arab Emirates University Female Campus, Al Maqam, UAE (part of U.S. Department of State Arts Envoy to the UAE)
Artist Talk, “The Representation of Women in Art and My Practice,” American Corner, HCT Fujairah Women’s College, Al Ain, UAE
Public Talk, “My Artistic Evolution,” East Coast Photographers Conference, Al Fujairah, UAE
Panel Discussion, “Where do we go from here? Women in Contemporary Arab Art,” Traffic Gallery, Dubai, UAE
Director Talk - Q&A, The Pavilion, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE
Public Talk, “Symbol, Story and Process: insight into the conceptual imagery of Sama Alshaibi,” Maraya Arts Center, Sharjah, UAE (part of U.S. Department of State Arts Envoy to the UAE)
Public Talk, “The Representation of Women in Art,” Dar Ibn Al Haitham, Bastakiyah, Dubai, UAE (part of U.S. Department of State Arts Envoy to the UAE)
Public Talk, “Transculture and Nomadic Existence of Contemporary Artists,” UAE Photography Association, Sharjah, UAE (part of U.S. Department of State Arts Envoy to the UAE)
Panel Discussion, “Artist as Nomad,” moderated by Sama Alshaibi, The March Meeting, Sharjah Foundation, Sharjah, UAE

 

2011               
Director/Artist Q&A, Alwan For The Arts, NYC, New York, USA
Artist Talk, “Baghdadi Mem/Wars,” San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California, USA 
Artist Talk, The Pavilion, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE

 

2010               
Panel Discussion, “The Tale of Two Exiles,” MESA Conference, San Diego, California, USA
Artist Talk, “In These Rooms,” Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Artist Talk, “Flight,” Lycoming College of Art Gallery, Pennsylvania, USA
Directors Forum, The Palestinian Chicago Film Festival, The Gene Siskel Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Visiting Artist Talk, “SUMOUD,” State University of New York at Oswego, New York, USA

2009               
Artist Talk, “SUMOUD,” Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA
Panel Discussion, “Iraqi Refugees in Jordan: a silence broken,” Colloquium Series, UA Department of Near Eastern Studies - University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Visiting Artist Talk, San Juan College, Farmington, New Mexico, USA
Panel Discussion, “Beyond Counterstance,” Arts in the One World Conference, CalArts, Valencia, California, USA

 

2008               
Artist Talk, “Our Land, Our People, Our Images,” Amerind Foundation, Arizona
Panel Discussion, “Border Identities: Negotiating the Line in Contemporary Middle Eastern Art”, Developing and Assessing Intercultural Competence, CERCLL, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Visiting Artist Talk, “Women, War and Violence,” Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Panel Discussion, “Collaboration and Feminist Practice,” Bronx Museum, New York City, New York, USA
Artist Talk, “Birthright,” Peer Gallery, Chelsea, New York City, New York, USA
Panel Discussion, “We Make the Road By Walking: an Interfaith Collaboration,” In Perfect Harmony Symposium, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

 

2007               
Directors Forum, CinemaEast Film Festival, IFC Theater, New York City, New York, USA
Panel Discussion, “Without Papers,” | co-authored with Dr. Marvin Gladney | MESA 2007 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada
Panel Discussion, “Facts on The Ground: daily life in the West Bank,” Center for Middle East Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
Panel Discussion, “Gender and Identity in the Middle East and Latin America,” Center for Middle East Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson

 

2006               
Panel Discussion, “Expressions under Duress: Palestinian Creative and Visual Arts,” chaired by Sama Alshaibi, MESA Annual Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 
Visiting Artist Talk, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana, USA
Panel Discussion, “Emails from Palestine: An Electronic Witness to the Palestinian Apartheid,” AUESTA Conference, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Panel Discussion, “The Idea of Home: Memory Work in The Palestinian Diaspora,” Mapping Arab Diasporas Conference, Center for Arab American Studies, University of Michigan, Dearborn, Michigan, USA
Panel Discussion, “Women Imaging Women,” Birthright, International Indigenous Photographers Conference & Exhibition, University of California, Davis, California, USA

Representation

Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE
Email: dubai@ayyamgallery.com
Website: ayyamgallery.com/artists/sama-alshaibi