Hiba Schahbaz

Karachi-born Brooklyn artist Hiba Schahbaz trained in traditional Indo-Persian miniature painting made with tea in Lahore, Pakistan, and went on to get her MFA at Pratt in NY. It wasn’t until she was on bedrest for an injury that she broke tradition and made her first large paintings. Her process is meditative and ritualistic with a focus on self-portraiture and femininity. “On a normal day, I need lots of women in my life… Over time, the female presence in my life became so strong that, while painting, I often considered my life and my narrative. Now when I paint, I think more of the collective. It’s always present. It’s natural for it to seep into my work.” Learn more about Hiba here.

Dima Srouji

Dima is a Palestinian architect and visual artist. In her three-part installation, This is Not Your Grave, a bathtub, staircase and tunnel are places of protection and where design is a tool for releasing tension. In her words,  “it is not necessarily just architectural spaces and domestic spaces where you can hide in a tunnel underground or use the tunnel underground as a space of resistance, but also elements as simple as a bathtub used as sites of shelter … because if the bombing is happening in the neighborhood nearby and you can’t run downstairs as quickly as you need to, then the closest safe space is a bathtub. The same thing with the staircase... The tunnel, stair, and bathtub evoke emotions of joy, cleansing, shedding, and provide a glimpse of liberation through their simple forms that offer a sense of security.” Learn more about Dima here.  

Thank you for being here! T - 27 hours until Goodnight Moon. I can’t wait to see you IRL. Till soon. XxA

Forwarded this message? Sign up for free and join hundreds of weekly readers who explore contemporary art and deepen their connection with the art world. If the spirit moves you, forward this art delivery to a friend.