Aya Haidar
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Biography
My investigation of the limitations of a visual language within fine art leads me to explore the fundamental elements of language that contribute to a story. This overlap plays on one's senses of memory and imagination. I place myself at the centre of the work, both physically as the object and emotionally as the subject.
My current work focuses on the recycling of found and disposable objects making poetic works that explore labour, displacement, domesticity, womanhood and memory, with a particular focus on the Middle East through the histories contained within aged, and culturally specific objects.
I further develop this aspect of re-using objects to re-create narratives, to explore memory with a focus on older objects from previous generations. This idea of the development of a generational craft work that spans time, at once explores hand me down skills, stories and community, and by extension, cultural specificity and intercultural nature of British society.
My focus on developing inter-cultural dialogues is a vital step in the support of offering alternative ways to see the world, and initiate debate about the globalised world we live in. I see my work contributing to dialogues around global cultures, media and questions of identity, both national and personal.
I explore whether the durational aspect of craft, more so than other artforms, expresses concepts of time, through the way in which the hand of the artist is inherent within the medium. Alongside this a consideration of whether the voice is inherent within craft and its histories, alluding to feminist narratives by bringing the domestic into a more discursive platform.
By reviewing history, authorship and authenticity, Cultural and historical customs are drawn out. Networks are re-worked where the material shapes the way the viewer identifies with stories and engagement can happen. Stories are recounted, history, authorship and authenticity are again revisited.
Aya Haidar is a London-based artist whose practice is closely engaged with socially-situated and institutionally-led projects. She has contributed to a wide range of public and participatory initiatives, including programmes with UP Projects, Kettle’s Yard, PEER, Camden Art Centre, Shubbak Festival, Mosaic Rooms’ Together Apart: Lockdown Diaries, INIVA’s A Place for Conversation and Emotional Learning Cards, the V&A’s Stitching Borders and Record, Resist, Reframe, and Tate’s Illuminating Cultures. In 2016, she was selected for Do It Arab, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Hoor Al Qasimi.
Her artist residencies include Deveron Projects (Aberdeenshire), Cubitt Arts (London), and Three Rivers Trust (Bexley). Haidar has exhibited widely in both institutional and commercial contexts, with presentations at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Somerset House, the Whitworth, Kettle’s Yard, Cromwell Place, Cubitt, New Art Exchange, Mosaic Rooms, Casa Árabe (Madrid), Beirut Art Week, and Art Berlin Contemporary, alongside participations in major international fairs including FIAC, Frieze London, Art Dubai, Abu Dhabi Art, Art Istanbul, and Jeddah 21,39.
Haidar holds a BA in Fine Art from the Slade School of Fine Art, including an exchange at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and an MSc in NGOs and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her work has been published in The Guardian, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Tribe Magazine, Elephant, and Canvas, among others.
Her work is held in significant institutional collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (UK), the Jameel Collection (KSA), the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (UAE), and the Black Gold Museum (KSA).Aya Haidar lives and works in London.
EDUCATION
2008-2009, MSc NGOs and Development (Merit), London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
2004-2008, BA Fine Art, 21, Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London, UK
2006-2007, Student Exchange, Fibre and Materials Studies Department, School of the Art Institute, Chicago, US
2003-2004, Foundation Course, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, UKSOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024, Battlegrounds, Tabari Artspace, UAE
2021, Dwelling on the Past, Abu Dhabi Art Beyond commission, UAE; Highly Strung, Cromwell Place, London, UK
2019, Out of Service, Cubitt Arts, London, UK
2017, Wish You Were Here, Athr Gallery, Jeddah, KSA
2016, Wish You Were Here, Art Berlin Contemporary, Berlin, Germany
2014, Year of Issue, New Art Exchange, Nottingham, UK
2011, Behind Closed Doors, Bischoff Weiss Gallery, London, UK
2009, Bischoff Weiss Gallery; Crewel Stories, 198 Gallery, London, UKGROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026, Same Air, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2025, Thread Memory, V&A Dundee, Dundee, UK; Material Power, Rewoven, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, UK; Social Fabric, Newlyn Art Gallery & Exchange, Penzance, UK; Innodyssey, Campbell Works, London, UK2024, Social Fabric (curated by Cat Gibbard), Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance, UK
2023, Material Power, The Whitworth, Manchester, UK; Material Power, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, UK
2022, Eternally Yours, Somerset House, London, UK
2020, Me, Myself and I, Collier Brystow Gallery, London, UK
2019, Southern Constellations, Museum of Contemporary Art, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Out of Place, Athr Gallery, Jeddah, KSA
2018, Out of Service, Cubitt Arts, London, UK
Refusing to Be Still, Jeddah 21,39, Jeddah, KSA
The Clocks Were Striking 13, Athr Gallery, Jeddah, KSA2017, Letters, Athr Gallery, Jeddah, KSA
2016, Do It (co-curated by Hoor Al Qasimi and Hans Ulrich Obrist), Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
2015, Mosaic Rooms, London, UK; I Spy with My Little Eye (curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath), Casa Árabe, Madrid, Spain
2014, A’Rebours, Bischoff Weiss Gallery, London, UK
Stitching Cyborgs, Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait City, Kuwait2013, Aya Haidar, Huda Lutfi, Sara Rahbar, Bischoff Weiss Gallery, London, UK
2012, Man and Dog, Lawrie Shabibi Gallery, Dubai, UAE
Text Me, Jiq Jaq Gallery, London, UK
The Bravery, Sultan Gallery, Kuwait City, Kuwait2010, Neither Here Nor There (curated by Lulu Al Sabah and Lydia Limerick), JAMM, London, UK
2007, Women for Peace, Stockholm, Sweden; Turtle (curated by Michael Shamberg), Woburn Studios, London, UK
2006, Galerie Artcore, Paris, France; Galeria do Palácio, Porto, Portugal
ART FAIRS
2024, Abu Dhabi Art, UAE (Tabari Artspace)
2024, Art Dubai, UAE (TabariArtspace)
2022, Abu Dhabi Art, UAE (Athr Gallery)
2019, Art Dubai, UAE (Athr Gallery)
Abu Dhabi Art, UAE (Athr Gallery)
2018, Art Dubai, UAE (Athr Gallery)
Abu Dhabi Art, UAE (Athr Gallery)
2017, Abu Dhabi Art, UAE (Athr Gallery)
2016, Art Dubai, UAE (Athr Gallery); ABC, Berlin (Athr Gallery); Abu Dhabi Art, UAE (Athr Gallery)
2015, Abu Dhabi Art, UAE (Athr Gallery)
2014, FIAC, Paris (Athr Gallery)
2013, MENASA, Beirut (Bischoff Weiss Gallery), Art Dubai, UAE (Bischoff Weiss Gallery)
2012, Art Dubai, UAE (Bischoff Weiss Gallery)
2011, Art Dubai, UAE (Bischoff Weiss Gallery)
2009, Art Dubai, UAE (Bischoff Weiss Gallery); FIAC, Paris (Bischoff Weiss Gallery)SELECTED PRESS & PUBLICATIONS
2025, Feminist Materialities in the Work of Three MENA Artists, The Dubai Collection
2025, In the Spirit of Connection, An Exhibition at Sharjah’s Maraya Art Centre Showcases Tatreez as a Powerful Aesthetic Force, Hadara Magazine
2024, Stitching the Intifada, by Rachel Dedman, Mojeh, Issue 120 (October 2024)
2023, Make Well, Hole & Corner; Patterns of Protest, The Guardian2022, Highly Strung, Athr Gallery; Hole & Corner, February Issue
BBC Arabic, 100 Women Series
2021, a-n Magazine, Issue 2; Katy Treggiden, In Conversation
2018, De Fil En Aiguille, Pyramid Editions 2018; Canvas Magazine, (February)
2017, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, (Summer); Tribe Magazine, (Spring)Art Dubai, Aya Haidar Profile
2016, Tribe Magazine, (Summer)
2015, Art of the Middle East, Modern and Contemporary Art from the Middle East and Iran by Saeb Eigner
2014, Art Reoriented; Financial Times2013, Harper's Bazaar Art Arabia (December); Beirut Art Fair Magazine; Femme Magazine; The National
2011, Contemporary Practices (February)
2010, Emotional Learning Cards, Institute of International Visual Arts (INIVA) Saudi Gazette
2009, ELLE Magazine; Clare Market Review, recipient of Best Visual Arts Feature; Art Dubai JournalSPECIAL PROJECTS
Aya has been involved in numerous social engagement projects, including The Camden Arts Center, Shubbak Festival, Mosaic Rooms’ Together Apart Lockdown Diaries, INIVA's A Place for Conversation, V&A's Stitching Borders and Record, Resist, Reframe, Tate's Illuminating Cultures program and INIVA’s Emotional Learning Cards, as well as being selected for Hans Ulrich Obrist and Hoor Al Qasemi’s Do It Arab project (2016).
2025, Museum Futures, V&A London, UK, Artscatalyst, Sheffield, UK; Hackney Circle workshop series, PEER, London, UK; Refugee Week Community Quilt, Roundchapel, London, UK; V&A East workshop series, London, UK
2023, Hackney Circle workshop series, PEER, London, UK; Material Power workshops, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, UK
2022, Stitching Borders, V&A, London, UK; School Studio Mend & Repair, Mosaic Rooms, London, UK; Sewing Dreams, Ambler Primary School, London, UK
2021, Making Ties, Three Rivers Trust, Bexley, UK
2020, Together Apart Lockdown Diaries, Mosaic Rooms, London
Summer School Program, Creative Practitioner, BA Spatial Design, UAL London, UK
2018/2019, Cubitt Arts, London, UK
2018, I Have Met The Enemy, Artist’s residency with Common Wealth, Wales, UK
2017/2018, Artist in Residence at Deveron Arts, Huntly, Scotland
2015, Collaborative project between INIVA, A-SPACE and Newport School, UK
Exhibited at INIVA, London, Uk
2014, RCD>PLY>RWD>FFD>STP>EJ, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, London, UK; A Place for Conversation, INIVA, London, UK
2013, Dwelling, public installation commissioned by Solidere in Saifi Village, Beirut
Hackney Live Project, INIVA, London, UK
2012, Record, Resist, Reframe, V&A, London, UK
2010, Illuminating Cultures, TATE Britain, London, UK
2009, My Story, British Arts Council, London, UKCOLLECTIONS & ACQUISITIONSGuggenheim, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Art Jameel Collection, Dubai, UAE
V&A, London, UK
Black Gold Museum, KSA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2011-2017, Director of Al Madad Foundation. UK-registered charity working on the promotion of education and literacy for refugee children across the Middle East.
RESIDENCIES
Deveron Projects (Aberdeenshire), Cubitt Arts (London) and Three Rivers Trust (Bexley)
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Works
Ouda, Shattered series -
Exhibitions
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Hot Spots, A Collaboration Between Tabari Artspace and The Third Line at Sotheby’s
Adel El Siwi, Almaha Jaralla, Aya Haidar, Béchir Boussandel, Hanna Noor Mahomed, Hashel Al Lamki, Margaux Derhy, Nasser Almulhim 9 January - 10 March 2025Hot Spots is the first collaborative exhibition between Tabari Artspace and The Third Line at Sotheby’s, Dubai. This exhibition is part of Sotheby’s ongoing collaboration with regional galleries and brings...Explore -
Routes to Roots a Group Presentation at Abu Dhabi Art 2024
Sliman Mansour, Samah Shihadi, Michael Halak, Hazem Harb, Aya Haidar, Randa Maddah, Chafa Ghaddar and Tagreed Darghouth 20 - 24 November 2024Routes to Roots draws on James Clifford's concept that understanding one's cultural roots often requires embarking on new journeys or routes. This idea serves as the foundation for Tabari Artspace's...Explore -
Tabari Artspace Presents Women Artists of the MENA at Art Dubai 2024
Corporeal: Lands Through The Female Gaze 1 - 3 March 2024Multi-artist booth Chafa Ghaddar, Tagreed Darghouth, Hana Almilli, Miramar Al Nayyar, Aya Haidar, Maitha Abdalla, Samah Shihadi and Alymamah Rashed For Art Dubai, Tabari Artspace presents a multi-artist booth uniting...Explore -
Battlegrounds, Aya Haidar Solo Exhibition
Tabari Artspace 23 February - 18 April 2024Battlegrounds is the inaugural exhibition of Lebanese-British artist Aya Haidar at Tabari Artspace now represented by the gallery. Aya Haidar’s multimedia practice addresses themes related to womanhood, invisible labour, forced...Explore -
Aya Haidar Participates in Material Power, Group Show, Kettle's Yard
24 November 2023 - 7 April 2024The Whitworth presents Material Power: Palestinian Embroidery, an exhibition exploring the historical life and contemporary significance of Palestinian embroidered craft. This ancient practice is characterised by exceptional beauty and intricacy...Explore
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Press
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Aya Haidar: A Love Song for Whitechapel
Whitechapel Gallery, 1 October 2026 -
Interview with Aya Haidar
Amy Ma, The Worshipful -
Crafting Space to Talk - interview
Ana Charriere Alvarez de Ron, UCL -
Safe Space series - permanent collection, on display
V&A -
On Resistance, Feminism And Preserving Culture Through Craft
Amia Hasheel, MOJEH, 11 November 2024 -
Tabari Artspace presents a powerful and feminine showcase of artists at Art Dubai
The National, 29 February 2024 -
Dubai market shifts towards emerging homegrown artists
As the latest Art Dubai fair opens, the city's art scene is maturing, with international collectors and curators snapping up young Emirati artistsMelissa Gronlund, The Art News Paper, 27 February 2024 -
Rebellious robes and stitches from the civil war: the radical story of Palestinian embroidery
From dresses sewn using forbidden colours to the needlework of political prisoners, a new exhibition threads together rural life in Gaza and today’s modern artSafi Bugel, The Guardian, 17 July 2023 -
100 امرأة:آية حيدر فنانة لبنانية "تطرز" أوجاع الحرب والهجرة
BBC News Arabic, 19 December 2022 -
Hopscotch Women's Centre with Aya Haidar
Camden Art Centre, 19 November 2022 -
Back for good: the fine art of repairing broken things
Katie Treggiden, The Guardian, 22 August 2021
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