Nada Baraka Egyptian, b. 1990
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Biography
Nada Baraka's is an Egyptian painter based in Cairo. She holds an MA in Fine Art from
Central Saint Martins, London, and a BA in Visual Arts from the American University in Cairo.
Her work has been exhibited internationally across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Selected solo exhibitions include Soft Boil at Gypsum Gallery, Cairo (2026); Across a Velvet Horizon at Tabari Artspace, Dubai (2024); Land of Sequels at Gypsum Gallery, Cairo (2021); and Cosmic Truths and Tales to Be Told at Gypsum Gallery, Cairo (2018).In 2023, Baraka received the Anna Award from Latitudes Online and an ApexArt grant for the group exhibition Valley of Walls.
Her work has been acquired by private and institutional collections, including Fondation Blachère. In 2026, her painting was featured on the cover of Richard Mille's art publication The Present Tense, for which the work was also acquired.EDUCATION
2012-2014, MA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, London
2007-2011, BA Fine Art at The American University of Cairo, CairoSOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026, Soft Boil, Gypsum Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2021, Land of Sequels, Gypsum gallery, Cairo2019, Cosmic Truths and Tales to be Told, Gypsum gallery, Cairo
2015, Fractals, Mashrabia gallery, Cairo
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026, Celebration, Helvetika1575, Zug, Switzerland
2026, Lumière Liquide, Helvetika1575, Saint-Tropez, France
2026, Magical Transitions, Helvetika1575, Zug, Switzerland
2026, Fertile Dreams, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2025, Evidence of Things Not Seen, Ebony Curated, Cape Town, SA
2025, Mount Analogue, Vela Projects, Cape Town, SA
2025, Across A Velvet Horizon, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE2024, Long Story Short, Gypsum Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2024, The Light between, What If The World Gallery, Cape Town, SA
2023, The Valley of Walls, Ahmed Ali Kamal Residence, Apex art exhibition, Cairo, Egypt
2022, Fission, Goethe Institute, Cairo, Egypt
2019, Tea Time With My Lungs, Soma Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2017, Paper Trail, Gypsum gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2016, A season in Hell, Gypsum gallery, Cairo, Egypt
2016, Les Négligences Volontaires, Shanaynay, Paris, France
2016, Mohamed Abla’s Painting Exhibition, Greek Campus, Cairo, Egypt
2015, Roznama, Contemporary Image Collective, Cairo, Egypt
2015, Naema’s Office is Bleeding, Medrar, Cairo, Egypt
2014, Mohamed Abla Painting Competition, Opera House, Cairo, Egypt
2014, Opera Youth Salon 25th, Opera House, Cairo, Egypt
2013-2014, Roznama, Medrar, Cairo, Mostra, Lisbon, Portugal
2013, Stop it, Postgraduate Degree show, Lethaby, London, UK
2013, CSM Auction Exhibition, Lethaby, London, UK
2013, First Come First Served, Lion x Lamb, London, UK
2013, Intransit, V22, London, UK
2012, FA VIP, ARTFAIR, New York, US
2012, Parallel Visions, Darb 1718, Cairo, Egypt
2012, 470 Parallel, Sharjah, Cairo, Egypt
2011, Annual Youth Salon, Opera house, Cairo, EgyptART FAIRS
2026, Vela Projects, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, SA
2025, What If The World Gallery, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, SA
2024, Solo Booth at Latitudes RMB Art Fair, Johannesburg, SA2023, Le Lab x Gypsum Gallery, The Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt
2017, Cairo Art Fair, Artsmart, Cairo, Egypt
AWARDS
2023, THE ANNA Award, Latitudes online, Johannesburg, SA
2015, Mohamed Abla’s Painting Award, Cairo, Egypt
AUCTIONS
2024, Curatorial Voices: African Landscapes, Past and Present, Strauss and Co.
BIENNALES
2016, Something Else, Off Biennale at Darb 1718, Cairo, Egypt
GRANTS
2026, Every Page Foundation Fellowship
2023, Open Call Exhibition, Apex Art, New York, USRESIDENCIES
2026, Art Omi, New York, US
2025, Fez Art Residency, Morocco
2017, Do-it بالعربي "Dwell Workshop with architect Ahmed Zazaa at Townhouse Factory, Cairo, Egypt -
WorksOpen a larger version of the following image in a popup:
Nada Baraka, The color of why, 2025. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 200 x 116 cm
Nada Baraka Egyptian, b. 1990
The color of why, 2025Acrylic and oil on canvas200 x 116 cm
78 3/4 x 45 5/8 inCopyright The ArtistLiterature
This series of paintings and mixed-media compositions was created by Baraka in 2025, inspired by letters and postcards from her late grandfather, who served as the Minister of Irrigation. The works draw from a personal archive of correspondence, focusing on the emotional texts and unique colour palettes found in the postcards sent to and by him. Through vibrant hues and layered textures, these pieces explore the connection between past and present, using the concept of "glitches" to bridge the gap between memory and imagination. This body of work reflects a dream-like method of translating personal history into visual narratives, where the boundaries of time, space, and meaning are fluid, and the real and the imaginary intertwine6of 6-
Fertile Dreams, Group Exhibition
Tabari Artspace 1 November 2025 - 1 April 2026Fertile Dreams exists in the slippages between soil and psyche, where earthly terrain fuels the landscape of the unconscious. Fertility is not only a question of biology, but of sustenance,... -
Across a Velvet Horizon, an Exhibition of Nada Baraka and Esraa Elfeky
Tabari Artspace 20 February - 8 April 2025Across a Velvet Horizon , is a collaborative presentation of Egyptian artists Nada Baraka and Esraa Elfeky. The exhibition orbits a sense of incompleteness, an expanse of the unknown that...
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