artist talk

khalid mezaina artist talk at youth hub e-vite . 2020

if anyone is in or around dubai on monday, 2 march 2020, i'll be giving a talk at youth x hub, located in emirates towers, between 6:30 – 8pm. organised by tashkeel, the talk will be an intimate session about my love for neighbourhoods around what is commonly known as 'old dubai', and the works i've created over the years inspired by my observations and interactions within these spaces.

it should be a fun trip down memory lane looking back at some of my illustration and textile based projects honouring these neighbourhoods and what they mean to me. i don't think i'll ever tire of these neighbourhoods, or what's left of them, and creating works about these areas will forever be an ongoing process.

for more information on my upcoming talk and to register, head to the event page here. i look forward to seeing you all on monday. it should be a really fun, and i hope, inspiring to others.

the alumni return 2020

'the alumni return' exhibition poster . 2020 (courtesy of the american university of sharjah)

i never would've imagined that i'd be exhibiting my risd mfa thesis project 'capes make the man' at the american university of sharjah (aus), where i spent four years of my life as a graphic design student between 2002-2006. for those who know me, my experience in aus had its many ups and downs. if i had to describe my experience in one word, i usually say 'traumatic'! but i can't deny the wealth of knowledge and skill-sets gained from being an undergrad student in the college of architecture, art and design (caad) (which used to be known as the school of architecture and design (or sad!) back in my day). plus, i built a great community of friends through the years who've all been students at aus at some point in their lives. 

i'm truly honoured to be back at aus as an exhibiting alum in the caad department, exhibiting the capes i intensely worked on as a textiles grad student in good ol' providence, usa! this is the second round of 'the alumni return' exhibition, in partnership with tashkeel (you can read my earlier post on the first edition here). the second iteration of the show focuses on degree projects created by seven aus/caad alum that pursued further education in various art/design disciplines around the world.

'the alumni return': caad edition, opens on 25 feb 2020, 5:30pm, at the gallery space in the caad building, aus. the exhibition runs until 10 march 2020. so if you haven't seen my capes in previous showcases, now's your chance! there will also be a panel talk on 3 march 2020 at 5:30pm, where a selected group of exhibiting artists will speak about their individual projects and their experience of pursuing a masters degree.

a huge thank you goes to tashkeel and my dear friend hala al ani, member of mobius design studio, fellow aus alum, and currently a professor at the caad department, for their constant support and work on making this exhibition come to life.

*update on 1 march 2020: the panel talk scheduled for 3 march has unfortunately been canceled due to recent news on the coronavirus outbreak*

screenprinting: expand your practice

'screen printing: expand your practice' workshop e-vite . 2020

here's another series of fun workshops, this time happening in dubai. the lovely team at tashkeel have organised a 4-session screenprinting workshop titled 'screenprinting: expand your practice', with yours truly as the instructor!

this workshop series is great for those wanting to learn a new process which can be applied into anyone's current art practice. this won't be your conventional screenprinting workshop – along with understanding the basics to screenprinting, we will learn how to screenprint through exploration and experimentation of techniques and methods, getting a sense of what screenprinting is all about, and how any artist can apply these effectively into their own personal practice. during the 4 classes we'll explore screenprinting by creating stencils (both manually and digitally), drawing directly onto a screen (using drawing fluid) and creating monoprints with a screen. it should be super fun and i for one am very excited about this!

'screenprinting: expand your practice' happens on sundays, between 6:30 – 9pm. the workshop starts this month on february 23, and continues on 1, 8 + 15 march. for details and to register, head to the worskhop page here. rememeber, this workshop series won't happen if there aren't enough signups so please make sure to register and spread the word.

looking forward to seeing everyone at the workshop. it'll be really fun getting your hands dirty and experimenting with screenprinting!

workshops at the warehouse

stamp printing workshop at warehouse 421 . 2020 (image courtesy of warehouse 421)

after a month off, i'm back to blogging! hope 2020 has been off to a good start for everyone.

after taking a much needed break from the interwebs, it's time to get back to work. and we're starting the new year with a couple of workshops – i'm happy to be back at warehouse 421 for the month of february teaching a couple of textile printing workshops. after offering a successful workshop in january, 'storytelling through patterns' is back. Participants will create stamps and stencils which will be used to print patterns onto textiles. hopefully, we'll have patterns that can convey stories or communicate a narrative. happening on saturdays between 1-4pm, the first session on the 15th will focus on creating stamps while the second session on the 29th will focus on creating stencils. if anyone's missed any previous textile printing workshops led by me, here's an opportunity to be a part of it.

to register for 'storytelling through patterns: stamp printing' on 15 feb, head to the workshop page here.

to register for 'storytelling through patterns: stencil printing' on 29 feb, head to the workshop page here.

looking forward to seeing you all at one (or both) of these workshops. it'll be loads of fun!

*update on 29 february 2019: both sessions of 'storytelling through patterns' have been canceled due to lack of signups*