the rubbish monster

'the rubbish monster' i . 2024

'the rubbish monster' ii . 2024

'the rubbish monster' iii . 2024

'young voices of arabia 2024' publication . 2025 

i had the opportunity to work with voices of future generations (vofg) once again (see previous project here) on their 2024 edition of 'young voices of arabia', an annual publication that invites young creative writers between the ages 8 – 12 to submit short stories with the opportunity to be published. and like every edition, each story is supported with illustrations by invited artists and illustrators.

the story i was tasked to illustrate this year was 'the rubbish monster' by twelve year old author meera hamdan alabdouli – a story with themes of community, sustainability and being environmentally conscious . i hope meera is happy with my interpretation of her story.

'young voices of arabia 2024' is available in english and arabic via the voices of future generations' website. i'm happy to be published in three consecutive editions so far. thank you to the vofg team for the opportunity.

ramadan playing cards

ramadan illustrations for google . 2025

 

illustration application for google's ramadan playing cards . 2025

belated ramadan kareem wishes to those observing. hope it's been a blessed month so far...

i've always wanted to work on illustrations for playing cards but never made the time for it. i have to thank google for finally making it happen! i had the opportunity to work with them once again (see previous project here) on a limited edition deck of playing cards gifted to guests at their ramadan suhoor event. the brief was pretty simple – create culturally appropriate illustrations to substitute the all too familiar graphics on standard playing cards . the timeline was quite tight, but i'm super happy with the end result.

to anyone reading this and also gifted these, i hope you enjoy playing with them! thank you google for the opportunity once again...

khalid says dance

khalid says dance (gif) . 2025

a happy birthday to me – we made it to forty! i can't comprehend it yet since it was only yesterday i was in my thirties (where did this past decade go?!). all i can say is i'm truly blessed with all that life's offered so far. for the big 4-0, i thought i'd commemorate my special day by sharing my favourite thing to do – people should dance more...

followers of my work since the beginning would remember i made a 'khalid says relax' t-shirt almost 15 years ago (see here), inspired by katharine hamnett's iconic tees from the eighties. cut to 2025, and here we are with 'khalid says dance' tees to celebrate my fortieth. thank you to everyone that shared the birthday love. it hasn't gone unnoticed – love to you all... 

ending this post with a photo of me wearing 'khalid says dance' – who wants one?! shoutout to the workshop dxb for coming through with the tees.

'khalid says dance' t-shirt . 2025

palm door

palm door . 2025

'palm door' at 'the print room by the workshop dxb', 'the urban house', sikka art and design festival . 2025

here's my first project for 2025 – a new screenprint in collaboration with the workshop dxb!

the art circus has arrived, and to kick off the season is the sikka art and design festival. happening from january 31 to February 9 2025, the festival takes over a series of houses around the historical al shindagha neighbourhood, showcasing art, design, music and food from homegrown talents, creatives and businesses.

for this year's festival, i'm part of the 'the urban house' (house 196), exhibiting 'palm door' – a three coloured screenprint inspired by the beautiful metal doors found in older, traditional homes that are rarely seen today. the print will be exhibited and for sale at 'the print room by the workshop dxb' at 'the urban house', alongside prints by other participating artists.

i love how the final print turned out, especially the colours! thank you to the workshop dxb's ahmad for the invitation to participate, and for screeprinting 'palm door' at the print shop. if you ever need things screenprinted, the workshop dxb is your go to studio...

make sure to pass by 'the urban house' (house 196) while visiting sikka art and design festival, and get your hands on my screenprint (only 20 printed). it would make me very happy to hear that 'palm door' has sold out...

made in the emirates – volume 1

'made in the emirates – volume 1' front cover . 2024

 

'made in the emirates – volume 1' back cover . 2024

'made in the emirates – volume 1' digital mockup . 2024

'made in the emirates – volume 1' vinyl record sleeve (front) . 2024

'made in the emirates – volume 1' vinyl record sleeve (back) . 2024

'made in the emirates – volume 1' vinyl record label (side a) . 2024

'made in the emirates – volume 1' vinyl record label (side b) . 2024

'made in the emirates – volume 1' cassette (cover) . 2024

'made in the emirates – volume 1' cassette (side a) . 2024

i'm finally getting a chance to write a post about my favourite project i worked on last year – my illustrations are on a vinyl cover!!!

i had the pleasure of working on the artwork for vinyl souk dxb's first compilation record 'made in the emirates – volume 1'. the record features a diverse selection of music by nine artists from the music community. it's a great listen, and a genuine representation of a thriving, homegrown music scene.

i'm really proud to be a part of this important project, and super happy with how the artwork turned out in print. the illustrations of traditional doors and shop fronts, commonly found in older neighbourhoods around dubai and the rest of the emirates, should be familiar to those who have grown up in the uae or have lived here long enough to recognise these illustrated moments. and for the labels, i thought of softer moments within these sprawling neighbourhoods that i find beautiful – encounters with street cats or taking a moment to enjoy a cup of hot karak.

'made in the emirates – volume 1' is out in the world in vinyl and cassette formats (i love the artwork adaptation for the cassette too!). so far, the feedback for the record and the artwork has been extremely positive  – woohoo! to get your very own copy, head to the link here. and for those based in the uae, here's a useful list of all the stores where 'made in the emirates – volume 1' is stocked and available – click here.

i can't end this post without thanking the man behind vinyl souk dxb – jayesh. thank you for the opportunity and giving me a platform to share my illustrations. for those who know me, music is such an important part of my life. to work on a project like this is definitely one of the highlights in my career. thank you to everyone who's shared the love so far, i truly appreciate it. to more music related projects in the future...

east

east . 2024 (photograph by ammar kalo)

east . 2024 (photograph by ammar kalo)

east . 2024 (photograph by ammar kalo)

east . 2024 (photograph by ammar kalo)

happy new year everyone! wishing a good year ahead for us all...

here's my first post of 2025 – i worked on a textile commission last year for the newly renovated vip majlis at the american university of sharjah (aus). for those who don't know, i graduated from aus all the way back in 2006! it's quite an honour to be invited to contribute to my old campus with one of my own textile works!

during my research for this commission, i found an online article which mentions ancient artefacts found in mleiha, a small town in the emirate of sharjah. these artefacts were inscribed with pre-arabic letters, including the ancient musnad script. i incorporated musnad letters/symbols onto the textile panel which correspond to the arabic letters ش ر ق , spelling the word شرق  (east), a theory that the origin name for الشارقة (sharjah) is derived from. the word شرق also indicates the direction of the sunrise. these attributes correspond to ideas of language and enlightenment through education, which i thought connects nicely to aus as well.

'east' is an extension of my earlier textile series 'if speech is silver...' – researching dead scripts that were precursors to the arabic language, and reactivating them for today.

i haven't been able to do much textile work over the past year due to a lack of space and facilities. but i was really glad to have squeezed out at least one textile project for 2024. here's to making more textile works over the coming year...

ending my post with a shout out to ammar kalo for reaching out and commissioning me for the vip majlis. so happy to have worked on this. and i hope whoever visits the majlis enjoys my lil' textile...