Meet the Author
Asmaa Al-Issa
(b. 1991, Baghdad) Asmaa Al-Issa cultivates an artistic practice that responds to her lived experiences and interactions with the land, materials, and people around her. Her recent works explore regenerating and reviving ancestral lands and cultures, while focusing on the power and potential of imagination within these processes. al-issa's projects are sometimes developed alongside workshops and gatherings as a way of nurturing creativity, while building relationships and cross- cultural alliances. Her formal education includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the University of Calgary, Canada and a Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. al-issa was a fellow and instructor in the Painting and Printmaking Department at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. She has been an artist-in-residence at Studio Kura in Itoshima, Japan, and Manarat Al Saadiyat Art Studio in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Her artwork has been exhibited across Canada, and in Spain, Japan, the US, and Qatar. al- issa's artistic practice has been supported by her family, Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and Calgary Arts Development.