Itinerary

Khaled Hafez is Egyptian-French visual artist, filmmaker and educator. He isborn in Cairo, Egypt in 1963 where he currently lives and works. He studied medicine and followed the evening classes of the Cairo School of Fine Arts (Faculty of Fine Arts) in the eighties. After attaining a medical degree in 1987 and M.Sc. as a medical specialist in 1992, he gave up medical practices in the early nineties for a career in the arts. He later obtained an MFA degree in new media and digital arts from Transart Institute (New York, USA) and Danube University Krems (Austria). Hafez practice spans the mediums of painting, film / video, photography, installation and interdisciplinary approaches. Hafez, a Fulbright Fellow, Rockefeller Fellow,  Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and 2023 IASPIS Grant Holder, Stockholm, Sweden. Hafez occasionally curates visual arts and photography exhibitions for younger peers.

Exhibitions include:

2024

Solo presentation: Stockholm Syndrome Reloaded, Duerr Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden. (March-April)

2023

• Solo presentation: Illustrated History of the Mundane: Lab Function Tests, Le Lab Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.           (September)
• IASPIS Grant Holder, Stockholm Sweden. (January & February)
• Solo presentation: Illustrated History of the Mundane: Military Industrial Complex, Extension Art Space, Stockholm, Sweden.              (February)
• Group Presentation: Visions of Ancient Egypt, Laing Art Gallery,  Tyne & Wear Museum, New Castle.                  (January through April)          
• Group Presentation: Visions of Ancient Egypt, Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, UK. (January)

2022

• Somos +: Selected Videos from the Museum Collection, In collaboration with Videograma.
• Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá, Columbia.
• Art & Lotus, Group Presentation, French Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
• The Scene: Egyptian Art Today, Center of the Arts, Zamalek, Cairo Egypt.
• Alchemy, Steamship Project Space, Blackwall, London, UK.
• Group Presentation: Through a Collector’s Eye, Rasheed Kamel Residence +Le Lab Gallery, Egypt.
• Group Presentation: What on Earth, Ghernata City + Le Lab Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
• Visions of Ancient Egypt, Group Presentation, Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, UK.

2021

• Solo Presentation: The Skin of DNA, Picasso East Gallery, Cairo, Egypt
• The (Notso) Short Fest: Chapter 4, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New York, USA.
• Borderless: Digital Practices in Changing Times, Noyes Museum of Art, New Jersey, USA.
• Reflections: Contemporary Art of the Middle East & North Africa, British Museum, London, UK.
• Contemporary Urgency, ALANICA 13^th Festival of Contemporary Art, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Ossetia, Russia.

2021

• Solo Presentation: The Skin of DNA, Picasso East Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
• The (Notso) Short Fest: Chapter 4, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New York, USA.
• Borderless: Digital Practices in Changing Times, Noyes Museum of Art, New Jersey, USA.
• Reflections: Contemporary Art of the Middle East & North Africa, British Museum, London, UK.
• Contemporary Urgency, ALANICA 13th Festival of Contemporary Art, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Ossetia, Russia.

2020

• Vision de l’Humain, Curated by Aly Said, French Institute, Alexandria, Egypt.
• Kill the Boss, Curated by Fani Zguro, Galeri N, Merkez Nilüfer, Bursa, Turkey.
• Wisdom of Visual Memory, Curated by Beral Madra, Cannon Ball Foundry, Tophane-i Amire Museum, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Solo Presentation: Skin of DNA, Shelter Art Space, Alexandria, Egypt. (postponed)
• Solo Presentation: Codes of DNA, Picasso East Gallery, Cairo, Egypt. (postponed)
• Borderless: Digital Practices in Changing Times, Kramer Gallery, Noyes Museum, Hammonton, NJ, USA. (digital format; physical exhibition postponed to 2021)

2019

• Tribe: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center, Washington DC, USA.
• Solo Presentation:Il était une fois à Éden, Ofok Gallery, M. Mahmoud Khalil Museum, Cairo, Egypt.
• Solo Presentation: Éden, the Alexandria Chapter, Museum of Fine Arts, Alexandria, Egypt.

2018

• Solo Presentation: Khaled Hafez – Realms of the Hyperreal, Nome Gallery, Berlin, Germany.
• Nazar: Un Oeil Ouvert sur le Monde Arabe, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France.
• Nothing Vanishes, Everything Transforms, Group Presentation, Manial Palace, Cairo, Egypt.
• Curitiba Biennale 2017: Antipodes – Profusion of Image Memorial de Curitiba, Brasil.
• Evidentiary Realism II, Group Presentation, Curated by Paolo Cirio, Nome Gallery, Berlin, Germany.

2017

• UTOCORPIS: Les Corps Utopiques, Institut Français de Casablanca, Morocco.
• VİDEOİST: Unfold, Arte Sanat Galerisi, Ankara, Turkey.
• 57^th Venice Biennale, The Bridge: Cultural Diversity in Question, Curated by Omar Donia,
• Grenada National Pavilion
• Curitiba Biennale 2017: Antipodes – Profusion of Image, Curated by Royce Smith & Dannys Montes de Oca, Memorial de Curitiba, Brazil.
  2^nd Asunción Biennale, Curated by Royce W. Smith, Paraguay.
  THESE CAMERAS STAY ON, 2^nd Arctic Moving Image & Film Festival – AMIFF 2017, curated by Anastasia Patsey, Harstad, Norway.
  Evidentiary Realism II, Curated by Paolo Cirio, Nome Gallery, Berlin, Germany.

2016

• The Body & Other Small Tales, Crete Museum of Contemporary Art, Collection of the Thessaloniki State Museum of Art.
• UTOCORPIS: Les Corps Utopiques, Institut Français, Dakar, Sénégal
• Synchronization – Syncopation, London Biennale Manila Pollination, Philippines.
• ReFrame, Transart Triennale Video Program, UFERSTUDIOS, Berlin, Germany.
• Mulliqi Prize 2016, Kosovo National Art Gallery, Prishtina, Kosovo
• ONUFRI XXII: Galeria Kombetare E Arteve, National Gallery of Art Tirana, Albania.
• Cairotronica, 1^st Symposium of Electronic Art, Palace of the Arts, Cairo, Egypt.
• VICEVERSA (N-S-E-O), Museuo Provincial de Holguin, Cuba.
• 2^nd DocuTIFF 2016, 14^th Tirana International Film Festival, Albania.

2015

• ALANICA: The Experimental Way; 6^th Moscow Biennale, Russia
• Solo Presentation: Codes of Hermes, Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA.
• Solo Presentation: A Temple for Extended Days, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, UAE.
• 1st Trio Biennale, Rio De Janeiro, Brasil.
• 1^st Bienal del Sur, Caracas, Venezuela.
• View From Inside: Contemporary Arab Photography, Video & Mixed-Media Art, Abu Dhabi Festival 2015, UAE.
• Speak Together, Hofburg, Imperial Museum, Innsbruck, Austria.
• Hidden Subject: Parallax, Arte Sanat and Foya Art Gallery, Ankara, Turkey.
• 3rd Mardin Biennale, Mardin Museum, and several locations, Mardin, Turkey.
• 56th Venice Biennale: In the Eye of the Thunder Storm: Official Collateral.

2014

• A Room of His Own: Masculinities in Korea & Middle East, Art Sonje Center, Seoul, Korea.
• I’m Better Than Tomorrow, Hayaka Arti, Istanbul, Turkey.
• ISEA 2014: International Symposium of Electronic Art, Zayed University, Dubai, UAE.
• Mapping Strife, Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA.
• FotoFest 2014 International Biennial, Houston, Texas, USA.
• The Art of Life: Between Tradition and Change, Uppsala Museum of Art, Sweden.
• Images of the Sensible, Kuad Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Tradition-Reversal, Collegium Artisticum, Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina.
• Hajj, Le Pèlerinage à La Mecque, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France.

2013

• Solo Presentation: Berlin Chromosome, Galerie Naimah Schütter, Berlin, Germany.
• Solo Presentation: Handling Memories, AB Gallery, Lucerne, Switzerland.
• Solo Presentation: Beyond The Codes, Raymaluz Gallery, Madrid, Spain.
• Solo Presentation: Moving Forward by the Day, Meem Gallery, Dubai, UAE.
• 55^th Venice Biennale: Portable Nation: Disappearance as work in progress: Maldives Pavilion, Gervasuti Foundation, Venice, Italy.
• Tradition-Reversal, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece.
• The Shadows Took Shape, The Studio Museum in Harlem, NY, USA.
• Tussen Verhulling en Moderniteit,Cultuurcentrum Brugge, Belgium.
• Reimagining Egypt,Saffron Walden Museum, Essex, UK.
• ALANICA 7: 7^th International Contemporary Art Symposium, Vladikavkaz Museum, North Ossetia, Russia.
• Longing for Mecca: The Pilgrim’s Journey, Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Leiden, The  Netherlands.
• 25 Years of Arab Creativity, National Museum of Art, Manama, Bahrain.
• Khaled Hafez: Deciphering the Past Within the Present, A.R.T.e.s. Galerie, University of Köln, Germany.
• Egyptian Art Today, AB Gallery, Lucerne, Switzerland.
• Twenty-Five Years of Arab Creativity, Emirates Palace Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
• (ONE) HOPE MAP, Curated by Mohammed Ikoubaân & Michel Dewilde, i.k.v. Horizon 4, Cultuurcentrum Brugge, Belgium.
• Desert Shouts / City Whispers, Bekris Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA.
• Passages Africaines,Les Chantiers de la Lune, La Seyne-sur-mer, France.
• Grounded: Back to Square 1, Lopez Museum, Manila, Philippines.

2012

• Khaled Hafez, Video Art Program, Windows Upon the World, Hiroshima MOCA, Japan.
• 2^nd Kathmandu International Art Festival, Nepal.
• Solo Presentation: Codes, Symbols & Stockholm syndrome, Safarkhan Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
• Rencontres de Bamako / Fondation Blachere Laureats Presentation, Apt, France.
• Liberation – A Process Review, Havremagasinet, Boden, Sweden.
• Vingt-cinq Ans de Créativité Arabe, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.
• 1^st Santorini Biennale, Greece, 2012.
• 41^st International Film Festival Rotterdam, Holland.
• The Art of Hajj: Pilgrimage Exhibition, British Museum, London, UK.
• Lowave Rising Images, Cinema du Reel, Centre George Pompidou, Paris, France.
• Beautiful Life: Memory and Nostalgia, The Pier-2 Art Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• Subversion: A Comedy of Manners, Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK.
• 11^th Havana Biennale, Cuba.

2011

• 9^th Bamako Encounters, National Museum of Art, Mali.
• Reframing Reality, Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Denmark.
• 8^th Mercosur Biennale, Porto Allegre, Brazil.
• Beautiful Life: Memory and Nostalgia, South Hill Park, Bracknel, UK.
• Miragem / Mirage, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janero, Brazil.
• East from 4°24′: COLLECTIE XXVII, MuHKA Museum of Art, Antwerp, Belgium.
• Miragem / Mirage: Contemporary Art in the Islamic World, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, Sao Paolo, Brazil.
• RESISTANCE(S) III: Arab Video Arts, Ankara International Film Festival, Turkey.
• Windows Upon Oceans, State Museum of contemporary art, Thessaloniki, Greece.
• Miragem / Mirage: Contemporary Art in the Islamic World, Museo Nacional do Conjunto Cultural da República, Brasilia, Brasil.

2010  

• 12^th Cairo Biennale, Cairo, Egypt.
• Manifesta 8, Murcia, Spain.
• Miragem / Mirage, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janero, Brazil.
• Resistance(s) III, Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy.
• Resistance(s) III, Casa Àrabe, Madrid, Spain.
• 3^rd World Festival of Black Arts: Modernities + Resistances, Dakar, Senegal.
• CAVE: Contemporary Arab Video Encounter.
• , Maraya Arts Center, Sharjah, UAE.
• Tarjama/Translation, The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
• , Icatha, New York, USA.
• The Presidents: Remix, Blancpain Art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland.
• What’s Happening Now?: Contemporary Art from Egypt, Casa Arabe, Madrid, Spain.
• Fuck Ups, Fables & Fiascos, Galerie Caprice Horn, Berlin, Germany.
• IN/FLUX: Awkward Conversations, 17th African Film Festival, New Museum, NY, USA.
• Categorical Imperatives, The Guild Gallery, Bombay, India.
• Resistance(s) III, Centre George Pompidou, Paris, France
• Solo Presentation: First Temple of Flight, Almasar Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
• Solo Presentation: Gods & Superheroes, Galleria Luz & Suarez, Madrid, Spain.

2009

• Tarjama / Translation, Queens Museum, New York, USA
• 2^nd Thessaloniki Biennale, Thessaloniki, Greece.
• Deconstructing Myths & Reality, Galerie Caprice Horn, Berlin, Germany
• Icons Reloaded, Galerie ElyseeArts, Liege, Belgium.
• Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK.
• Borderlines, Le Violin Blue Gallery, London, UK.
• 3^rd Guangzhou Triennale, Guangdong Museum of Art, China.
• Breaking News, F&A Projects, Paris, France.
• Cairoscape: Images, Imagination and Imaginary of a Contemporary. Mega City, Kunstraum Kreuzberg / Bethanien, Berlin, Germany.
• Neighbors in Dialogue, Collegium Artisticum, Skenderija Centre, Sarajevo, Bosnia.
• Om Kalsoum la quatrième pyramide, Institut du Mode Arabe, Paris, France.
• Collectiepresentatie XXI, MuHKA Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium.
• Trilogie Méditerranéenne: From Athens to Marseille to Cairo, Palais des Arts, Marseille, France.
• Solo Presentation: Desert Snow & Other Stories, Galleria San Carlo, Milan, Italy.
• Arab Artists Between Italy & the Mediterranean, Italian Cultural Institute, Damascus, Beirut & Cairo, Egypt.
• Gates of the Mediterranean, Palazzo Piozzo Rivoli, Turin, Italy.

2007

• Contact Zone, Bamako Museum of Art, Bamako, Mali.
• The Present Out of the Past Millennia, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany.
• Recognize, Curated by Predrag Pajdic, Contemporary Platform, London, UK.
• Solo Presentation: More Chromosomes, Il Divano Di George, Modena, Italy.
• This Day, Tate Modern, London, UK.
• 7^th Sharjah Biennale, UAE.
• Without Title, MuHKA Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium.
• Neighbors in Dialogue, Fezhane, Istanbul, Turkey.

2006

• 1^st Singapore Biennale, Singapore.
• 7^th Dakar Biennale, Senegal.
• Images of the Middle East, Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Solo Presentation: North-East to Southwest, Espace Doual’Art, Douala, Cameroon.
• Solo Presentation: Philadelphia Chromosome, Galleria San Carlo, Milan, Italy.
• Solo Presentation: Kartomania & Tout-en-Karton, French Cultural Center, Cairo, Egypt.

2005

• Fulbright Fellowship: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
• Mediterranean Encounters, curated by Martina Corgnati, Horcynus Orca Foundation, Messina, Italy.
• Solo Presentation: French memories, CCM Jean Gagnant, Limoges, France.
• Solo Presentation: African Memories, Chantiers de la Lune, Toulon, France.

2004

• 6^th Dak’Art 2004 Dakar Biennale, Sénégal (Francophonie Prize).
• Solo Presentation: Kartonopolis & some 10 years later, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

2002

• Solo Presentation: Nut, the President’s Necktie & Batman, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

2001

• Group Presentation: Cairo Modern Art in Holland, Fortiscircus Theater, Den Haag, Holland.

Solo Exhibitions

2023 – Illustrated History of the Mundane: Military Industrial Complex, Extension Art Space, Stockholm, Sweden.

2021     – The Skin of DNA Picasso East Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

2019     – Éden, the Alexandria Chapter Museum of Fine Arts, Alexandria, Egypt.

2019     – Il était une fois à Éden, Ofok Gallery Mahmoud Khalil Museum, Cairo, Egypt.

2018     – Khaled Hafez – Realms of the Hyperreal Nome Gallery, Berlin, Germany.

2015     – Temple for Extended Days Ayyam Gallery Dubai, UAE.

2015     – Codes of Hermes Deborah Colton Gallery, Houston, USA.

2013     – Berlin Chromosome Galerie Naimah Schütter, Berlin, Germany.

2013     – Handling Memories AB Gallery, Lucerne, Switzerland.

2013     – Beyond The Codes Raymaluz Gallery, Madrid, Spain.

2013     – Moving Forward by the Day Meem Gallery, Dubai, UAE.

2012     – Codes, Symbols & Stockholm syndrome Safarkhan Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

2010     – First Temple of Flight Almasar Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

2010     – Gods & Superheroes Galleria Luz & Suarez, Madrid, Spain

2008     – Desert Snow & Other Stories Galleria San Carlo, Milan, Italy.

2007     – More Chromosomes Il Divano Di George, Modena, Italy.

2006     – North-East to Southwest Espace Doual’Art, Douala, Cameroon.

2006     – Philadelphia Chromosome Galleria San Carlo, Milan, Italy.

2006     – Kartomania & Tout-en-Karton French Cultural Center, Cairo, Egypt.

2005     – French memories CCM Jean Gagnant, Limoges, France.

2005     – African Memories Chantiers de la Lune, Toulon, France.

2004     – Kartonopolis & some 10 years later Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

2002     – Nut, the President’s Necktie & Batman Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

2000     – Icons of the Second Floor Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

1999     – Halfway Home & the Electronic Gods Guezira Art Center, Cairo, Egypt.

1999     – Faster Than the City  Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

1998     – Visions of a Rusty Memory Cairo-Berlin Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

1998     – Unimportant Items Cairo Atelier, Cairo, Egypt.

1992     – Steps on Desert Sands Akhenaton III Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

1990     – Prisoner of Freedom Cairo Atelier, Cairo, Egypt.

1989     – A Tale of Two Leos Nile Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

1987     – Délires French Cultural Center, Cairo, Egypt.

Public Collections:

• Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá, Colombia
• The British Museum, London, UK
• State Museum of Art, Thessaloniki, Greece
• Pushkin State Museum of Art, Russia
• The Saatchi Collection, London, UK
• MuHKA Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium
• Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art, Sarajevo, Bosnia
• Horcynus Orca Foundation, Messina, Italy
• Mali National Museum, Bamako, Mali
• Maraya Art Centre, Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE
• Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt
• Museum of Modern Art, Egypt

Film Festivals Include:

• 2^nd Arctic Moving Image & Film Festival – AMIFF 2017.
• 14^th Tirana International Film Festival, 2016.
• 41^st Rotterdam International Film Festival 2012.
• 15^th International Short Film Festival Winterthur, Switzerland, 2011.
• CPH:DOX/ Copenhagen Film Festival, Denmark, 2011.
• 17^th African Film Festival, New Museum, New York, USA, 2010.
• 8^th Ismailia International Film Festival, Egypt, 2004.

Awards & Fellowships

• IASPIS Grant Holder, Stockholm, Sweden,   2023
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Art, UK           2022
• Rockefeller Fellow                                          2009
• Fulbright Fellow                                              2005

• Resident Artist: Fulbright Fellow, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, USA, 2005.
• Resident Artist: École Nationale Supérieure d’Art, Limoges, France, 2005.
• Resident Artist: Rockefeller Bellagio Center, Italy, 2009.
• Resident Artist: McColl Center for Visual Arts, North Carolina, USA, 2009.

Nominations Include:

2015    – Jameel Art Prize.

2012    – The 4^th Prix Pictet Photography Prize (Long list).

2011    – The Sovereign African Art Prize (Short list).

Spoke at:       

TEDx German University in Cairo (2019), Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, PA, USA (2005 & 2009), the British Museum (UK, 2011, 2012), Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne, Germany (Germany, 2013, 2014), Kunstmuseum Bonn (Germany, 2007), University of North Carolina in Charlotte (USA, 2009), Boden Havremagasinet Museum (Sweden, 2012), RICE University, Houston, TX (USA, 2014).

Curated:

Khaled Hafez occasionally curates exhibitions for young peers.

2010                Realms of the Hyperreal: Contemporary Practices from Egypt; Jose Marti Memorial, Havana, Cuba.

2011                22^nd Salon of Young Egyptian Artists; Palace of the Arts & Museum of Modern Art, Cairo, Egypt.

2012                The Field Diaries: Egyptian Conflict Video Selection, French Institute Cairo, Egypt, and Bamako, Mali: Official Collateral Event to Bamako Photo Biennale.

2014                25^th Salon of Young Egyptian Artists; Palace of the Arts & Museum of Modern Art, Cairo, Egypt.

2021                Miscegenation: On That One Photograph…, part of 2^nd Cairo Photo Week, several Cairo locations, Organized by Photopia Egypt.

2021                Miscegenation: The Alexandria Chapter, Shelter Art Space, Alexandria, Egypt

2022                The Sea, Rehaf Batniji Solo Presentation, Institut Francais, Gaza, Palestine

In International Academia

• Barbara Gurrieri; Khaled Hafez: un artista egiziano tra video e pittura; Master thesis; Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania, Biennio Specialistico – Corso di Grafica; Supervisor Professor Martina Corgnati; a.a. 2005/06.

• Simone Struth, Khaled Hafez: Grenzen und ihre Überschreitungen in der Serie Philadelphia Chromosome; Master Thesis; LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN, Fakultät für Geschichts und Kunstwissenschaften, Institut für Kunstgeschichte; Supervisors Professors Avinoam Shalem & Burcu Dogramaci; year 2012.

• Serena Coccoli; Khaled Hafez e la scena artistica contemporanea in Egitto; Master Thesis; Sapienza Università di Roma, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Studi Storico-Artistici; Supervisor Professor Ilaria Schiaffini, co-supervisor Professor Antonella Sbrilli; year 2012-2013.

• Alongside 65 academic mentions in peer reviewed journals on academia.edu, link: https://www.academia.edu/mentions?from_navbar=true&trigger=nav