Bahaa Abudaya

Specializations

Curatorial, Modern and contemporary art from the Arab world, Contemporary art from Palestine, Political Art

Education

Ph.D., Paris 8 University, Saint-Denis, 2012

Dissertation: Palestinian Contemporary Art, The question of exile and political issues in the Palestinian art scene from the late 19th century to the Oslo Agreements

Diploma, Museum Curators Program – Institut National du Patrimoine (INP), Paris, 2012

M.S., Cultural Management and Science of Exhibitions –  Panthèon Sorbonne University, 2007

M.S., Contemporary Art and New Media – Paris 8 University, Saint-Denis

B.S., Fine Arts – Paris 8 University, Saint-Denis, 2003

Biography

Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Qatar Museums and lecturer at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar. Previously visiting professor of Middle Eastern Art History at the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. He is also an art critic and has published several essays on Middle Eastern art and several short stories.

He was Curator of Modern and Contemporary art at Arab Museum of Modern art MATHAF, Doha, and the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris. His main research fields are Palestinian art and Politics, as well as the history of the Arab art movement.

He curated several contemporary art exhibitions (selection):

• Pearls of Wonder: A Digital era, Lavan 541 New York, Dec 2021
• Grey Times, Artists in Residence, Fire Station, Qatar, January 2021.
• Contemplative Contrasts, Gaza Art in collaboration with Shababeek for Contemporary Art, Gaza, Palestine, July 2019.
• States of Transformation, contemporary art from Qatar, Manege Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 2018.
• Dual Inspiration, Artists in Residence, Fire Station, Qatar, July 2018.
• Articulating the Particular, Qatar Contemporary, Kraftwerk, Berlin, December 2017.
• Unfolding Creative Methods, Artists in Residence, Fire Station, Qatar, June 2017.
• After Denudation, artist Athier Mousawi solo, Ayyam Gallery, Beirut, April 2017.

Research Interests

Modern Art, Contemporary Art, Conceptual Art, Public Art, Political Art, Popular Art and Culture in the Arab world.

Teaching Experience

Adjunct Lecturer (Undergraduate level)

‘Concepts and Issues, Modern and Contemporary Art’

Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar (VCU-Q), Doha Since 2019.

Visiting Associate Professor, Art History (Undergraduate and Graduate level)

‘History of Modern and Contemporary Middle-Eastern Art’

Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (PSUAD)

Exhibitions

• Pearls of Wonder, a Digital Era, Lavan541, New York, December 2021.
• Grey Times, Artists in Residence, Fire Station, Doha, June 2021.
• Contemplative Contrasts, Gaza, July 2019.
• Infinite Dimensions, Artists in Residence, Fire Station, Doha, June 2019.
• States of Transformation, Qatar Contemporary, Manege Central Exhibition Hall, St-Petersburg, November 2018.
• Dual Inspiration, Artists in Residence, Fire Station, Doha, July 2018.
• Articulating the Particular, Qatar Contemporary, Kraftwerk, Berlin, December 2017.
• Unfolding Creative Methods, Artists in Residence, Fire Station, Doha, June 2017.
• After Denudation, Athier Mousawi solo exhibition, Ayyam Gallery, Beirut, April 2017.
• #Crowdsourced @KhalidAlbaih, Khalid Albaih solo exhibition, Katara Art Center, Doha, August 2017.
• Khatt, Calligraphy works from the permanent collection of Mathaf, Katara, Doha, August 2013.
• 25 years of Arab creativity, Exhibition Concept, Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) Paris, October 2012.
• Dilmun is Blessed, Dilmun is Pure, Qal’at Al Bahrain Museum, Bahrain, June 2010.
• “Im-Postures”, Sorbonne University, Paris, November 2007