The Absence of the Syrian Artist

2nd Floor Gallery

Presentation & Reception: Thursday, February 7, 5:30 – 7 pm.

The Absence of the Syrian Artist is a visual art installation curated by Basil Masri Zada that presents the work of a group of Syrian artists who have experienced the Syrian crisis since 2011 and are now living in different locations.

With this installation, Masri Zada argues that because of the international attitude toward Syrians in general—and because of travel bans and other restrictions—the Syrian artist is physically and intellectually misrepresented, stereotyped, or absent. Their artworks are facing similar challenges and thus become mere virtual representations that exist mostly on the internet and social media.

The Absence of the Syrian Artist is part of Basil Masri Zada’s Ph.D. dissertation research in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts entitled The Practices of Everyday Life and the Syrian Body: Art, Life, and Political Activism of the Syrian Crisis.