asmaa al-issa
asmaa al-issa (b. 1991, Baghdad, Iraq) cultivates an art practice that responds to her lived experiences and interactions with the land, materials, and people around her. Engaging with ancestral traditions, asmaa’s practice as an artist and educator focuses on nurturing creativity while building cross-cultural alliances. asmaa’s formal education includes a BFA in Visual Arts from the University of Calgary (2013) and a MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver (2017). asmaa was a fellow at the Painting & Printmaking Department at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (2018–19), an Artist-in-Residence with the Alberta Public Art Network (2021), and is an Artist-in-Residence at Manarat Al Saadiyat Art Studio in Abu Dhabi, UAE (2022). asmaa’s artistic practice has been supported by her family, the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and Calgary Arts Development.