I'm so excited to share our Artist of the Month with our Wandering Educators. Hend al-Mansour, an artist from Saudi Arabia that lives in Minneapolis, explores different mediums (photography, drawings, screen printing, installations, painting) while celebrating Arabic culture. Her art is so powerful - and beautiful. When I first discovered her art, I spent at least an hour delving into her site and enjoying the colors, thoughts, and intercultural connections.

At age 16, Hend Al-Mansour joined the Medical School in Cairo University, Egypt. Although, she knew that she would make art all her life, she chose to pursue a career as a doctor which allowed personal freedom and self worth that might not be accessible otherwise. In Arabia women were second-class citizens despite the modernized façade of the country. She practiced art to fulfill her desire for self-expression. Often when she would participate in a show her work would be censored out. In 1997, she seized an opportunity to come to the United States. Living as an independent woman in America she no longer needed the status that medical career offered. Realizing that art was the one thing that fulfilled her ambitions she recognized the value of living her life to the fullness of her dreams.

Mandala 4

In 2002 she obtained a Master of Fine Art from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She has participated in local and national shows, lectures about Arab women and art and her personal journey, and has curated exhibitions for other Arab and Muslim artists. Al Mansour’s work makes references to the identity and gender politics in Arab society and in Islamic teaching. Her style pays homage to Arabic and Islamic art forms. In her quest to discover the nature of Arab art and how she relates to it, she has recently begun an Art history Masters at St. Thomas University. “Examining art from the perspective of art history”, she said, might help her trace the invisible path of Arab artistic production in the last few centuries.

She is a Board Member of the Arab American Cultural Institute, a Founding Member of Arab Artists in the Twin Cities, has been featured on Minnesota Public Radio, and has had a plethora of shows across the United States. I'm so very impressed with her art - and journey. We were lucky enough to sit down and chat with Hend, about her art, philosophy, and more. Here's what she had to say...

WE: Please tell us about your art...

HaM: This is rather a wide question. I will give a broad answer here. But you can ask for more focused details. I screen-print on fabric. My images express new approaches to existing social values and Arab cultural ideals. I explore human sexuality in Arabia, the concept of women veiling in Islam, and the judgment of the other from both Arab and American perspectives. I do this through exploration the authenticity of Arab aesthetics.  

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Fatemah and Violine playing Chess

WE: How/when did you start becoming an artist?

HaM: I started dappling since early childhood as most people. I continued to make images throughout my life. It is only when I immigrated to America that I decided to shift from an amateur artist to a full time professional. I realized that there is a lot to learn and do in art that I had to make it my job.

henna

Fatimah in America2-entrance 

Fatimah in America2-Araksan's Room

WE: What do you draw inspiration from?

HaM: My work is about real people who represent unique qualities. From research and interviews I collect back ground information about them. I then draw their images as stylized figures and faces integrated with Arabic patterns and calligraphy. These drawings become screen-prints on fabric using a combination of dyes, inks and sometimes henna. I like fabric because it is feminine, free, and traditionally an important Islamic medium. After printing large pieces of fabric I use them to make rooms, corridors, arches or rugs to create inclusive environments where the audience has the full sensory experience of being inside the art. Though I make art about people, it manifests as homages to oriental rugs, Arabesques, Arab mosaics, tile design, mosques, and Arabic architecture. My color palette is vibrant and expressive—mostly reds and yellows. While my themes are revolutionary, especially within Arab culture, the way I make art draws upon traditional Arab aesthetics.

My Arab Father

Women Of Arabia 13

WE: Where are your favorite places to create art?

HaM: A large well lit, well-ventilated, warm space where Arabic music is playing and coffee is available.

Women of Arabia 9

Women of Arabia 2

WE: What do you enjoy creating most?

HaM: It is hard to decide which part of making art is my favorite. Each stage has its share of excitement and enjoyment. There are two low points in the art-making process to me. One is at the beginning when I need to nurse an idea. It is difficult because of the tremendous amount of decision-making. It is usually associated with a lot of dreams and sleep disturbances. The other is the stage at which the art is finished or almost finished, here I suffer of self-doubt and uneasiness.

Identity 2

Secret Wishes

WE: How can readers find and purchase your art?

HaM: People can view my website or come to my shows which are advertised in my website. The work there might not be available but I work very well by commission. My installations are best obtained by educational institutions. A school, for example, can host it for few weeks so students and public have access to it.   

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Saba Najd

WE: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

HaM: My work represent a significant section of the Arab community that is silent and marginalized like women who do not believe in veiling, homosexuals and people who seek non-traditional interpretation of Islam. It was censored in Arabia and, to my disappointment tends to be censored here in the land of freedom.  

Leili Dancing with Lion

Mandeleh Arabiyah 

WE: Thanks so very much, Hend. I love your art - and thank you for sharing it with us.

For more information, please see:
http://www.hendalmansour.com/

Surat Yosef

All photos courtesy and copyright Hend al-Mansour