فير زملر غاليري Sfeir-Semler Gallery

Wael Shawky

Wael Shawky (b. 1971, Alexandria, Egypt) lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt and Philadelphia, USA. In 2010, he founded MASS Alexandria, an independent nonprofit school for contemporary art, that offers spaces for art practices, interdisciplinary research, and critical thinking education. Shawky has represented Egypt at La Biennale Di Venezia (2024) and his work has been showcased at major international exhibitions such as Daegu Art Museum, Daegu, South Korea (2024); Pompeii Archaeological Park, Pompeii, Italy (2023); M Leuven Museum, Brussels, Belgium (2022); The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, USA (2021); The Louvre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2020); The Polygon, Vancouver, Canada (2020); ARoS, Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark (2018); Sfeir-Semler Hamburg (2018); Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Yinchaun, China (2017); Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy (2016); Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy (2016); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2016); Fondazione Merz, Zurich, Switzerland (2016); MATHAF, Doha, Qatar (2015); MoMA P.S.1, New York, USA (2015); 15th Istanbul Biennale, Istanbul, Turkey (2015); Sfeir-Semler Beirut (2015); SALT, Istanbul (2014); K20 Düsseldorf, Germany (2014-15); Here & Elsewhere, The New Museum, New York, USA (2014); Serpentine Galleries, London, UK (2013-14); Re:emerge, Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE (2013); Documenta 13, Kassel, Germany (2012); KW Contemporary Art Institute, Berlin, Germany (2012); 9th Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2012); Nottingham Contemporary, UK (2011); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA (2011); and Sfeir-Semler Beirut (2010). Read more

Shawky has received many awards for his work, including the Honorary Citizenship of the City of Palermo (2017); the Sharjah Biennial Award (2013); Award for the Filmic Oeuvre, created by Louis Vuitton; Kino der Kunst, Munich (2013); Abraaj Capital Art Prize, Dubai, joint winner (2012); Schering Stiftung Art Award, Berlin (2011); Grand Prize, 25th Alexandria Biennale (2009). In 2011, he was an Artist in Residence at The Center for Possible Studies, Serpentine Gallery, London.

The Cave (Amsterdam), 2005, Video (colour, sound), 12'
1/5Wael Shawky, The Cave (Amsterdam), 2005, Video (colour, sound), 12'
Al Araba Al Madfuna II, 2013, B&W film (sound), 34'
2/5Wael Shawky, Al Araba Al Madfuna II, 2013, B&W film (sound), 34'
Marionette #10 from Cabaret Crusades III, 2014, Murano glass, fabric, enamel, thread
3/5Wael Shawky, Marionette #10 from Cabaret Crusades III, 2014, Murano glass, fabric, enamel, thread
Zeus 4, 2022, Ceramic, clay and oil paint, 46 x 28 x 18 cm
4/5Wael Shawky, Zeus 4, 2022, Ceramic, clay and oil paint, 46 × 28 × 18 cm
Wael Shawky, Drama 1882, exhibition view, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy, 2024
5/5Wael Shawky,  Drama 1882, exhibition view, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy, 2024

Selected Press

Gallery Exhibitions

Exhibitions Beyond

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2026

  • Wael Shawky, Drama 1882, Grand Palais Méditerranée, Nice, France (forthcoming)

  • Wael Shawky, Drama 1882, MCA: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, Australia

2025

  • I Am Hymns of the New Temples, LUMA, Arles, France

  • Wael Shawky, Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, UK

  • Wael Shawky: Drama 1882, MOCA: Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA

2024

  • 2024 Overseas Exchange Exhibition: Wael Shawky, Daegu Art Museum, Daegu, South Korea

  • Egyptian Pavillon, La Biennale Di Venezia 2024

  • I Am Hymns of the New Temples, Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice, Italy

  • I Am Hymns of the New Temples, LaM, Lille, France

2023

  • I am Hymns of the New Temples, Sfeir-Semler Gallery Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon

  • I Am Hymns of the New Temples, Pompeii Archaeological Park, Pompeii, Italy

2022

  • Dry Culture Wet Culture, Museum Leuven, Belgium

2021

  • FOCUS: Wael Shawky, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, USA

2019

  • Al Araba Al Madfuna, The Polygon Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

2018

  • The Crusades and Current Stories, ARoS, Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark

  • Wael Shawky, Lia Rumma Gallery, Naples, Italy

  • Al Araba Al Madfuna III, Galerie Sfeir-Semler, Hamburg, Germany

  • The Song of Roland: The Arabic Version, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  • The Song of Roland: The Arabic Version, The Theater an der Wien, The Opera House, Vienna, Austria

  • Al Araba Al Madfuna III, St. Elmo Exam Center, Valletta, Malta

2017

  • Al Araba Al Madfuna, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Yinchaun, China

  • The Song of Roland: The Arabic Version, Theatre de Welt, Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany

  • The Song of Roland: The Arabic Version, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, Holland Festival, Amsterdam, Holland

  • The Song of Roland: The Arabic Version, Onasis cultural center, Athens, Greece

  • Focus on Wael Shawky, Onasis Cultural Center, Athens, Greece

  • Focus on Wael Shawky, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece

  • Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo, Palazzo Branciforte, Palermo, Sicily

  • Al Araba Al Madfuna III, Saints Euno and Giuliano Church, Palermo, Sicily

  • Cabaret Crusades trilogy screening, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, USA

2016

  • Cabaret Crusades, Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy

  • Al Araba Al Madfuna, Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy

  • Wael Shawky, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria

  • Wael Shawky, Al Araba Al Madfuna III, Fondazione Merz, Zurich, Switzerland

  • Wael Shawky. Drawing, Lisson Gallery, Milan, Italy

2015

  • Cabaret Crusades, MoMA PS1, New York, USA

  • Crusades and Other Stories, MATHAF: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar

  • Cabaret Crusades trilogy screenings, Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

2014

  • Cabaret Crusades, K20 Museum: Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Germany

  • Al Araba Al Madfuna II, Festwochen-Zentrum im Künstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria

  • Horsemen Adore Perfumes and Other Stories, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  • Dictums, Lisson Gallery, London, United Kingdom

2013

  • al-Qurban/The Offering, Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom

  • Cabaret Crusades, Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany

  • Cabaret Crusades: The Horror Show File, The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA

  • Wael Shawky, Art Gallery of York University, Toronto, Canada

  • Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo, Pinault Collection, Teatrino Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy

2012

  • Al Araba Al Madfuna, KW: Kunst-Werke Institute, Berlin, Germany

2011

  • Wael Shawky, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, United Kingdom

  • Drawings and Flags from Cabaret Crusades, Walker Art Gallery, National Museums, Liverpool, UK

  • Larvae Channel, Delfina Foundation, London, UK

2010

  • Contemporary Myths, Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella, Italy

  • Contemporary Myths, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

2009

  • Larvae Channel 2, Project Gentili, Berlin, Germany

  • Clean History, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

  • Wael Shawky, Darat al Funun, Amman, Jordan

2007

  • Then you will return to me and I will judge between you in the matters in which you used to dispute, Kunsthalle Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland

  • Digital Church, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

  • The Forty Days Road, Wet Culture – Dry Culture, Galeria Sztuki Wspolczesnej, Bunkier Sztukim, Krakow, Poland

  • Al Aqsa Park, YAMA, digital screen on top of Marmara Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey

  • Telematch Sadat/Telematch Market/Al Aqsa Park, Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg, Brussels, Belgium

  • Telematch Sadat/Al Aqsa Park, Hebbel am Ufer 3, Berlin, Germany

  • Telematch Sadat, San Matteo Curch, Lucca, Italy

2006

  • Drawings 1998–2006, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

2005

  • The Green Land Circus, Factory Space, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

  • Wael Shawky, Ludwigsburg Kunstverein, Ludwigsburg, Germany

2003

  • Asphalt Quarter, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

2002

  • When he decided to visit the Christmas village, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

2001

  • Transitions, Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon

  • Sidi El Asphalt’s Moulid, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

Selected Group Exhibitions

2026

  • NGV International, Fourth NGV Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia (forthcoming)

  • Heri Dono and Wael Shawky: Chorus, M+, Hong Kong, China (forthcoming)

  • A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World, Saudi Ministry of Culture, Abbazia di San Gregorio, Venice, Italy (forthcoming)

  • GAZA, the future has an ancient heart. Materials and memories of the Mediterranean, Fondazione Merz, Museo Egizio di Torino and MAH: Musée d’art et d’histoire of Geneva, Turin, Italy (forthcoming)

  • Beyond the Arabian Nights. Orientalist Retellings, Louvre-Lens, Lens, France

2025

  • The Shelter of Stories: Ways of Telling, Ways of Dwelling, Compton Verney, Warwick, UK

  • The Shade, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon

  • Otherlands II: Wael Shawky, Akram Zaatari, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, South Korea

  • to carry, Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE

  • Recipes for Broken Hearts, Inaugural Bukhara Biennial, Bukhara, Uzbekistan

2024

  • Public Matter, Inaugural Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Abu Dhabi, UAE

2023

  • In the Heart of Another Country: The Diasporic Imagination Rises, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE

  • Alexandria: Past Futures, MUCEM, Marseille, France

  • MACBA Collection. Prelude. Poetic Intention, MACBA, Barcelona, Spain

  • In The Heart of Another Country, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Germany

2022

  • Cabaret Crusades: The Horror Show File, Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom

  • Alexandria: Past Futures, Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium

2020

  • Fragmenter le monde / Our world is burning, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France

  • Desert X AlUla, AlUla, Saudi Arabia

  • between the sun and the moon, Lahore Biennale 02, Pakistan

2019

  • Gohyang: Home, SeMA, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea

  • Look for Me All Around You, Sharjah Biennial 14, Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE

  • Heart of Darkness. Can Art Prevent Mistakes?, Officine Grandi Riparazioni of Turin in collaboration with Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Torino, Italy

2018

  • Crude, Jameel Arts Center, Dubai, UAE

  • Beyond Borders, Boghossian Foundation, Brussels, Belgium

  • The Dictionary of Evil, Gangwon International Biennale, South Korea

  • March Meeting, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  • General Rehearsal, MMOMA: Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, Russia

  • Wiener Festwochen, The Theater an der Wien, The Opera House, Vienna, Austria

  • Valletta 2018, St. Elmo Exam Center, Valletta, Malta

2017

  • Islands, Constellations, and Galapagos, Yokohama Triennial, Yokohama, Japan

  • Everything at Once, Vinyl Factory & Lisson Gallery, The Store, London, United Kingdom

  • Punte Brillanti Di Lance Festival, Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy

  • MOMENTUM 9 - The Nordic Biennial of Contemporary Art, Moss, Norway

  • Theater der Welt Festival, Hamburg, Germany

  • Imaginary Asia, Nam June Paik Art Center, Yongin-si, South Korea

  • Holland Festival, Amsterdam, Holland

  • Theaterspektakel Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland

  • Dream City Tunis Biennial – 6th Edition, Tunis, Tunisia

  • BAM – Archipelago Mediterranean Biennial Palermo, Sicily, Italy

2016

  • OUTSIDE THE SENTENCE - THERE WHAT IS A CITY, SALT, Istanbul, Turkey

  • Reconstruction of Story II, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea

  • Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Bruxelles, Belgium

  • The Migrant (Moving) Image, Tale of a Tub, Vanity Projects, New York & Miami, USA

  • Performer/Audience/Mirror, Lisson Gallery, London, United Kingdom

  • PLATO video 07 – War: Marine Hugonniere, Wael Shawky, Clemens von Wedemeyer,PLATO, Ostrava, Czech Republic

  • The Time is Out of Joint, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

2015

  • Une Brève Histoire de L’ A venir, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

  • Cinema of Art 2015, Munich, Germany

  • Saltwater, 14th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey

  • Mario Merz Prize, Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy

  • Too early, too late: Middle East and Modernity, Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

  • Cross Section of a Revolution, Lisson Gallery, London, United Kingdom

2014

  • Manifesta 10, The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia

  • You Imagine What You Desire, 19th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

  • Fotofest 2014, Houston, TX, USA

  • Now Babylon, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark

  • 11th Dak’Art Biennale, Dakar, Senegal

  • The Anthropology Effect, MAP Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow, United Kingdom

  • Here and Elsewhere, New Museum, New York, USA

  • Neighbors: Contemporary Narratives from Turkey and Beyond, Istanbul Modern Museum, Istanbul, Turkey

2013

  • A History of Inspiration, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France

  • In the Heart of the Country, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland

  • Dreams of Reason: Highlights of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, Centre of Contemporary Art in Torun, Torun, Poland

  • Re:emerge, 11th Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  • Moment – Frontlines, Moderna Museet Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden

  • Les choses du cote du monde, Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France

  • The Translation, Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich, Switzerland

  • Equator #2, Jogja Biennale XII, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

  • Cinema of Art 2013, Munich, Germany

  • A History of Inspiration, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France

  • In the Heart of the Country, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland

  • Dreams of Reason: Highlights of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, Centre of Contemporary Art in Torun, Torun, Poland

  • Re:emerge, 11th Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

  • Moment – Frontlines, Moderna Museet Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden

  • Les choses du cote du monde, Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France

  • The Translation, Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich, Switzerland

  • Equator #2, Jogja Biennale XII, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

  • Cinema of Art 2013, Munich, Germany

2012

  • dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany

  • dOCUMENTA (13), Kabul, Afghanistan

  • Mirages d’Orient: Grenades et Figures de Barbaries, Collection Lambert, Avignon, France

  • Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Bruxelles, Belgium

  • Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 7th, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia

  • Home Works 6, Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon

  • 5th Bucharest Biennial, Bucharest, Romania

  • On the Edgware Road, Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom

  • 9th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea

2011

  • 12th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey

  • Serious Games: Krieg, Medien Kunst, Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt Museum, Darmstadt, Germany

  • The Accord, Museum as Hub, New Museum, New York, USA

  • Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Bruxelles, Belgium

  • EVENTO 2011. Bordeaux’s urban and artistic rendezvous, Bordeaux, France

  • Miragens, Institute Tomie Ohtake/Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil

2010

  • Lo Spazio del Sacro, Galleria Civica di Modena, Modena, Italy

  • Home Works 5, Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon

  • The Image in Question. War – Media – Art, Carpenter Center for Visual Arts, Cambridge, USA

  • Breaking News: Contemporary Photography from the Middle East and Africa, Ex Ospedale Sant’Agostino, Modena, Italy

  • Localities: My World Images Festival, Museet for Samtigskunst, Roskilde, Sweden

  • Beyond Credit: Contemporary Art and Mutual Trust, Sanat Limani Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey

  • What’s Happening Now?, Casa Arabe Madrid, Madrid, Spain

2009

  • The Columns Held Us Up, Artists Space, New York, NY, USA

  • A Proposal For Articulating Works and Places, 3rd Marrakech Biennale, Marrakech, Morocco

  • 25th Alexandria Biennale, Alexandria, Egypt

  • Tarjama, Queens Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA

  • Socially Disorganised, Lion Arts Centre, Adelaide, Australia

2008

  • SITE, Santa Fe 7th International Biennial, Santa Fe, NM, USA

  • Medium Religion, Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany

  • Scènes du Sud, Carré d’Art, Musée d’art contemporain de Nîmes, Nîmes, France

2007

  • Gestures of Infinity, Minotoren Kultur, Graz, Austria

  • Gegenwart aus Jahrtausenden: Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Ägypten, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany

  • Out of Place, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

  • Contemporary Art Platform, London, United Kingdom

  • Talks and video screenings, Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom

  • Petriolina, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, collateral event of the 2nd Moscow Biennale, Moscow, Russia

2006

  • Fremd bin ich eingezogen, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany

  • AYOR: No Man’s Land, Hellenic American Union, Athens, Greece

  • Choosing My Religion, Kunstmuseum Thun, Thun, Switzerland

  • 47th October Art Salon, Belgrade Cultural Center, Belgrade, Serbia

  • Coding: Decoding, Kunsthallen Nikolaj, Copenhagen, Denmark

  • 6th Visual Arts Festival, Kodra Field, Thessaloniki, Greece

  • Outside the Living Room, Gb Agency, Paris, France

2005

  • 9th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey

  • Adam, Smart Project Space, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Urbane Realitäten: Focus Istanbul, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany

  • Normalization, Platform Granti Contemporary Art Center, Istanbul, Turkey

  • PhotoCairo 3, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

2004

  • Mediterraneans, MACRO Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma, Rome, Italy

  • Meeting Points, Makan House, Amman, Jordan

  • 4th Journées de la Photographie, Centre Culturel Francais de Damas, Damascus, Syria

2003

  • 50th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

  • Les Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers, Aubervilliers, France

  • 24/7: Wilno – Nueva York (visa para), CAC: Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania

  • Video Invitational, FA Projects, London, United Kingdom

  • International Experimental Film Festival, Goethe Institute, Alexandria/Cairo, Egypt

  • Body and the Archive, Artists Space, New York, NY, USA

2002

  • Close-Up: An Artistic Collaborative Workshop and Exhibition, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, Egypt

2001

  • Rita Longa International Art Symposium, Codema, Bayamo, Cuba

  • Al Nitaq 2nd Festival of Visual Arts, Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo

2000

  • Meyrson Hall Gallery, Philadelphia, USA

  • Al Nitaq 1st Festival of Visual Arts, Tala’t Harb Square, Cairo, Egypt

1997

  • Contemporary Egyptian Art, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

1996

  • 6th Cairo Biennale, Museum of Modern Art, Cairo, Egypt

1995

  • Al-Hanagar Gallery, Opera House Complex, Cairo, Egypt

1994

  • 6th Salon of Youth Akhenaten Centre of Arts, Cairo, Egypt

Awards & Grants

2017

  • The Honorary Citizenship of the City of Palermo, Italy

2015

  • Mario Merz Prize, Turino, Italy

2013

  • Louis Vuitton and Kino der Kunst Award for Filmic Oeuvre, Munich, Germany

  • Prize of Sharjah Biennale 11th, for dictums 10:120, Performance , Sharjah, UAE

2012

  • Abraaj Capital Art Prize, Dubai, UAE

2011

  • Kunstpreis der Schering Stiftung, Kunst-Werke Institute, Berlin, Germany

  • Artist-in-Residence, Center for Possible Studies, Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom

2009

  • Grand Prize, 25th Alexandria Biennale, Alexandria, Cairo

2007

  • Ford Foundation Grant, Cairo, Egypt

2005

  • International Commissioning Grant, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, USA

2004

  • International Award of the Islamic World Arts Initiative, Arts International, New York, USA

  • American Center Foundation Grant, Philadelphia, USA

2001

  • Honorary Award, Rita Longa International, Codema, Bayamo, Cuba

2000

  • Piero Dorazio Award, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

1996

  • Grand Nile Prize, International Cairo Biennial 6th, Cairo, Egypt

1994

  • Grand Akhenaten Prize, Salon of Youth 6th, Akhenaten Centre of Arts, Cairo, Egypt

Public Collections

Education

2017

  • Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa), The Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA

2001

  • MFA, Graduate School of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

1994

  • BFA, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt