Zahrah Al Ghamdi

Zahrah Al Ghamdi is a Saudi Arabian visual and land artist, as well as an assistant professor at the College of Art and Design at the University of Jeddah.

Career Al Ghamdi grew up in Al-Baha in the south-west of the Kingdom and her experience of domestic architecture there informs her artistic practice. She graduated in 2003 with a first-class degree in Islamic Arts at the King Abdul Aziz University. She worked there as a lecturer before moving to the University of Coventry to study for an MA, then a PhD in Visual Art. As part of the Shubbak Festival, al Ghamdi took part in discussion about women's art from Saudi Arabia.

In 2019, she was selected to represent Saudi Arabia at the 58th Venice Biennale. The Saudi pavilion was curated by Prof. Eiman Elgibreen. The installation was made up of 52,000 pieces of re-worked leather inspired by organic forms, her home in Al-Baha and Aseeri ornaments. The exhibition, After Illusion, took its title from a sixth-century poem by Zuhayr bin Abī Sūlmā. All their work bridges poetics and domestic landscapes.

Desert X Arts Biennial chose al Ghamdi as one its artists for installations in Al-'Ula in 2020. Her installation was made up of 6000 date tins, placed in the land to reflect the idea and movement of a river.

Exhibitions Al Ghamdi has exhibited widely in the middle-east and in Europe, at venues including: 2015 - An Inaminate Village - Alserkal Avenue 2017 - Shift - Women Artists from Saudi Arabia - Shubbak Festival, London 2017 - The Labyrinth & Time - Saudi Arts Council 2019 - After Illusion - 58th Venice Biennale 2019 - Mycelium Running - Jameel Arts Centre 2019 - Streams Move Oceans - Athr Gallery, Jeddah 2020 - Glimpses of the Past - Desert X, Al-'Ula