Moataz Nasr is an Egyptian painter, sculptor,

multimedia artist Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to traditio ...

and self-proclaimed cultural activist.

Biography

Nasr was born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in August 1961. His father believed that art was not a profession, merely a hobby, so Nasr found himself studying economics at the University of Alexandria. Nasr's first entry into the Egyptian art scene happened in 1995 when he entered his work in a competition organized by the

Egyptian Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture of Egypt is a ministry responsible for maintaining and promoting the culture of Egypt. The current minister is Ines Abdel-Dayem, former chairperson of the Cairo Opera and one of six women in the Egyptian Cabinet. Histor ...

and received third prize. However, he was criticized by fellow artists for being an "outsider" to the art scene, having not studied it academically.

Art career

Nasr broke into the international art scene in 2001 when one of the leading Italian art galleries, Galleria Continua, exhibited his work. Nasr has participated in many exhibitions since and has won many awards including: third place in the 7th Salon of Youth, a contest organized by the Ministry of Culture in 1995, the Prize of Painting in the Heliorama exhibition from the French Cultural center in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

in 1997, the Grand Prize in the 8th International Cairo Biennale in 2001, the Biennale Prize from Dakar Biennale in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

in 2002, the Ministry of Culture Prize, Dak’art Biennale,

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

, Senegal in 2004 and the Grand Prize, Sharjah Bienniale,

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

in 2005. In November 2008, Nasr founded

Darb 1718 Darb 1718 ( ar, درب ١٧١٨) is an Egyptian contemporary art and culture center located in the Fustat area of Old Cairo. As a registered non-profit, charity organization Darb 1718 seeks to encourage experimentation by supporting new works b ...

. Darb 1718 is an Egyptian contemporary art and culture center located in the Fustat area of

Old Cairo Old Cairo (Arabic: مصر القديمة , Miṣr al-Qadīma, Egyptian pronunciation: Maṣr El-ʾAdīma) is a historic area in Cairo, Egypt, which includes the site of a Roman-era fortress and of Islamic-era settlements pre-dating the founding of ...

. It is a registered non-profit organization with the stated mission of being "a trampoline to advance the burgeoning

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

movement in Egypt." It also aims at presenting local and international contemporary art, archiving artwork and maintaining a comprehensive database of art in Egypt and the

MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

area, as well as acting as an educational front by providing workshops, projects and film screenings. The center also aims to engage the local Fustat community through community service and outreach programs. Nasr participated in the 2017

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

with a video installation at the Egypt pavilion.

Notable works

* '' "El Shaab"'' (الشعب "The People"), painted ceramics, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasr, Moataz Living people Egyptian sculptors 1961 births Egyptian contemporary artists