Chama Mechtaly (; born July 1992) is a Moroccan artist and activist based in Dubai.

Early life and education

Mechtaly was raised in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

by a Muslim mother and Jewish father. Her paternal grandfather was

Amazigh Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their u ...

-Jewish, but converted to Islam to marry her paternal grandmother, who was Muslim. In high school, Mechtaly became interested in her family history, and more broadly in the influence of Jewish history and culture on Morocco. She remained in Morocco until age 17. She attended college in the United States, studying conflict resolution and international relations at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

through a scholarship. There, she became interested in the Jewish concept of tikkun olam and in repairing relations between Muslim and Jewish communities in the Middle East.

Art career

Mechtaly began painting and drawing as a child, and was encouraged by her father to pursue art. She began using oil paints at age 15. While studying in the United States, Mechtaly exhibited in the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

area. Her first solo exhibition was at the American Islamic Congress’ Newbury Street art gallery in April 2013. In 2015, while exhibiting at Complexe Culturel Sidi Belyout, the director removed her pieces, ''DrapeauMarocainRevisité'' (Moroccan Flag Revisited), out of concern that it might incite "aggressive behavior". The piece is a painting of the Moroccan flag, with a green

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

on the red background, as opposed to the usual five pointed star. She was also later threatened with charges of "deformation of national emblems". In 2021, Mechtaly co-curated ''Maktoub'', the first Jerusalem-UAE art exhibition, which focused on ten calligraphers, five from each country. Her own art was also included in the exhibit, which was organized in collaboration with the Jerusalem Biennale. In 2022, Mechtaly launched an NFT artwork in honor of women and the then-recent Abraham Accords. Mechtaly was a 2023-2024 fellow of the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

's WIn Fellowship.

Style and themes

Mechtaly's work tends to focus on Moroccan culture, history, and pluralism. She has painted portraits of both Amazigh and Jewish women, and created paintings which involve Arabic and Hebrew calligraphy.

Moors and Saints

Mechtaly is the founder of Moors and Saints, a Dubai-based jewelry brand. The pieces are handmade in Dubai from gold, silver, and precious stones. The brand does not use diamonds, as part of a mission to be "conflict free". The brand draws on influences such as

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture that developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). Scholarly references on Is ...

from

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

during the Golden Age of Spain, during which there was religious tolerance between Muslims and Jews. The brand debuted in September 2019, during Dubai Design Week. The first three collections were

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

(inspired by

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

(inspired by the city's

zellij Zellij (), also spelled zillij or zellige, is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various patterns on the basis of tessellations, ...

tiles), and

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

(inspired by Al-Azhar Mosque).

Activism

Mechtaly has spoken in favor of the Abraham Accords, and in November 2021 was part of a delegation which promoted the agreements in the United States. Mechtaly has donates some profits from Moors and Saints to Banat el Emarat, a UAE-based NGO focused on women's empowerment.

Personal life

Mechtaly moved to the United Arab Emirates in the late 2010s. She later moved to Israel. She considers herself to be an intersectional feminist and an "advocate for interfaith dialogue and pluralism".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechtaly, Chama 1992 births Living people 21st-century businesswomen 21st-century Moroccan painters 21st-century Moroccan women Brandeis University alumni Moroccan activists Moroccan businesspeople Moroccan designers Moroccan expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Moroccan feminists Moroccan women activists People from Casablanca People of Moroccan-Jewish descent Businesspeople from Casablanca Jewellery designers