Hamdi Attia (b. 1964 in Assiut, Egypt) lives and works in Cairo and Chicago.
He studied at the College of Fine Arts in Cairo, at the Egyptian Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, and at the University of Pennsylvania. His work engages in experimental vocabulary, using video, mapping, drawing, and mixed media. He represented Egypt at the Venice Biennial in 1995, where he received the top pavilion prize with Akram Al-Magdoub. His work was also exhibited in the Cairo Biennial in, the Canaries Biennial, and Brussel Biennial. His work has been featured in private and group exhibitions in Cairo, New York, Paris, Rome, Sao Paulo, Detroit, Copenhagen, and Philadelphia. Furthermore, Attia has been commissioned for a number of public works in Egypt, Italy, and the U.S.
Selected Exhibitions (*Solo Shows)?2015 Ten: The Exhibition, Arab American National Museum? *Fireworks Amman, Darat al-Funun, Amman?2014 Al-Masar Gallery, Cairo?2013 Things may appear different than they are, APT Institute, Nürnberg, Germany
Al-Masar Gallery, Cairo? Aswan International Sculpture Symposium?2012 *Works on Paper, Al-Masar Gallery, Cairo?2011 Al-Masar Gallery, Cairo? Aswan International Sculpture Symposium?2010 *Re-Presentation: the aesthetics of photojournalism, Al-Masar Gallery, Cairo
Medrar Fourth Cairo Video Festival
New York Chronicles, Virginia Commonwealth University Gallery, Doha, Qatar?Sentences on the banks and other activities, Darat al-Funun, Amman?Barakat, Stux Gallery, New York?Tarjama/Translation, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca?*Archipelago: a world map 1, HKS Gallery, Bergen, Norway
2009 Tarjama/Translation, Queens Museum of Art, New York? Amber, UKS Gallery, Oslo? Al-Masar Gallery, Cairo? *Aegnapea, Pageant Gallery, Philadelphia
All Art Now, Dieschönestadt, Leipzig
2008 Al-Masar Gallery, Cairo? Brussels Biennial
Exit Art Gallery, New York?2007 *World Map, L'appartement 22 Gallery, Rabat? Break 2.4, Ljubljana, Slovenia? *ArteEast Virtual Gallery? All Clear? Contemporary Art from Egypt, Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg?2006 Canary Islands Biennial ? Pageant Gallery, Philadelphia? *Almost Art, Slought Foundation Gallery, Philadelphia? VIPER, International Festival For New Media, Basel
Videobrasil, Sao Paulo?2005 Museum of New Art, Detroit
New York International Independent Film & Video Festival
2004 *TV Room, Townhouse Gallery, Cairo
2003 Bristol Gallery, Ithaca, New York
Viridian Gallery, New York
2002 The Convention Center, Philadelphia? The Power Plant, Philadelphia?2001 Fox Gallery, Philadelphia
1999 Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
*Taqa, Gezira Arts Center, Cairo?1998 *Columbia University, New York
Center for Egyptian Culture, Vienna? Gezira Arts Center, Cairo?1997 *Mashrabia Gallery, Cairo
International Cairo Biennial
1995 Venice Biennial
1990-1994 Salons of Young Artists, Cairo
Awards?Golden Lion Prize for Best Pavilion, Venice Biennial (1995, with Akram Al-Makdoub and Medhat Shafiq), Artist-in-Residence, Alice Kaplan Center for the Humanities, Northwestern University (2017), Nominated for Abraaj Capital Prize (2010), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Artist in Residence NY (2006), Maurice Lowe Award, University of Pennsylvania (2002), First prize, Port Said Outdoor Sculpture Competition (1998), National Creativity Grant, Egyptian Academy of Art in Rome (1995-1996), First prize in painting, Sixth Salon of Young Artists, Cairo (1994)?? Initiatives, Workshops, Lectures
International Project Curator, Pro Helvetia: Switzerland, Egypt, South Africa (2013-2014)
Co-Founder and Program Curator, Doukan, Rogers Park, Chicago
Founding Arts Director, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, Philadelphia
Co-Founder, Old Cairo Ceramics Studio, Cairo
Co-Founder, Wadi Hof Arts Workshops, Cairo
