The Damascus-born, Paris-based photographer and sculptor Laila Muraywid sets out to explore the human body through varying shades of light and from different angles. Here, she talks to ArtScoops about her choice of media, reconciling conflicts and the impact that war has had on her work     You’ve worked with a diverse range of...

Soha Ghandour gives ArtScoops a snapshot of her shift into photography, sources of inspiration and love of spontaneity     You decided to focus fully on photography after achieving success at the Byblos Bank Awards in 2016. How has life changed for you since that time?   I like to think of my move into photography as organic....

The young Egyptian-American mixed media artist Iman Dabbous is causing a buzz in New York, where she is currently studying, and farther afield. Here she talks to Miriam Dunn about how the chaos and colours of Cairo routinely find their way into her work and her recent decision to experiment with copper plate etchings     As a young...

A major new exhibition of work by Patrick Altes, an award-winning Algerian-born visual artist of French and Spanish descent who lives in the UK, is currently under way at the Gerald Moore Gallery, London, titled ‘Tolerance’. Curated by Middle Eastern Art specialist Janet Rady and supported by both the United Nations Association and the Arts...

Now in his eighties, the Iranian artist Seyed Asadollah Shariatpanahi brings decades of tumultuous times to his work, from the beginning of modernity in his homeland in the 1960s, through the revolution and Iran-Iraq war years, to the dawn of a rewarding, new millennium. Here, he talks to ArtScoops about the principles he adopts in his work and...

Edward Chdid discusses his art collection with Miriam Dunn and dispels a few myths about collectors along the way   Various artworks from Georges Sabbagh   Aged just 24, Edward Chdid is not your typical art collector, if we allow stereotypes and preconceptions to prevail. Yet his passion, knowledge and keen eye are indisputable,...

  You often cite other artists with Iraqi roots who have moved abroad as an influence or at least among those with whom you empathise. What is the affinity you feel with these compatriots and their work? Since the very beginning, when we moved to Iraq, the work of Iraqi artists fascinated and intrigued me.  It was my husband, the...

The multi-media artist Maysaloun Faraj tells ArtScoops about how the challenges she faces as an artist, a woman, a muslim and an Iraqi living outside the motherland have affected her life experience and shaped her output as a painter, sculptor and ceramist   You work with paint, clay, wood and bronze and also have an architectural...

In an intriguing new series of works, Shahida Ahmed, a British-born artist based in the Middle East and UK, explores society’s failings and responsibilities to great effect.     All artists hope to generate a reaction from their work, whether it’s starting a dialogue, adding to a conversation or encouraging their audience to pause...