Mohammed Abou El-Naga is an accomplished Egyptian visual artist, art professor, curator and developer. After graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts and completing his PhD in Philosophy of Art from Alexandria University, Abou El-Naga went on to create award-winning art projects, teach and mentor young artists, and curate exhibitions around the world. He made history as the first Middle Eastern artist to receive a grant from the Japan Foundation to study the art of papermaking.
Mohamed Abou El-Naga
El-Naga has exhibited his work in solo presentations in Egypt and internationally, showcasing a diverse range of mediums such as painting, video and installation. He represented Egypt at the 2002 Venice Biennial and received first prize at the 2001 Alexandria Biennial. El-Naga has also curated significant exhibitions, such as the biggest Artist Book Biennial in the Alexandria Bibliotheca in 2002 and was assigned by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture as the curator of the 25th Alexandria Biennial for Mediterranean Countries in 2009.
El-Naga is the founder of Elnafeza for Contemporary Art & Development, an organisation that revives the traditional craft of papermaking in rural Egyptian communities, providing sustainable employment and market opportunities for paper products and art. His work addresses important social and environmental challenges, including providing skills and work to unemployed women and the disabled, as well as recycling agricultural waste which would otherwise be burned.
