Founder thewanawal.com
Êvar has exhibited her work in several locations including at Warehouse421 in UAE, East of West in New Mexico USA, La Friche in Marseille, and The V&A. Êvar has given artist talks and lectures on alternative archival systems and practices and the psychological impact of the archive in many educational institutions including The Slade, Northwestern University, NYU, Regents University, Central Saint Martins and LSE. She has hosted and participated in workshops and events at the Islamic Arts Biennale, iniva, Reference Point, Design Museum, V&A, Nottingham Contemporary and has been invited to participate in or moderate panel talks and round tables by TAPE Collective, Mou7i6 x Decolonial Hacker, Warehouse 421, AZEEMA Mag, Camden Arts Centre, London Short Film Festival and more.
Her books are stocked at The Mosaic Rooms, Printed Matter (NY), Maktaba (Montreal), Hopscotch (Berlin), and salasil (Dubai).
Education
MA Postcolonial Culture and Global
Policy, Goldsmith’s College
BA Art and Design, University of
Leeds
Bad Girls: Representations of Race and Gender in Popular Culture, Goldsmith's College
Residencies and Awards
Somerset House Studio, 2025
The Advocacy Academy supported by The University of Brighton in collaboration with Royal College of Arts and Clare Cumberlidge (archivist-in-residence), 2025
Dazed 100 Global and Dazed MENA 100
Swiss Art Fund, 2024
Arts Council England Project grant, 2023
a-n Artist Bursary, 2023
Castlefield Gallery Associate, 2023
Arts Council England: Developing Your Creative Practise, 2021
Warehouse 421 (Abu Dhabi) x Bombay Institute for Critical Analysis and Research (BICAR) – PRAXIS: Art and Philosophy in the Global Contemporary, 2021
Jupiter Woods: Herstories and Feminisms, 2021
Haramacy by Comm.un, 2020
a-n The Artists Information Company / The Freelands Foundation, 2020
Jerwood Bursaries Award, 2020
The White Pube Monthly Digital Takeover, 2020
Creative Mentor Network recipient, 2020
Selected Group Exhibitions
As We Gaze Upon Her, Curated by Banat Collective, Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2021
ZAO TANG 2021, organised by Local Collective x STIGMA (digital), 2021
WOMEN IN MY HISTORY PART II, The White Pube, 2020
Can’t Win Don’t Try 7, CWDT, London, UK, 2019
Third Space II: An Exhibition of Diaspora Artists, Third Space,Cambridge, UK, 2019
ARTUMMAH, East of West Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, 2019
100 Years, Todays Women by We Are Here, LSE Library, London, UK, 2018
A River Flowing, East Of West Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, 2018
RIOTGAL, The Hospital Club, London, UK, 2017
La Friche Festival, Marseille, France, 2015
Pesangeh (exhibition) Kurdistan, Diyarbakir, Kurdistan, 2015
As We Gaze Upon Her, Curated by Banat Collective, Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2021
ZAO TANG 2021, organised by Local Collective x STIGMA (digital), 2021
WOMEN IN MY HISTORY PART II, The White Pube, 2020
Can’t Win Don’t Try 7, CWDT, London, UK, 2019
Third Space II: An Exhibition of Diaspora Artists, Third Space,Cambridge, UK, 2019
ARTUMMAH, East of West Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, 2019
100 Years, Todays Women by We Are Here, LSE Library, London, UK, 2018
A River Flowing, East Of West Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, 2018
RIOTGAL, The Hospital Club, London, UK, 2017
La Friche Festival, Marseille, France, 2015
Pesangeh (exhibition) Kurdistan, Diyarbakir, Kurdistan, 2015
LECTURES:
Exploring WANAWAL and archival concepts, the Slade School of Fine Art, UK
“Eternalising our Artistic Practises: Workshop on Archiving Methods”, Islamic Arts Biennale, Saudi Arabia Personal & Collective Memories of Kurdistan, Performance Lectur co-curated by Old Mountain Assembly, Queer Circle, UK
“The lives of/in archives“, with Dr. Althea Greenan and Dr. Tahani Nadim, University of Bochum, Germany
“Psychological impact of information circulation and archiving”, LSE, UK
“Alternative Methods and Feminist Research Methods”, Central Saint Martins, UK
“Humanities: Re/Orienting (in) the World”, Northwestern University, USA
“Engaged Gazing for Social Justice in Britain”, The Good Immigrant, Regent's University & Seattle University, USA/UK
“Eternalising our Artistic Practises: Workshop on Archiving Methods”, Islamic Arts Biennale, Saudi Arabia Personal & Collective Memories of Kurdistan, Performance Lectur co-curated by Old Mountain Assembly, Queer Circle, UK
“The lives of/in archives“, with Dr. Althea Greenan and Dr. Tahani Nadim, University of Bochum, Germany
“Psychological impact of information circulation and archiving”, LSE, UK
“Alternative Methods and Feminist Research Methods”, Central Saint Martins, UK
“Humanities: Re/Orienting (in) the World”, Northwestern University, USA
“Engaged Gazing for Social Justice in Britain”, The Good Immigrant, Regent's University & Seattle University, USA/UK
Panels:
Aisha, curated by salasil, Reference Point, 2024Round Table Discussion by New Contemporaries, Camden Arts Centre, 2024
Bridging The Gap With Azeema: How Intercultural Communication Builds Community, SoleDXB, Dubai, UAE, 2023
“Êvar and Sunayah”, APNA Studios, 2023
“Sound Archives”, Le Guess Who?, NL, 2023
Mou7i6 x Decolonial Hacker Panel, 2022
London Short Film Festival: Collectively Doing It Differently by TAPE Collective, Rich Mix, 2022
Where is the Gaze? Moderated by Nadine Khalil, Warehouse 421, UAE. 2021
Laundry Arts: Women, Memories & Monuments, Design Museum, 2020
Working In The Creative Industries, by We Are Here, LSE, 2018
“Memories”, by Laundry Arts, Protein Studios, 2017
PUBLICATIONS:
Trigger, Museum of Youth Culture, NO NIIN, Dazed MENA, Birtish Journal of Photography, Notion 95, Art Monthly, Reference Point Newspaper, The Toe Rag, London Short Film Festival x T.A.P.E Collective, AZEEMA Mag Issue 4, Nour Magazine, DAZED Summer Issue 21, Marques Almeida SEE THROUGH Issue 2, Popular Front Issue 2, Bricks Magazine Issue 7, Hymen Magazine Issue 4, AZEEMA Mag Issue 3, Lungs Project Issue 3, AZEEMA Mag Issue 2, Memories by The Laundry Arts
Cited + mentioned: Harper’s Baazar Arabia, J-Deed, The Dots, Pinterest, The Face, Bubble Gum Club, Elephant, It’s Nice That, Foundation FM, Refinery29, East East, Nowness, PW Magazine, i-D and more.
CURATION:
SYNC UP: Resonance of Heritage curated by WANAWAL and RASMi, The Casbah, 2025
‘don’t worry i won’t forget you’, curated by Êvar Hussayni and Sarah Hamed, Forma, 2024
“Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” presented by West Asian and North African Women’s Art Library, co-curated with Zainab Hasoon (Shabab Intl) and Sara Bin Safwan (Guggenheim Abu Dhabi), Reference Point, 2022
“Memories” by Laundry Service, Protein Studios, Assistant Curator, 2017
'Society and Culture' exhibition by Meet The Artists/Creative Debuts, 2017
SYNC UP: Resonance of Heritage curated by WANAWAL and RASMi, The Casbah, 2025
‘don’t worry i won’t forget you’, curated by Êvar Hussayni and Sarah Hamed, Forma, 2024
“Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” presented by West Asian and North African Women’s Art Library, co-curated with Zainab Hasoon (Shabab Intl) and Sara Bin Safwan (Guggenheim Abu Dhabi), Reference Point, 2022
“Memories” by Laundry Service, Protein Studios, Assistant Curator, 2017
'Society and Culture' exhibition by Meet The Artists/Creative Debuts, 2017
Programming and Workshops:
Friday Late: A Thread of Light, curated by Muslim Sisterhood, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2025
WANAWAL SOUNDS, IC Visual Lab, Bristol, 2025
Michael’s Meats / ROADWORKS, in collaboration with Brixton Community Cinema, 2024
Summer Solstice: WANAWAL Live Archiving Event, Nottingham Contemporary, 2024
The WANAWAL presents WANA film screening in collaboration with "Uncovering the Archive" by Mayday Rooms and iniva, Reference Point 2023
INDEX Public Program: Sharing memories over Kurdish cuisine, iniva, Stuart Hall Library, 2023
Body Politics + Rebel Rebel, Friday Late at Barbican, 2022
Women Artists of the Northeast Library + The West Asian and North African Woman’s Art Library, Memory Tracing Workshop, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, 2022
“Precious Pipeline” by Shamiran Istifan, curated by Êvar Hussayni, Life Drawing Class, Moarain House, 2022
The Mosaic Rooms, Programming and Events (Pride of Arabia, Haramacy by Comm.un, Eating At The Same Table, Estabrak), 2017 – 2019
AZEEMA Anti-Art School, V&A Museum, 2019
WANAWAL SOUNDS, IC Visual Lab, Bristol, 2025
Michael’s Meats / ROADWORKS, in collaboration with Brixton Community Cinema, 2024
Summer Solstice: WANAWAL Live Archiving Event, Nottingham Contemporary, 2024
The WANAWAL presents WANA film screening in collaboration with "Uncovering the Archive" by Mayday Rooms and iniva, Reference Point 2023
INDEX Public Program: Sharing memories over Kurdish cuisine, iniva, Stuart Hall Library, 2023
Body Politics + Rebel Rebel, Friday Late at Barbican, 2022
Women Artists of the Northeast Library + The West Asian and North African Woman’s Art Library, Memory Tracing Workshop, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, 2022
“Precious Pipeline” by Shamiran Istifan, curated by Êvar Hussayni, Life Drawing Class, Moarain House, 2022
The Mosaic Rooms, Programming and Events (Pride of Arabia, Haramacy by Comm.un, Eating At The Same Table, Estabrak), 2017 – 2019
AZEEMA Anti-Art School, V&A Museum, 2019