Layla Rosalind Nashashibi (born 1973) is a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

-English artist based in London. Nashashibi works mainly with

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

but also makes paintings and prints. Her work often deals with everyday observations merged with mythological elements, considering the relationships and moments between community and extended family.

Early life and education

Nashashibi was born in 1973 to a Palestinian father and Irish mother, in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, a large town in South London. She received a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in Fine Art from

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom in 1995. She completed a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree at The Glasgow School of Art in 2000. During this time she spent three months in

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the ...

, California, as part of a masters

exchange program A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or higher education study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, bu ...

Work

Much of Nashashibi's work consists of films of everyday life in

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

environments. She works mainly with

as well as

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

, print and

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. Her films often use various narrative techniques in order to link staged scenes with imagery of real life. ''Abbeys'' (2006) comprises a series of four black and white photographs that each depicts an upside-down view of an abbey's archway that when flipped as such reveals an anthropomorphic face. The uncanny images are based on photos Nashashibi found in an old photograph album. ''The State of Things'' is a black-and-white film of old ladies at a

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

jumble sale A jumble sale (UK), bring and buy sale (Australia, also UK) or rummage sale (US and Canada) is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade, Boys' Brigade Company, Scouting, Scout group, ...

in Glasgow with a love song by the Egyptian singer

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum (; 31 December 1898 – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptians, Egyptian singer and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title (). Immensely popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, Umm Kul ...

on the soundtrack. The exact location of the film is unclear, and Nashashibi has said that many people, when first seeing the grainy footage, assume the women to be from some non-British culture or from an earlier time. ''Dahiet a Bareed, District of the Post Office'' was filmed in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

in an area designed by the artist's grandfather. The film is about people playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, having their hair cut and so on. ''Midwest'' and ''Midwest Field'' depict life in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. She works collaboratively with artist Lucy Skaer under the name Nashashibi/Skaer. Meeting in Glasgow, they began working together in 2005 when they made their first joint work called ''The Ambassador,'' a two-screen video about the British Consul General in Hong Kong. They have continued to collaborate alongside their individual practices, most often making 16mm films together, to explore shared interests through film and exhibition making including female representation and global cultures. Their joint work has been exhibited widely internationally. In 2019 Nashashibi became the first artist in residence at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, London, in a new residency scheme linked to its Modern and contemporary art programme. The year-long residency includes working in the gallery's onsite studio, receipt of an award to fund her work for the year, access to the gallery's collections and research, and culminates in an exhibition and publication of work. In 2017 she was nominated for the

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

, exhibiting work in the Turner prize exhibition in the Ferens Gallery in Hull alongside the three other nominees. She exhibited the two films she was nominated for; ''Vivian's Garden'' (2017) and ''Electrical Gaza'' (2015). The work ''Vivian's Garden'' was previously presented at ''

Documenta 14 Documenta 14 was the fourteenth edition of the art exhibition documenta which took place in 2017 in both Kassel, Germany, its traditional home, and Athens, Greece. It was held first in Athens from 8 April to 16 July, and in Kassel from 10 Ju ...

,'' which focuses on the relationship between and daily life of mother and daughter artists

Vivian Suter Vivian Suter (born 1949) is an Argentine-Swiss painter. Early life Suter was born in Buenos Aires. Her mother, Elisabeth Wild, was a noted collage artist. At the age of 12, Suter moved to Basel, Switzerland with her family. Career In the 1970s ...

and Elisabeth Wild at their home in Guatemala. ''Electrical Gaza'' was commissioned by the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, and combines real film footage with animation to depict the mixing of daily life in Gaza and the complex charged atmosphere of the place. In 2022 she was appointed as an artist trustee of

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

by the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

for a four-year term.

Awards

* 2003: Won the

Beck's Futures Beck's Futures was a British art prize founded by London's Institute of Contemporary Arts and sponsored by Beck's beer given to contemporary artists. Prior to the establishment of the prize in 2000, Beck's had sponsored several exhibitions of con ...

prize, the first woman to do so, for ''The State of Things''. * 2006: Decibel award recipient. * 2013: Shortlisted artist for the Northern Art Prize. * 2014: Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award. * 2017: nominated for the

for a piece of work that was made collaboratively with her daughter, Pauline Manacorda.

Exhibitions

*''Bachelor Machines Part 1'',

Chisenhale Gallery Chisenhale Gallery is a non-profit contemporary art gallery based in London's East End. The gallery occupies the ground level of a former veneer factory on Chisenhale Road, situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, near Victoria Park, To ...

, London, 2007 *''Carlo’s Vision, Body Habits'', Nomas Foundation, Rome, 2011 *''The Painter and The Delivery Man,'' Objectif Exhibitions, Antwerp, 2013 * ''Electrical Gaza,''

, London, 2015 *Two Tribes, Murray Guy, New York, 2016 *''Rosalind Nashashibi: Vivian’s Garden'',

The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatoria ...

, Chicago, 2018 *''Rosalind Nashashibi, a solo exhibition'',

Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art Witte (and de Witte) are Dutch language, Dutch and Low German surnames meaning "(the) white one". Witte can also be a patronymic surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Witte (1878–1941), German astrologer * Barbara Witte (192 ...

, Rotterdam, 2018 *DEEP REDDER, Secession, Vienna, 2019 * An Overflow of Passion and Sentiment,

, London, 2020

Collections

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

National Galleries Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland (, sometimes also known as National Galleries Scotland) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the Nation ...

* The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York * Art Institute Chicago * The Museum of Modern Art, New York

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nashashibi, Rosalind 1973 births Living people Artists from the London Borough of Croydon People from Croydon Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art English contemporary artists English people of Irish descent English people of Palestinian descent English film producers English women artists Feminist filmmakers 20th-century English women artists 20th-century English artists 21st-century English women artists 21st-century English artists Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University