Malda Smadi

Malda Smadi is an artist based in Dubai. Born in Damascus, Syria, she later moved to the UAE where she studied Visual Communication at the American University in Dubai (BFA, 2008).
Malda was granted a year-long fellowship in Abu Dhabi, UAE with the Salama Foundation Emerging Artist Fellowship (2016-17), and was the recipient of the Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award (first place, Fine Arts category) in 2016.
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Her work explores the body, identity, memory, and emotions in the medium of painting, drawing, photography and sculpture.
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In 2019, she launched In Transit Archives, a series of recorded conversations with women in the UAE. These recordings document the musings and idiosyncrasies concerning girls and women within the Middle Eastern diaspora, as well as the expatriate culture of the country.