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علاء حمامة

In his childhood, he was trapped in a surreal recurring dream: “a vast sky from which tons of sticky, colored paint poured down.” Many years later, he fully understood the power of colors to express what cannot be said. Then, with the company of color, he was able to draw the face of war without fearing it.

Ala’ Hamameh is a multidisciplinary artist born in Syria 1983. He graduated from the Visual Communications Department at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University, in 2005. He is an independent painter, photographer, creative director, video-installation artist, and calligrapher

While in Damascus, Hamameh continued to work on developing a solid identity for his self-expression, showcasing rich and varied artistry including painting, photography, graphic design, installations, video art, and calligraphy. When the war reached its climax, he had no choice but to leave his homeland. Concurrently, in 2015, he was invited by the House of the Cultures of the World in Berlin to exhibit his artworks, focusing on the theme of acting within a humane society.

Hamameh’s selected solo exhibitions include “Gedächtnis eines Koffers” at BASIS, Frankfurt, and “Dialogue Tables” at Europia, Paris. His film “A Suitcase Memory” has been shown at the opening of the new national museum MUZA in Malta. Alongside this, his works appeared internationally in numerous group exhibitions across Syria, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Lebanon, Turkey, Switzerland, and Germany. He is also a co-artist with the Caravane Culturelle Syrienne that creates cultural events across Europe.

He was named Artist of the Month for December 2021 by ‘Le Monde Diplomatique’. His works were featured in the newspaper’s German editions in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.

Although Syria was the cradle of his spirit, the land of his childhood, and the soil in which all the themes of his artwork are rooted, he is trying to find an alternative home in Germany where he works full-time at his atelier in Frankfurt am Main. After his first years in exile, he realized that his greatest fear was forgetting. Talking about memory, after these years, not only became an essential part of his work but also developed into an approach towards the fertility of impact and a future of influence.

 

Education

2001 – 2005
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Fine Arts Faculty, Visual Communications – Damascus, Syria

HarvardX, Online Learning – Harvard University
political philosophy: Justice
Verified Certificate Awarded (2022–2024)

 

Solo Exhibitions

2018 “Gedächtnis eines Koffers” – Basis, Frankfurt, Germany
2018 “A Suitcase Memory” – Europia, Paris, France
2015 “Dialogue Tables” – Europia, Paris, France

Exhibitions and Participations

2024 “We Remember” – donot suffocate truth, Vienna, Austria 

2024 “Active For Freedom” – donot suffocate truth, Gothenburg, Sweden

2024 “Active For Freedom” – donot suffocate truth, Düsseldorf, Germany

2024 “Active For Freedom” – donot suffocate truth, Witten, Germany.

2024 “Wir erinnern, wir leisten” – donot suffocate truth, Dortmund, Germany.

2024 “Emotions and Affects” – The International Psychoanalytic University, Berlin.

2024 “Emotions and Affects” – Trafalgar Square, London.

2024 “Emotions and Affects” – syria civil defence, Idlib, Syria.

2023 “We Remember We Resist” – the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

2023 “The Journey after Scars” – Mena Art Gallery, Perugia, Italy
2023 “International Journalism Festival” – Perugia, Italy

2020 “Neue Räume, Neue Perspektiven” – Räumen der Stiftung Mercator, Berlin, Germany
2019 “Neue Räume, Neue Perspektiven” – Stiftung Mercator, Essen, Germany
2018 “Gedächtnis eines Koffers” – Basis, Frankfurt, Germany
2018 “A Suitcase Memory” – Europia, Paris, France
2018 “A Suitcase Memory” – Mahalla Festival, New National Museum MUZA, Valletta, Malta
2018 “A Suitcase Memory” (Stop-motion film) – 13e Festival Arabesques, Montpellier, France
2018 “Gedächtnis eines Koffers” – Ferney-Voltaire Castle, Geneva, Switzerland
2018 “A Suitcase Memory” (Video-art) – Galerie Breckner, Düsseldorf, Germany
2017 Kunst in Licher Scheunen – Gruppenausstellung, Lich, Germany
2017 Heimat Kunst – Gruppenausstellung, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Germany
2016 Contemporary Istanbul
2016 Kaleemat Sanat Galer – Istanbul, Turkey
2016 “Life, Death and Art in Syria” – Nieuwsport with Fanack Academy, The Hague, Netherlands
2016 “La Syrie au cœur” – la galerie Neuf à Nancy, France
2016 Shared Ego Exhibition – Europia, Paris, France
2015 “Dialogue Tables” – Europia, Paris, France
2015 “Acting within a humane society” – Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
2015 “Syria off Frame” – Venice Biennale, through Imago Mundi Art, Venice, Italy
2015 (La Quinzaine Syrienne) – Galerie Pictura Bourges, Bourges, France
2014 Beirut (Global Art Fair) – Lebanon
2014 JABAL (Jeunes Artistes des Beaux-Arts du Liban) – Le Gray Hotel, Beirut, Lebanon
2014 The Last Supper Exhibition with Kozah Artgallery – The Venue Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
2013 ARA, Art Residence Aley, Collective Exhibition – Lebanon
2013 Beirut Bloom – Contemporary Art Fair – Beirut, Lebanon
2013 Etching Workshop with Yaser Safi, Yamen Yousef, Hussain Tarabeeh – Damascus, Syria
2012 Beirut Art Fair – Kozah ArtGallery, Beirut, Lebanon
2011 The Visual Scene “Selections” – Kozah ArtGallery, Damascus, Syria
2011 Small Painting Exhibition – Mustafa Ali’s Gallery, Damascus, Syria
2011 (Pomegranates) with the Dutch Sculptor “Ida M. Kleiterp” – Kozah Art Gallery, Damascus, Syria
2010 Centre Culturel Français de Damas, Collective Exhibition / Cement in Art 2 – Damascus, Syria
2010 Work-n-Art Workshop, Cement in Art (Sculpture) – Damascus, Syria
2009 National Symposium of Sculpture – Homs, Syria
2009 Work-n-Art Workshop with Centre Culturel Français de Damas – Damascus, Syria
2008 ADeaters (Video-art) Festival – Cham Hotel Cinema, Damascus, Syria
2008 BANA Association (Video-art) – Damascus, Syria
2007 Fine Arts Faculty, Collective Exhibition – Damascus, Syria
2007 Goethe Institute Workshop with German Artist “Pia Stadtbäumer” – Damascus, Syria
2007 Fine Arts Faculty with British Council and The Netherlands Institute – Damascus, Syria
2007 Typography Workshop with Delegation of European Commission – Damascus, Syria
2006 BANA Association, Photography Solo Exhibition – Damascus, Syria
2005 Fine Arts Faculty, Collective Exhibition – Damascus, Syria
2005 ECUME, Cultural Exchanges in the Mediterranean, Installation – Damascus, Syria

 

Work Experience

2023 – Present
Creative Concept Designer
HIGGS – Ala’ Hamameh Atelier – Offenbach am Main, Germany

2016 – 2023
Creative Concept Designer
Basis Frankfurt e.V. – Ala’ Hamameh Atelier – Frankfurt am Main

2009 – 2014
Brand Manager, Creative
EVOLVE Communications – Dubai – Damascus

2005 – 2008
Art Director
SEMC – Syrian-European Marketing Clinic – Damascus, Syria

2003 – 2005
Graphic Designer, Photographer
Arap Art Production – Damascus, Syria

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