Tasweer Dialogues

About Tasweer Dialogues' Sixth Masterclass Coach Rola Khayyat

Rola Khayyat is an interdisciplinary artist, curator and educator based in Doha, Qatar. Her socially-engaged practice centers on representations of war, memory and belonging. Khayyat received an M.F.A. in Visual Arts from Columbia University. Her projects have been shown at apexart, NY; the Black and White Gallery, NY; the Magnum Foundation, NY; Bronx Documentary Center, NY; Kunstraum llc, NY; the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki; Okk /raum 29, Berlin; Tacheles, Berlin; Catalyst Arts Belfast Photo Festival 2013; the 21st International Istanbul Art Fair; North of History, NY; and the JKC gallery, NJ. Her work has been featured in The Nation, Contemporary Practices, L’oeil de la Photographie, The Public Source, Jadaliyya, JMEWS Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, Yale Theater Duke Press, Warscapes, Mold, Esse, Musee Magazine, The Arab Weekly. She has been awarded grants and fellowships from VCUarts Richmond (Quest); VCUarts Qatar (FRG); apexart; Young Curators Academy; the Magnum Foundation, Civitella Ranieri; Artellewa, the Fire station Museum, PerForm Festival of Art, Ideas and Activations.

Khayyat is an Assistant Professor of Art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. She previously taught at Columbia University, and the American University in Cairo (AUC).

About the Masterclass:

Personal histories offer insight into the complex forces shaping our world and help us connect to broader collective narratives. This masterclass invites participants to engage deeply with their family photographs, uncovering fresh meanings and possibilities through collaborative reading and storytelling. What emerges when we reinterpret shared histories and confront the unknown? How can we honor the stories passed down to us while infusing them with our own perspectives?

Using family archives as a starting point—whether photographs, oral histories, heirlooms, or other inheritances—we will explore these questions together. By the end of the session, participants will have the beginnings of new creative drafts refined through peer feedback, and practical tools for navigating their family archives moving forward.