Visual Artist | United Arab Emirates
Jana Salem
Born in 2003
About the creator
- Jana Salem is an Egyptian artist based in Cairo. She graduated with highest honors with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts, with a minor in Interior Design, from the American University in Cairo. Before relocating for her studies, she lived in the UAE. Her multidisciplinary practice spans painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, and time-based media. She works with diverse materials, including cardboard, wire, clay, gypsum, cement, metal, and thread, while also being proficient in design software such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro, AutoCAD, Rhinoceros, and REVIT. Thus, she strives to bridge conceptual art with spatial design, creating works that reflect social values and cultural identity. Salem’s work examines elements of the built environment in their original context, revealing the cultural, political, social, and environmental layers embedded within them. By questioning the structures we navigate and thesystems that shape them, she blurs the boundaries between artistic intervention and lived reality. By reinterpreting function through installation and spatial interventions, she transforms passive observation into active engagement, inviting reflection on the interconnectedness of space, society, and perception.
Education
Bachelor of Arts graduate from the American University in Cairo (2021–2025), majoring in Visual Arts with a GPA of 3.80 and graduating with Highest Honors. Complemented academic studies with a Minor in Interior Spaces of Design and participation in a Summer Abroad Program at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy (Summer 2024), where coursework in the arts and humanities provided in-depth exposure to both classical and contemporary art within the context of Rome.
Exhibtions
Selected exhibitions include the IB Senior Exhibition in Sharjah, UAE (2021), where 10 artworks were displayed across oil painting, watercolor, acrylic on plexiglass, and mixed media collage; the Visual Arts Open Call Exhibition at Sharjah Gallery, American University in Cairo (2023), featuring a drawing-based narrative device artwork; and a solo drawing presentation at Lamasat Art Gallery in Doki, Cairo (2024). Further exhibitions include the Visual Arts Open Call Exhibition at Sharjah Gallery, AUC (2024), where a fictional installation incorporating 3D models, sculpture, drawing, video, and sound was presented; participation in El Warsha Art Fair (3rd Edition) at TAM. Gallery, District 5, Cairo (2025) with one painting exhibited; and the Senior Thesis Exhibition at Margo Veillon Gallery, AUC Tahrir Square Campus, Cairo (2025), presenting a sculptural installation exploring electricity inequality in Egypt.
Curated Exhibtions
Stories of Craftsmanship, Bibliotekh Art Gallery, Arkan Plaza, Cairo — 2025; Stories of Craftsmanship presents a collection of mixed-media works that reflect the contemporary moment through abstraction. The exhibition centers on materiality, emphasizing the significance of the making process over the final outcome. Through its spatial arrangement, the exhibition highlights a dialogue between traditional craft practices and contemporary mediums, revealing how these approaches intersect, respond to one another, and continue to evolve.
Masterpieces by Jana Salem
