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BIOGRAPHY

Gamal Elkheshen is an Egyptian artist and Associate professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo. He currently serves as Acting Vice Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Head of the Department of Graphic Arts and Media Arts at the Faculty of Art and Design, the British University in Egypt.

Born and raised in Cairo in 1988, Elkheshen earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, in 2010. He later completed his Master’s and PhD degrees at the same institution, and in 2024, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Graphic Arts, with research focused on Contemporary Art and Design Studies.

Elkheshen has participated in numerous exhibitions both locally and internationally, most notably representing Egypt at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015. His works have been widely showcased in national and international art events, alongside his involvement in research activities and international projects funded by the European Union and UNESCO. He has received several awards and honors, including most recently the State Encouragement Award in Fine Arts from the Supreme Council of Culture – Ministry of Culture, Egypt.

He held his first solo exhibition in 2016, followed by five additional solo shows, and has participated in international workshops and artist residencies. His practice spans diverse fields of contemporary visual arts, including painting, drawing, digital art, installation, and video art.

In academia, Elkheshen has taught at several Egyptian universities, including the Faculty of Fine Arts at Helwan University and the Faculty of Arts and Design at Galala University, before joining the British University in Egypt where he now combines academic leadership with artistic practice.

Exhibitions:  

 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

·       2023 “Dermis Crust” Gallery Misr, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2020 “INFERNO CHAPTER” the Faculty of Fine Arts, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2019 “CROSS THE WORLD" at Gezira Art Center, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2017 “The DARK FLOWERS” at BA Art Gallery, Berlin, Germany.

·       2016 “End Of Season”. at Gallery Misr, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2015 “The Other Side of Blue” at South London gallery, South London, UK.

                                                                                    

 

GROUP EXHIITIONS:

·       2024 Art District (Cinema Radio), Cairo, Egypt.

·       2023 Palazzo Cipolla Fondazione Roma Museo, Roma, Italy.

·       2023 Fayoum land of Treasures, Gizra art center, Egypt.

·       2023 Agenda Art Exhibition, Bib-Alex, Alexandria, Egypt.                                                                

·       2020 Riyad Art week, Hafez Gallery, Riyad, Saudi Arabia.   

·       2022 The National Exhibition, Arts Palace, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2022 The Art Week, Grenada, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2022 The Third Line Art Gallery, Dubai.

·       2021 The International Nord Art Exhibition, Büdelsdorf ,Germany. 

·       2021 The First Salon of contemporary arts, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2021 The National Exhibition, Arts Palace, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2021 The Digital Festival Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt.

·       2021 Art fair Dubai, Dubai.

·       2021 Bardo National Museum, Tunis.

·       2020 Florence Biennale - International Biennial of Contemporary Art.     

·       2020 The first edition of Cairo art fair, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2020 Jeddah Art Fair, Hafez Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.   

·       2019 The International Nord Art Exhibition, Büdelsdorf,Germany. 

·       2019 Orth Contemporary gallery, the Vanity of Earthly Achievements, , curated by Griff Williams, Tulsa Oki, London, UK.

·       2019 Gallery 16, Your Lost Shoe, or Everything that happened Since the Last Time, San Francisco, United states.

·       2019 Galleria La Corte Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy.

·       2018 Video Art installation, Media Art festival, Cairotronica, Egypt.   

·       2018 The Egyptian academy in Rome, Rome, Italy.

·       2018 Green Art Gallery, Dubai, UAE.   

·       2018 Tokyo International Mini - Print Triennial, Tokyo, Japan.

·       2017 The Media Art Exhibition, VITRINE Art Basel, Miami, USA.                                       

·       2017 Agenda Art Exhibition, Bib-Alex, Alexandria, Egypt.                                                                

·       2017 Group of Artists, Galleria La Corte Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy.   

·       2017 Drawing exhibition, Darb17, 18, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2017 Upper Egypt Salon, Luxor, Egypt.

·       2017 The Intentional prints Exhibition of Miami prints gallery MPG, USA.

·       2016 The International Nord Art Exhibition 2016, Büdelsdorf, Germany.

·       2016 Agenda Art Exhibition, Bib-Alex, Alexandria, Egypt.

·       2016 Egyptian Youth Salon26, Cairo, Egypt. Won The Prize of the Youth Salon 27 “Installation Project” David Can’t is narrated.

·       2016 The National Print Biennale, Cairo, Egypt.

·       2016 The Biennale Of Dai Gallery, Cairo, Egypt, Won the Prize of the Biennale.

·       2016 The Hidden Massage, Drawing Exhibition Art lounge, Cairo

·       2016 The International Symposium of Electronic and New Media Arts Cairo-tronica “No Signal”.

·       2016 Egyptian artists Show- Egyptian Embassy in Lebanon.

·       2016 The Egyptian-Bulgarian exhibition at Sofia University, Bulgaria.

·       Venice Biennale 56, Egyptian Pavilion, Venice, Italy. “Can You See?”    

·       2015 Tokyo International Mini - Print Triennial, Tokyo, Japan.

·       2015 Upper Egypt Salon, Luxor, Egypt.

·       2015 Youth Salon, the Arts Palace, Cairo Opera House, Cairo, Egypt.  

·       2015 Group of exhibition at Rom-Art gallery, Roma, Italy.

·       2015 North-South, European Union Art Culture Event .Discovering Egypt, the Art work Are collective from the Bib-Alex, Egypt.

·       2015 Agenda Art Exhibition, Bib-Alex, Alexandria, Egypt.

·       2014 Youth Salon, the Arts Palace, Cairo Opera House, Cairo, Egypt.                     
2014 International Biennale de Aquarelle, Fabriano, Italy.

·       2014 Group of exhibition at Green art Gallery, Dubai, UAE.

·       2014 Biennial of Small Graphic Form, Niklaas, Belgium.

·       2014 Gabrovo International Biennale of Humour and Satire in the Arts, Bulgaria.

·       2013 The BIMPE (Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition), Vancouver BC.      

·       2013 National Biennial of Contemporary Prints, Spain.

·       2013 International Print Biennial ROC, Shanghai.

·       2012 Seoul International Print Biennale, South Korea.               

·       2012 International Triennial Color in Graphic Art, Turin, Italy.

·       2012 Local arts exhibition events in Cairo.

·       2011 International Biennale de Aquarelle, Fabriano, Italy.                                                                                            

·       2011 lntergraflk Triennial of Engaged Graphic Art. 

·       2011 The Icelandic Printmakers’ Association.

 

 

CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIUMS:

 

·       2021 Fayoum international symposium, Fayoum, Egypt.

·       2019 Barcelona Residency of Art | Sarrià, Group artist project.

·       2018 Luxor international symposium 2018, the 11th edition, Egypt

·       2017 Green Olive Arts international artist residency program, Morocco.

·       2016 Artists in Residency Program, Baltic Contemporary Art Gallery, Ustka, Poland.

 

WORKSHOP:

 

·       2020 The organizing of The First edition of graphic art workshop 2020 – Faculty of Fine Arts Helwan University. “The First international graphic event at the faculty of fine arts” and will be an international annual event that host graphic artists from all over the world to share knowledge and experience.

·       2018 Art Speaker, World Youth Forum, Sharm Sheikh , Egypt.

 

ACQUISITIONS:

·       2022 The Egyptian Modern Art museum, The Administration of Cultural Palaces in Cairo,

·       2020 collective collection, Durham oriental art museum Durham University, UK.

·       2020 Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

·       2020 The Egyptian Modern Art Museum, The Administration of Cultural Palaces in Cairo,

·       2019 Art, the Cultural Development Fund, The Administration of Cultural Palaces in Cairo.

·       2017 Commercial International Bank Egypt.

·       2016 Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Fine Arts Sector in Cairo, The Egyptian Museum of Modern.

·       Private Collection: Canada, Egypt, France, Greece, Germany,                                                         

 

 

Exclusive online plate forum:

 

·       EMERGEAST Ltd. Dubai, UAE. “Online art gallery”.

·       Gallery Misr

 

Prizes:

 

·       2023 state incentaive award - Supreme Council of culture - Ministry of Culture 

·       2016 The First Prize of the Egyptian Youth salon “Installation Project”                           

·       2015 The prize of representing the Egyptian pavilion art Venice biennale                   

·       2014 The second prize of the Daie gallery, Cairo Egypt.

·       2014 The prize of the upper youth salon, Luxor Egypt.

·       2012 The second prize of the international biennale of water color, Fba, febraiano, Italy.

 

Volunteering:

Designed GU Booth for Cop 27, 2022.

The organizing committee for the university art festival, Helwan University. 2020

Art Speaker at the world youth forum, sharm elshekikh, Egypt 2018.

 

Career History

 

Vice Dean for Research and Post-Graduate Studies

2025 to present

Faculty of Art and Design, The British University, Cairo, Egypt.

 

Associate Professor, Head of Graphic and Media Department                                                                      2025 to present

Faculty of Art and Design, The British University, Cairo, Egypt.

Associate Professor                                                                         2024

Faculty of Art and Design, Galala University in Egypt (GU), Galala city, Egypt.

Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt

 

Assistant professor                                                                           2021 to 2024

The Galala University in Egypt (GU), Galala city, Egypt.

Teaching the following subjects: UI/UX, Typography, principles of logo design, evolution of graphic design, brand strategy, Web and app design, print production, creative thinking, infographic design.

Faculty of Art and design.

 

Visiting Lecturer                                                                                2020 to 2021

The British University in Egypt (BUE), Cairo, Egypt.

Teaching the following subjects: Graphic Foundations.

Faculty of mass media communications.

 

Assistant professor                                                                                

Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt

Teaching the following subjects: Design, Graphic Art. In Graphic Design degree course, through using traditional and digital media.

 

Lecturer in Graphic Design, Graphics department.                         2014 to 2019     Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt

Teaching the following subjects: Advertising, printing, illustration drawing.

 

Assistant Lecturer                                                                              2010 - 2014

Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University

Teaching the following subjects: Design, Graphic.

 

Publishing Research:

 

The Journal of Art & Architecture Research Studies (JAARS) is a semi-annual peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Faculty of Fine Arts Cairo – Helwan University.

“The Digital Revolution and Ideologies of Thought and Creativity in Graphic Arts” 2020

The first edition: Online (ISSN 2535 - 2369) - Print (ISSN 2535-1508)

“Pixel art as a visual stimulus in graphic arts”.                                                              2021

The third edition: Online (ISSN 2535 - 2369) - Print (ISSN 2535-1508)

“Analyzing data through infographics in contemporary arts”.                                   2022

The 8th international Scientific Conference, Digital Technology

in Architecture, Arts & Era Challenges (ISSN 2535 - 2369) - Print (ISSN 2535-1508)

The Digital Revolution and Ideologies of Thought and Creativity in Graphic Arts‏

The Journal of Art ‏& Architecture Research Studies - JAARS 1 (Issue 1), 14 Print (ISSN 2535-1508)                                                                                                     

Digital Art's Role in the Restoration of Lost Identity Scenes                                2022

The Journal of Art ‏& Architecture Research Studies - JAARS 1 (Issue 6), 14 Print (ISSN 2535-1508)                                                                                                     

iHeritage: Preserving and Promoting Cultural Heritage in the Egypt Region through Innovative ICT Solutions                                                                                             2023

The Journal of Art ‏& Architecture Research Studies - JAARS 1 (Issue 7), 14 Print (ISSN 2535-1508)                                                                                                     

Using the triadic color scheme in graphic arts: analytical research for (Adeem Exhibition)

The Journal of Art ‏& Art Education Research Studies -  (Issue 24), 14 Print (ISSN 2535-1508)                                                                                                     

 

Academic Achievements:

>Member at the international Committee, Galala University.

• Developed the program of Visual Communications and New Media Design at National Helwan University, including designing the program outline and curriculums.

• Redesigned the Graphic Design and Multimedia program at Galala University.

• Won the I Heritage Open Call for UNESCO and secured full funding for a project at Galala University.

• Created the first digital platform for student activities in Egyptian universities - GU Design Lab.

Artist Statement

I have never considered myself a strong communicator through words; instead, I have always relied on the power of visual expression to convey my ideas. During my final two years at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo, I began to feel limited by the traditional boundaries of drawing and printmaking. I was driven by a constant desire to merge different media and explore how technology could become an integral part of my creative process. To overcome these limitations, I started experimenting with digital tools—initially as a technical extension of my hand—and gradually integrated them into my artistic practice. Inspired by the experimental spirit of Robert Rauschenberg, I explored diverse materials and surfaces, always seeking new ways to express contemporary experiences through visual form.

Discovering technology as a medium was a turning point in my artistic evolution. It liberated me from traditional tools—no longer did I need a pen or brush to express myself. Instead, I could draw directly with my fingers, manipulate details intuitively, and reconstruct ideas with fluid immediacy. Working digitally reignited a sense of play and curiosity within me; it awakened my inner child and offered me the freedom to deconstruct, rearrange, and reimagine my art in endless ways.

In my earlier years, my work focused primarily on realistic depictions. I excelled in these studies, ranking first among my peers. Yet, a new chapter unfolded as I began to engage in collaborative art residencies and project-based practices. Writing became an essential part of my process—a way to translate memories, emotions, and ideas into visual form. This reflective approach allowed me to connect more deeply with my subject matter and to experiment more boldly with materials and concepts.

At the age of twenty-five, I had the honor of representing Egypt at the Venice Biennale 2015 with the project “Can You See?!”, a collaborative work that carried a hidden message of peace. This milestone profoundly shaped my artistic vision, inspiring me to pursue technology-based art as a means to express thought and emotion more dynamically.

Today, my practice remains experimental and project-based, where each body of work holds its own concept, identity, and material language. I focus on the interaction between the artwork, the viewer, and myself—creating installations that invite participation and breathe life into the space. My explorations extend to video art, painting, and multimedia installations that incorporate movement, sound, and language. Through these works, I aim to communicate beyond words—to evoke emotion, provoke thought, and connect with viewers on a deeply human level.

www.linkedin.com/in/gamal-elkheshen-599a2a148


Social Network links:
Instagram: @gamalelkheshen
Twitter:@gelkheshenart
facebook: /elkheshenart