_{Drama 1882, exhibition view, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy, 2024}

Wael Shawky (b. 1971 in Alexandria) lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt and Philadelphia, USA. In 2010, he founded MASS Alexandria, an independent nonprofit school for contemporary art, that offers spaces for art practices, interdisciplinary research, and critical thinking education. His work has been showcased at major international exhibitions such as  M Leuven Museum, Brussels, Belgium (2022); The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, USA (2021); The Louvre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2020); The Polygon, Vancouver, Canada (2020); ARoS, Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark (2018); Sfeir-Semler Hamburg (2018); Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Yinchaun, China (2017); Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy (2016); Fondazione Merz, Turin, Italy (2016); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2016); Fondazione Merz, Zurich, Switzerland (2016); MATHAF, Doha, Qatar (2015); MoMA P.S.1, New York, USA (2015); 15th Istanbul Biennale, Istanbul, Turkey (2015); Sfeir-Semler Beirut (2015); SALT, Istanbul (2014); K20 Düsseldorf, Germany (2014-15); Here & Elsewhere, The New Museum, New York, USA (2014); Serpentine Galleries, London, UK (2013-14); Re:emerge, Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE (2013); Documenta 13, Kassel, Germany (2012); KW Contemporary Art Institute, Berlin, Germany (2012); 9th Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2012); Nottingham Contemporary, UK (2011); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA (2011); and Sfeir-Semler Beirut (2010).

Shawky has received many awards for his work, including the Honorary Citizenship of the City of Palermo (2017); the Sharjah Biennial Award (2013); Award for the Filmic Oeuvre, created by Louis Vuitton; Kino der Kunst, Munich (2013); Abraaj Capital Art Prize, Dubai, joint winner (2012); Schering Stiftung Art Award, Berlin (2011); Grand Prize, 25th Alexandria Biennale (2009). In 2011, he was an Artist in Residence at The Center for Possible Studies, Serpentine Gallery, London.