Visiting Artist: Qais Assali

The Art Department is honored to welcome Qais Assali on campus. Qais Assali is an
interdisciplinary artist/designer born in Palestine in 1987 and raised in the UAE before returning
to Palestine in 2000. Assali taught in Visual Communication at Al-Ummah University College,
Jerusalem, Michigan State University, MI, and Vanderbilt University, TN. Recently, Assali joined
the School of the Museum of Fine Arts' faculty at Tufts University, Boston, MA. Assali was a
2019-21 Core Fellow at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX. Assali’s work has been
exhibited at Hauser & Wirth, NY; Middle East Institute, DC; Station Museum of Contemporary
Art, TX; Stamps Gallery, University of Michigan, MI; Toronto Queer Film Festival 2021, Canada;
SculptureCenter, NY; Chicago Cultural Center, IL, Glassell School of Arts, Museum of Fine Arts
Houston, TX; Temporary Art Center (TAC), Netherlands; and Qalandiya International, Palestine.
Assali is the recipient of Art Matters Foundation grant; Chicago Artists Coalition Spark Grant;
Houston Arts Alliance Digital Grant; Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts - Idea Fund;
SAIC New Artists’ Society Award; and Palest’In & Out Festival - Plastic Art Prize. Assali holds
four degrees in visual arts from Palestine and the U.S, a BFA in Graphic Design from An-Najah
National University 2009, and a BA in Contemporary Visual Art from the International Academy
of Art Palestine 2017. Assali simultaneously completed an MFA from Bard College, NY 2019,
and an MA in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 2018.