Dr. Haya Al-Hossain is a Saudi multimedia artist; a painter, poet, and filmmaker currently based in Berlin, Germany. She is a daughter of a Saudi diplomat and grew up all around the world. She has experienced many different cultures, which has given her insight to create a fresh approach to filmmaking and art in general. Her paintings address the inner landscape of multi-culturalism with a unique visual language exploring cross cultural directions and choices with Arabic and English language overlays. Her figures are painted gestures, moving in foreign and familiar places. Like her original experimental films, “Ariadne’s Thread” and “I Fall Apart,” her paintings deal with feelings of loss and alienation while traveling alone in strange cities.

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Dr. Al-Hossain holds a PhD in Film Theory from George Washington University in Washington, DC. She has been exhibiting her work since 1998, and has gained several awards in filmmaking, painting exhibits, and poetry. Her paintings are in collections in Washington, DC; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Cairo, Egypt; Casablanca, Morocco; Paris, France; and Frederick., MD.

“Berliner refers to the collection of paintings, more than it refers to me. The city overpowers its inhabitants. It is the star of this series. Since the paintings have poetry written on them, even though they are illegible, I wanted to find a romantic word to explain the series without having to say a lot. In the end I chose a simple title, Berliner.  It represents significant moments of my life in the last few years. Living in an artistic city, you cannot help but feel the colors and shapes all around. Graffiti covered walls everywhere you walk, an unexplained eerie quietness in the air make Berlin visually loud, yet audibly calm. Along with the language barrier, there are many things that cannot be comprehended. Living in Berlin, including in time of the pandemic, I finally was able to paint my impression of the city I now call home.”

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- Dr. Haya Al-Hossain