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Hagar Masoud is an interdisciplinary artist and educator who lives and works between Cairo, and New York. She earned a terminal MFA from Stony Brook University, and a BFA from Helwan University in Cairo. Her artistic research explores the intersections of gender, trauma, and violence in postcolonial societies, with a focus on gender-based violence (GBV), female genital mutilation (FGM), and collective memory. Through a decolonial feminist lens, she examines how colonial histories have reinforced patriarchal structures, perpetuating systemic violence and silencing women's narratives.

Masoud’s work draws on oral histories, collective trauma, and socially engaged art, utilizing experimental media installations, sound art, technology, and performance to create immersive experiences.

#Gender - based violence #collective_trauma #FGM #collective_memory #de-colonial_feminism #transformation #oral_history #socially_engaged_art

CV

Hagar Masoud

Website | Cairo Bats | SoundCloud

Education

2025 — Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Studio Art (Terminal Degree), Stony Brook University, NY
2025 — Advanced Graduate Certificate, Media, Arts, Culture, and Technology (MACT), Stony Brook University, NY
2011 — Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Faculty of Art Education, Helwan University, Cairo

Professional Experience

2022–2025 — Instructor of Record, Stony Brook University, NY
2022–2025 — Graduate Assistant, Future Histories Studio, Stony Brook University, NY
Founded by Stephanie Dinkins, inaugural LG–Guggenheim Award recipient (2023) and Berggruen Institute Fellow
2018–2019 — Teaching Assistant, German University in Cairo, Egypt

Fellowships

2023 — DISCO Network Graduate Scholar, University of Michigan
2022 — Art Omi Fellow, New York
2019–2020 — Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellow (Nominee), Italy

Study Programs & Professional Development

2025 — School of Artivism: Feed Your Future, BJCEM – Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
2025 — Pollinator Peer Circle Pilot Program, Fall 2025 Cohort. International peer study and exchange program — Pollinator Coop
2021 — Ashkal Alwan Home Workspace Program (Sound Art Workshop), Remote
2014 — Diploma in Graphic Design, Russian Cultural Center, Cairo
2013 — Site-Specific Dance and Performance (MOOC), CalArts via Coursera
2012 — MASS Alexandria, independent study program by Wael Shawky & Sara Refky

Memberships

2025–2028 — National Artist Member, A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2024 — Member, Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present (ASAP)

Conferences

2025 — Sound Studies and Experimental Practices, Stony Brook University, NY
2024 — ASAP/15: Not a Luxury, Pratt Institute, NY
2024 — DISCO Summit, University of Michigan
2024 — Digital IDEAS: Digital X Climate!, Institute of Digital Studies, University of Michigan

Artist Collectives

2014–Present — Member, Cairo Bats
2012–2018 — Member, Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session

Prizes & Grants

2024 — Digital IDEAS: Digital X Climate! Scholarship, University of Michigan
2024 — Sunwood Estate Award, New York
2023 — Sunwood Estate Award, New York
2022–2025 — MFA Full Scholarship + Teaching Assistantship, Stony Brook University, NY
2020 — Salomon Foundation Residency Award (Shortlisted), ISCP, New York
2020 — Mahy Khalifa Art Scholarship (Shortlisted)
2019 — Glasgow School of Art, Governor’s International Postgraduate Scholarship (Partial, declined), UK
2019 — Sawiris Arts & Culture Scholarship (Shortlisted), Cairo
2019 — Invited Guest Artist, Kunstuniversität Linz, Austria
2016 — Institut Français d’Égypte Residency Award, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
2015 — STEP Beyond Grant, European Cultural Foundation, Netherlands
2013 — Pro Helvetia Studio Residency (Shortlisted), Cairo

Solo Exhibitions

2024 — Consolation Prize, Lawrence Alloway Memorial Gallery, Stony Brook University, NY
2024 — Wooden Room / Wedding Room, Lawrence Alloway Memorial Gallery, Stony Brook University, NY
2016 — Cairo Bats: Act 1 — The Roof, Contemporary Image Collective (CIC), Cairo

Group Exhibitions (Selection)

2025 — TRACES, Zuccaire Gallery, Stony Brook University
2023 — Lawrence Alloway Memorial Gallery, Stony Brook University, NY
2022 — Art Omi, New York
2021 — City Volume, American University in Cairo
2018 — Chairs, Speakers, Sparse Light, Sic! Raum für Kunst, Lucerne, Switzerland
2018 — Cairo Bats Performance, PALA LAB, SomoS Art Space, Berlin
2018 — Cairo Bats: Act 1 — The Roof, Musée des Cultures du Monde, Netherlands
2018 — Cairo Bats: Act 1 — The Roof, Able Baker Contemporary, Portland, USA
2017 — Cairo Bats: Act 1 — The Roof, Biennale Africaine de la Photographie, National Museum of Mali
2016 — Slice – On Time, Villa Romana, Florence
2016 — EmpArtolution, Künstlerforum Bonn, Germany
2016 — Meeting Points 8: Studio Cairo, curated by Giovanni Carmine, Raimundas Malasauskas, Christophe Wavelet
2015 — Laundry II, Belgian Embassy, Giza
2015 — Kevät Egyptistä, Äkkigalleria 32, Jyväskylä, Finland
2015 — Off Biennale: Something Else, Darb 1718, Cairo

Artist Residencies

2023 — Montalvo Arts Center, California
2022 — Art Omi, New York
2020 — Window Winnipeg, Digital Residency, Canada
2019 — Atelierhaus Salzamt, Linz, Austria
2018 — PALA LAB (Cairo Bats Collective), Berlin, Germany
2016 — Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
2016 — EmpArtolution, Bonn, Germany
2016 — Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
2012 — dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany

Live Sound Performances & Festivals

2022 — Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook University, NY
2017 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, HKW Berlin, Germany
2017 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, OOR, Zurich, Switzerland
2017 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, Reithalle, Bern, Switzerland
2017 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, Bad Bonne, Düdingen, Switzerland
2017 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, The Palace, St. Gallen, Switzerland
2017 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, Spor Festival, Aarhus, Denmark
2017 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, Mimi Festival, Marseille, France
2016 — Dying and Vanishing, Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
2016 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, Borealis Contemporary Music Festival, Bergen, Norway
2016 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
2015 — Hour and Two Years, Äkkigalleria 32, Jyväskylä, Finland
2014 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, Musique Action Festival, Nancy, France
2014 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, FRAC Lorraine, Metz, France
2013 — Isthmus, Casablanca, Morocco
2013 — Things That Exist Through Absence, 100 Copies Music Space, Cairo
2012 — Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF), Nassibyan Orchestra, Cairo
2012 — Egyptian Female Experimental Music Session, 100 Copies Music Space, Cairo
2011 — Nassibyan Orchestra, Jesuit Cultural Center, Cairo

Audio Releases

2018 — Chairs, Speakers, Sparse Light (Collective online album)
2011 — Nassibyan Orchestra (CD), Cairo

Artist Talks & Lectures (Selection)

2022 — Art Omi, New York
2019 — Lecture Performance, Kunstuniversität Linz, Austria
2016 — EmArtolution, Bonn, Germany
2013 — It Will Be Wonderful, Casablanca, Morocco

Collective Talks

2018 — Cairo Bats Collective Talk, SomoS Art Space, Berlin
2017 — Cairo Bats Collective Talk, Darb 1718, Cairo
2017 — Cairo Bats Collective Talk, Photopia, Cairo

Press Reviews

Aperture — "Dispatches: Cairo" by Ismail Fayed (Issue 224, Fall 2016)
Al-Ahram — "Cairo Bats – Photography group turns rooftops into a playful stage", interview with Soha Elsirgany (April 2016)
Girls Like Us — "Cairo Bats", Vol. 2, No. 8, 2016