Amina Kadous (1991-) is a visual artist based in Cairo, Egypt. She received her Bachelor in Fine Arts from Tufts University and The School of the Museum of Fine arts in Boston. Her work tackles concepts of memory and identity. She believes in the ephemerality of experience. Nothing lasts, documentation of experiences, of the objects and moments of the physical world only lasts when it is passed on. She believes a photograph is an object that holds memories and meanings, keepsakes that give life. Photography as an art has been a medium allowing her to treasure, hold and bless the past she has not lived but only through the stories and eyes of those who have narrated it. Her work is a linkage between the past and present through the layers of time as they fold and unfold. The exploration of time serves, for her, as a means for understanding who she is as a person. Characterizing herself as an explorer of ideas, she is driven by the spirit of inquiry as she seeks to comprehend the meanings and hidden ambiguities of lives, not her own, through the interactive nature of viewer, photographer, object and environment. She is driven by experience as a woman and an Egyptian. That is her signature: her work, like time, evolves… 

Her work has been exhibited locally and Internationally. 

She exhibited as part of the Photography Biennale of the contemporary Arab world at the Cite Des Arts in Paris in 2019. She participated at the 12th edition of the Bamako Biennale of Photography and being awarded the Centre Soleil d’Afrique Prize for her project, “A crack in the Memory of My Memory”. This prize is awarded to an outstanding female artist from Africa whose work shows signs of  promise and development. Her work was also exhibited at the The AfriKa Museum and Tropen museum in the Netherlands part of the World Press group exhibition,“ Connecting views: Talents from the APJD”. She was awarded a grant from Magnum Foundation and Prince Claus foundation and was one of the top ten finalists for the Everyday projects grant for her current long-term series “ White Gold”. In 2022, She was awarded the Contemporary African photography Prize for her project “White Gold”, in the same year she was also awarded the Prix De La Photo Madame Figaro at Arles photography festival for the same series.In 2023 her project “ White Gold” was also nominated for the Prix Pictet  prestigious award and Deutsche Börse  prestigious Prize. Kadous was awarded the Sheikh Saoud Al Thani Award in 2023. 

Solo Show:

       -    White Gold , Kranj Foto Festival, Kranj, Slovenia  2023

       -    White Gold, Thessaloniki PhotoBiennale, MOMus, Thessaloniki, Greece,  2023

Group Exhibitions:

  • Elastic Vision Curated by Faridah Folawiyo, Efie Gallery, Dubai, UAE, 2024

  • Ground State—Fellowship Within the Uncanny, 14th Edition of Lagos Photo Festival, Republic of Bénin, Lagos  2023

  • Africa Foto Fair, Second Edition, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire  2023

  • Shifting Sands: Environmental issues in the Arab world, Casa Arabe, Cordoba, Spain  2023

  • Love and other Acts of Will, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe 2023

  • Shifting Sands: Environmental issues in the Arab world, Casa Arabe, Photo Espane  2023

  • CAP prize exhibition in Leipzig Photobook Festival, Grassi Museum, Leipzig,            2023

  • Our Time, Even in Dreams, 6th edition of Jaou Tunis contemporary Art Festival, Tunis 2022

  • Alexandria Crossing Past & Present, Goethe Institute, Alexandria, Egypt 2022

  • If A tree falls in a forest Exhibition, Arles photography Festival, France, 2022

  • Past Forward – Time, Life and Longing, Cortona on the Move, Alula, Saudi Arabia, 2022

  • More Than A Number Exhibition, ffotogallery, Cardiff, Wales 2021

  • Through the Lens Exhibition, Tropen Museum, Amsterdam 2021-2023

  • The Everyday Projects: New Stories and Horizons Exhibition, Townhouse Gallery 2021

  • Roznama 8 Visual arts exhibition, CIC, Downtown Cairo 2021

  • My favorite Things 5, Mahrabeia Gallery, Downtown Cairo 2020

  • 1-54 African contemporary Art Fair with The Photographic Collective, London, UK 2020

  • Welcome Home Vol.II Exhibition , Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, Marakech 2020

  • Vantage Point Sharjah 8 (VPS8), Al Hamriyah Studios, Al Sharjah 2020

  • Estate Fotografia 2020, Fourth Editon online version , Africa, Siracusana, Italy 2020

  • “ Connecting views: Talents from the APJD '', Afrika Museum , Berg en Dal, The Netherlands 2020

  • 12th Edition Les Encontres de Bamako, Biennale Africaine de La Photographie, Mali 2019

  • Cairographie- Multiple states of youth, Darb1718, Cairo 2019

  • Hakawi - Tales of Contemporary Egypt, Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris 2019

  • Soft Hands” AlAydy AlNaema , Seek The Nook, Zamalek, Egypt 2019

  • Cairo Photo week, SARD Exhitbition, Photopia Cairo, Egypt 2018

  • OFF Something Else Biennale Cairo, Darb 1718 (multiple Locations), Cairo, Egypt 2018

  • City as Agent of Change, Townhouse Rawabet, Cairo, Egypt 2017

  • Cairographie first edition, Darb1718, Cairo, Egypt 2017

  • The onlooker, Shnit film festival x Cairo Saturday walks, Cairo, Egypt 2017

  • Public art piece, “Inside Out collaboration project : Echo of Others”, El Shatby Alexandria, Egypt 2017

  • Naema’s Office is Bleeding Exhibition 2, Medrar Contemporary Art, Garden City, Egypt 2016

  • THAT ART FAIR, Cape Town,South Africa 2016

  • Mohamed Abla's Competition for Painting and Drawing, Greek Campus, Egypt 2016

  • Print and paper Area show, SMFA, Boston, MA 2015

  • Rhinospective POP-UP Store, Boston, MA 2014

  • Painting Biennial, SMFA, Boston, MA 2014

  • All School Drawing Area show, SMFA,Boston, MA 2014

  • Print and paper Area show, SMFA, Boston, MA 2014

  • SMFA Art Sale Show, SMFA, Boston, MA 2013

  • Print and Paper Area show, SMFA, Boston, MA 2013

  • Histories of Now: Space for Dialogue, Art and Activism, Grossman Gallery, Boston, MA 2013

  • 24th Annual Student Show at the Copley Society of Art, Boston, MA 2013

  • Photorealism, CSM college of Arts and Design, UK 2011

  • End of year show, CSM college of Arts and Design, UK 2011


Awards:

  • Finalist International Photography Award Encontros da Imagem               2023

  • Kranj Foto Fest winner theme Human & Nature                                   2023

  • PRIX DE LA PHOTO MADAME FIGARO, RENCONTRES  ARLES                        2022

  • Everyday Projects Grant, Finalist                                                                       2022

  • Contemporary African Photography Prize                                                         2022

  • Centre Soleil d’Afrique Prize at the 12th Edition of Bamako Biennale          2019

  • Mohamed Abla's Competition for Painting and Drawing 2016

  • Print and Paper Area award, SMFA, Boston, MA 2015

  • President Research Award, SMFA Boston, MA 2014


Scholarships:

  • Apprenticeship in Dana Whabira Studio part of The online edition of Kampala Art Biennale 2020

  • The Red Pill : Uncharted territories of personal Narrative Liberation workshop with Tanya Habjouqa, Gulf Photo Week, Dubai , UAE 2019

  • The foundry photojournalism workshop, Kigali, Rawanda 2019

  • The Women Photograph Mentorship Program, Class of 2019-2020 2019Residences:

-       Fayoum Winter Academy, Tunis Village, Fayoum, Egypt                                                      2016

Grants:

  • Sheikh Saoud Al Thani award Tasweer grant Project Award               2023

  • Shortlisted Grand Prix Images Vevey Project award                                      2023

  • Finalist at the Everyday Projects Grant 2021

  • The Seventh cycle of The Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP) , The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture                                                                                                     2020-2021

  • Carte Blanche by Al Safar and Darb1718 2019

    Residences:

  • Fayoum Winter Academy, Tunis Village, Fayoum, Egypt 2016

  • Black Rock Senegal  Artist Residency                             2022-2023

    Press:

- Women In Motion partners with Rencontres d’Arles 2022

https://www.kering.com/en/group/kering-for-women/women-in-motion/rencontres-d-arles-2022/

-Photography: shifting the focus

https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2022-08/photography-shifting-focus

-CAP Prize 2022 | Female African photographers dominate this year’s edition of the prestigious award

https://www.zammagazine.com/arts/1496-cap-prize-2022-female-african-photographers-dominate-this-year-s-prestigious-award

-CAP Prize Announces 2022 Winners

https://contemporaryand.com/magazines/cap-prize-announces-2022-winners/

-Amina Kadous, winner of the 6th Madame Figaro Photo Prize - Rencontres d'Arles

https://newsrnd.com/life/2022-07-09-amina-kadous--winner-of-the-6th-madame-figaro-photo-prize---rencontres-d-arles.BJQyYqmDi9.html

Amina Kadous remporte le prix de la photo Madame Figaro 2022

https://www.lense.fr/news/amina-kadous-remporte-le-prix-de-la-photo-madame-figaro-2022/

- INTERVIEW DE AMINA KADOUS

https://www.afriqueinvisu.org/interview-de-amina-kadous/

-Egypte/ Photographe / Amina Kadous / LA VERITE AU FOND DU PUIT

https://zoes.fr/2022/06/30/egypte-photographe-amina-kadous-la-verite-au-fond-du-puit/

-Contemporary African Photography prize – a shortlist selection

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2022/may/20/contemporary-african-photography-prize-a-shortlist-selection

-Amina Kadous, lauréate du 6e Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro - Rencontres d'Arles

https://madame.lefigaro.fr/celebrites/culture/amina-kadous-laureate-du-6e-prix-de-la-photo-madame-figaro-rencontres-d-arles-20220709

-Egypt's Amina Kadous Nominated for Int'l Photography Award

https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3745381/egypts-amina-kadous-nominated-intl-photography-award

- Cairo’s ‘Summer Portfolio’ photography show examines Egypt’s past and present

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2145986/lifestyle

-DIFFUSION 2021 | ART PREVIEW

https://www.buzzmag.co.uk/diffusion-2021-art-preview/

- Portfolio Selection to be Featured  in AFRICA 2020 issue of ZEKE magazine

ARTIST AMINA KADDOUS ON WHY MEMBERS OF THIS EGYPTIAN COMMUNITY DESTROYED THEIR OWN PORTRAITS

http://www.cairoscene.com/ArtsAndCulture/Artist-Amina-Kaddous-on-Why-Members-of-this-Egyptian-Community-Destroyed-Their-Own-Portraits

 JR’s Global Art Project Comes to Egypt, but Gets Torn Down in 24 Hours

https://egyptianstreets.com/2017/05/13/jrs-global-art-project-comes-to-egypt-but-gets-torn-down-in-24-hours/

Shelves of Time, photo story by Amina Kadous at Panorama, Mada Masr

https://madamasr.com/en/2018/12/09/panorama/u/shelves-of-time/

part of LCC photographers community in Morroco 

 http://www.lccprogram.org/lcc-community/

Third Biennial of Photographers of the Arab World: Introduction +From Egypt to Paris

https://loeildelaphotographie.com/en/third-biennial-of-the-photographers-of-the-arab-world-introduction-from-egypt-to-paris-bb/

Bamako Encounters Prize Winners announced

https://eyonart.org/bko19-prize-winners

Les Rencontres de Bamako Awards 8 Prizes

https://www.contemporaryand.com/magazines/les-rencontres-de-bamako-awards-8-prizes/

In pictures, Egyptian Female Photographers Stage A Revolution Through Photography

https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/picture-egypt-female-photographer-revolution

Eight Awards granted at the 2019 Bamako Encounters

https://loeildelaphotographie.com/en/eight-awards-granted-at-the-2019-bamako-encounters-bb/?fbclid=IwAR3yWhWDFCP4CKeVPIFF314WmRQ-SvJA5ueAEWR3CYqZY7Azaj4fjRNNm8U