Sarah Ahmad
Tulsa, OK, U.S.
Email: ahmadsarahart1@gmail.com
Website: www.sarahahmad.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_ahmad_art/?hl=en
SOLO EXHIBITIONS public projects*
2023 Oklahoma Parklands: A Meditation, OKPOP Museum, Tulsa, OK
*2022 Stories from the Core, eight concurrent locations in Oklahoma: Tulsa Central Library; Norman Public Library East; Lawton Public Library; Champion Public Library, Ardmore; Tahlequah Public Library; Talihina Public Library; Spiro Public Library; Soutar Memorial Library (collaborative off-site installation), Boise City
*2021 The American Dream, Greenwood Art Project, 1921 Tulsa Massacre Centennial Commission, Oxley Nature Center, Tulsa
2020 Cosmic Veils, Alexander Hogue Gallery, University of Tulsa
2018 Fractured Cosmos, Rohtas 2 Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan
*2017 Floating Meditations, Regional One Hospital, Memphis, TN
2016 Groundless IV, Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2015 Groundless I, Hyde Gallery, Memphis, TN
*2015 Garden-scape, Flying Solo Exhibition, Nashville International Airport, TN SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Oklahoma Parklands: A Meditation, OKPOP Museum, Tulsa, OK
2022 Stories from the Core, Installation, eight concurrent locations in Oklahoma: Tulsa Central Library; Pioneer Library System-Norman Public Library East; Lawton Public Library; Champion Public Library, Ardmore; Tahlequah Public Library; Talihina Public Library; Spiro Public Library; Soutar Memorial Library (collaborative off-site installation), Boise City, OK
2021 The American Dream, Greenwood Art Project, Public Art Installation for the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial, Oxley Nature Center, Tulsa, OK
2020 Cosmic Veils, Alexander Hogue Gallery, University of Tulsa, OK
2019 Quilting Patterns of Identity II, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Tulsa, OK
2018 My Oasis, Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery, Nashville, TN
2018 Fractured Cosmos, Rohtas 2 Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan
2016 Groundless IV, Sharjah Art Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2015 Lotus Harvest, Circuitous Succession Gallery, Memphis, TN
2015 Groundless I, Hyde Gallery, Memphis, TN
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS two-person & three-person shows*(2012—)
2024 Textures of Feminist Perseverance, James Gallery, CUNY Graduate Center, NY
2023 Gaze, Mark Arts, Wichita, KS
2022 Stories Form The Core, Sparkspace Installations, Spark Summit, Tulsa, OK
2021 Creativity in Quarantine: Women of the Pandemic, Doha, Qatar
*2022 Off the Wall, three person show at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, Oklahoma City, OK
2022 24 Works on Paper, SEOSU Centre Arts Gallery, Durant; Gaylord Pickens Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
2021 Asia Triennial Manchester Festival ATM21, UK
2021 Creativity in Quarantine: Women of the Pandemic, Washington, D.C.
2021 Art Now, Oklahoma Contemporary Art Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
2021 Exhibition 320, Delhi Contemporary Art Week, New Delhi, India
2021 24 Works on Paper, Forest Heritage Center Museum, Broken Bow, OK; Artesian Gallery, Sulphur, OK; Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid, OK; TAC Gallery in Tulsa, OK; Spider Gallery, Tahlequah, OK
2020 Words Without Form: Language as Medium, Aicon Art Viewing Rooms, a program of Aicon Gallery, New York, NY
2020 24 Works on Paper, SWOSU Art Gallery, Weatherford, OK; The Wigwam Gallery, Altus, OK
2020 Concept 2020 curated by Heather Pesanti, Havester Arts, Wichita, KS; Tulsa, OK
2020 Tapestries of Fading Gardens,1 x1 Art Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2019 Recall / Respond, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK
2019 Turnaround - Tulsa Fellowship Festival, True Turn Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
2019 Jaali Installations, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Tulsa, OK
2018 Art Comes Alive, Art Design Consultants, Cleveland, OH
*2018 Folding Shadows, three-person show at Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan
*2017 Liminal Identities, two-person show at Yeiser Arts Center, Paducah, KY
2017 Art of the South, Linda Ross Gallery, Memphis, TN
2017 IARS Islamic Arts Revival Series Women's Invitational Exhibition, Eisenmann Center, Richardson, TX
2016 IARS Islamic Arts Revival Series, Irving Arts Center, Irving, TX
2016 Memphis College of Art Alumni Biennial Show, Hyde Gallery, Memphis, TN
2015 Circuitous Succession Epilogue, Scottish Rite Temple, Memphis, TN
2014 IARS Islamic Arts Revival Series, LuminArte Gallery, Dallas, TX
2014 In Focus, Southern College of Optometry, Memphis, TN
2014 Elegant Nude, The Gallery at Watershed, Eugene, OR
2014 Electron Show, Los Angeles County Museum of Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
2014 For Every Season, Las Laguana Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2014 Persons of Interest, Rust Hall, Memphis, TN
*2013 Winter Collages, Solo Show, Ameriprise, Memphis, TN
2013 Obsessions, Hyde Gallery, Memphis, TN
2013 Art of Science, Hyde Gallery, Memphis, TN
2013 Best of Memphis, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
2013 Pieceful, Nu Gallery, Memphis, TN
2012 Draw, Color, Line, Brinkley Plaza, Memphis, TN
2012 Untitled 414, Crosstown Arts, Memphis, TN
2012 Eye of the Beholder, Hyde Gallery, Memphis, TN
SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS (2014—)
2024 Santa Fe Art Institute International Residency & BIPOC Fellowship Award, NM
2023 Virginia Center for Creative Arts 50th Anniversary Fellowship, VA
2021-23 Artist Integration Award, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Tulsa, OK
2021 Thrive Grant, Andy Warhol Foundation/Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition
2020 Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship, OK
2019 Nominated for Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant
2019 & 2020 Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Tulsa, OK
2019 Creative Projects Grant, Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, OK
2018 L.A. Summer Residency, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Finalist for Art Comes Alive Award, Cleveland, OH Sponsored by ADC Fine Art
2017 & 2020 Nomination for Jameel Prize, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
2017 Paducah Arts Alliance Residency, Paducah, KY
2017 School of Visual Arts Summer Residency, New York, NY
2017 Vermont Studio Center Fellowship, Johnson, VT
2017 Semi-finalist for Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Award
2015 Vermont Studio Center Artist's Grant & Residency, Johnson, VT
2014 NY Center for Photographic Art, Same Different, Juror’s Selection Award, NY
2013 Finalist for South Main Design Challenge, Memphis, TN
2013 Best in Show, Best of Memphis, Memphis, TN
PRESS & SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY *reviews/interviews (2014—)
Shahzad Bashir, “Epilogue,” A New Vision for Islamic Pasts and Futures, (MIT Press, 2022). https://doi.org/10.26300/bdp.bashir.ipf.introduction-islam
*Brandy McDonnell, “Oklahoma gallery invited three artists to make ‘Off the Wall’ work,” The Oklahoman, June 3, 2022.
*Jerica Wortham, Anita Contini, and Stephanie Dockery, “How the Greenwood Art Project United a Community in Reflection and a Vision for the Future,” American Alliance of Museums, March 4, 2022.
“Sarah Ahmad’s Stories from the Core opening at Champion Public Library,” The Ardmorite, June 26, 2022.
Jerica Wortham, “Greenwood Art Project Director on Art’s Healing Powers,” ARTnews, December 22, 2021.
Hank Willis Thomas, “The Deciders,” ARTnews, December 8, 2021.
PBS OETA, “ArtNow 2021” Oklahoma News Report, September, 2021.
Megan Rossman, “Get to ArtNow. . . Now!” Oklahoma Today, September 2021.
John Brandenburg, “27 artists give wide range of statements in ArtNow 2021 exhibit,” The Oklahoman, September, 2021.
Robert Reid, “ArtNow 2021,” OETA Gallery America, August, 2021.
*Brandy McDonnell, “Dynamic diversity: 13 must-see highlights of Oklahoma Contemporary's ArtNow 2021," The Oklahoman, August 2021.
Sherri Hultner, “Amplify: ArtNow 2021 showcases Oklahoma’s deep artistic diversity” Edmond Active, July 28, 2021.
*Liz Blood, “Sarah Ahmad,” in ArtNow 2021 [exhibition catalogue], edited by Helen Page Opper and Liz Blood, (Oklahoma Contemporary, 2021), 7, 34.
*PBS, “Sarah Ahmad: American Dream,” Gallery America, Season 7, Episode 1, July 1, 2021. https://www.pbs.org/video/episode-1-sarah-ahmad-23j17g/
PBS OETA, Odyssey, [cover image], June 29, 2021.
David Dean, Robert Reid, “Final Friday with Gallery America,” OETA PBS, June 25, 2021. https://youtu.be/IOETAWZoAtw?t=1360
PBS OETA, “Art Project Vandalized,” The Oklahoma News Report, June 22, 2021.
Tanya Modersitzki, “Art installation vandalized at Oxley Nature Center,” Fox23 News, June 15, 2021.
*Katelyn Howard, “Greenwood Art Project Installation Redefines The “American Dream”,” KGOU, June 4, 2021.
*Steve Jansen, “Tulsa Race Massacre Remembered in Sarah Ahmad’s Installation,” Southwest Contemporary, May 31, 2021.
*Kalup Linzy, “On the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre,” BOMB Magazine, May 31, 2021.
Brent Reaney et al., “Greenwood Art Project takes a look at the discrimination, destruction in Tulsa,” USA Today, May 31, 2021.
PBS, “How Art Is Retelling Powerful Stories of Tulsa Massacre, Capturing Community’s Hopes, PBS News Hour, May 28, 2021. www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-art-is-retelling-powerful-stories-of-tulsa-massacre-capturing-communitys-hopes
*Brandy McDonnell, ”Art speaks: Greenwood Art Project unveils wide-ranging commemoration of Tulsa Race Massacre,” The Oklahoman, May 28, 2021.
“Greenwood Art Project: The American Dream,” Root Tulsa, May 28, 2021.
Doug Hoke, “Outdoor art installation honoring Tulsa massacre victims unveiled in Greenwood,” The Oklahoman, May 27, 2021.
Sarah Cascone, “To Mark 100th Anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Dozens of Artists Are Installing Public Works Around the City,” Artnet, May 26, 2021.
James D. Watts Jr, “Community voices, community vision: Greenwood Art Project to unveil works by dozens of artists,” Tulsa World, May 24, 2021.
*Marlan Hall, American Dream: A Visual Poem with Sarah Ahmad. Google Arts & Culture. https://youtu.be/nCus6ulRvnM?si=HExfboIE--5f-PW4
Sarah Ahmad [cover art] in Release Me: The Spirits of Greenwood Speak, Phetote Mshairi, ed, (New Greenwood LLC, 2021).
*Amy Rosenblum Martín, “Marigold Opacity,” in An Impulse to Keep: Greenwood Art Project, edited by Rick Lowe and William Cordova, (Name Publications, 2021).
*Katelyn Howard, “Greenwood Art Project Installation Redefined the American Dream,” Opera News, June 4, 2021.
Vandana Kalra, “Starting today, Delhi Contemporary Art Week will see seven art galleries under one roof,” The Indian Express, April 8, 2021.
“Beginning right now, Delhi Modern Artwork Week will see the approaching collectively of seven artwork galleries underneath one roof,” Newsaxes, April 10, 2021.
*“Oklahoma’s Immigrant Women Artists: Oral history interview with Sarah Ahmad” conducted by Julie Pearson Little Thunder, Library of Congress Occupational Folklife Project, Oklahoma State University Collections, January 15, 2021.
“Words Without Form: Language as Medium,” Aicon Art, November–December 2020.
*James D. Watts Jr., “Cosmic Veils exhibit finds the beauty in destruction,” Tulsa World, September 20, 2020.
*Rich Fischer, “Artist Sarah Ahmad Offers ‘Cosmic Veils,’ Now on View at TU’s Hogue Gallery,” Public Radio Tulsa,September 8, 2020.
Tulsa Artist Fellowship, “Cosmic Veils by Sarah Ahmad,” Vimeo, October 1, 2020.
Mandy Messina, “Out of Context/In Focus,” Art Focus Oklahoma, Winter 2020.
“Recall/Respond: Tulsa Artist Fellowship and Gilcrease Museum Collaboration (Phase II),” Gilcrease Museum, November 2019–March 2020.
Zachary Small, “Through Art, I Hope That We Can Make One Tulsa,” New York Times, June 26, 2020.
James D. Watts Jr., “Artists selected for Greenwood Art Project,” Tulsa World, June 1, 2020.
“Tapestry of Fading Gardens,” ARTMO, 2020.
Jyoti Kalsi, “Art and Culture: Exploring a Pakistani palette,” Gulf News, April 18, 2020.
Nayha Jehangir Khan, “The virtual frontiers of art,” The News On Sunday (TNS), March 29, 2020.
Alexandra Chaves, “Arts & Culture: A guide to museums and galleries that have reopened across the UAE,” The National News, July 1, 2020.
heather ahtone, “24 Works on Paper Catalog 2020-2022,” Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, July 31, 2020.
Laurence Myers Reese, “Supporting Creative Exploration and Identity,” Art Focus Oklahoma, Summer 2020.
*Catherine Crain, “Reponse: Focus Artist Sarah Ahmad,” in Concept 2020 [exhibition catalogue] by Heather Pesanti, (Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, 2020), 12–17.
Rich Fisher, “Re: Concept -- An OVAC Exhibit on View at Ahha Tulsa.” Public Radio Tulsa, February 12, 2020.
“Sarah Ahmad: My Oasis,” Tennessee Arts Commission, December 2018.
*Veera Rustomji, “Koel Gallery explores perceptions of three-dimensionality,” Herald, July 13, 2018.
*Maha Minhaj, “Review: Folding Shadows at Koel Gallery, Karachi,” Youlin Magazine, April 27, 2018.
*Peerzada Salman, “Folding Shadows opens at Koel,” Dawn, April 26, 2018.
“Fractured Cosmos Driftwood I by Sarah Ahmad,” Koel Gallery, April 2018.
Suljuk Mustansar Tarar, “Enriching two lands at once,” The Friday Times, April 2018.
Veera Rustomji, “Illusions of Three-Dimensionality,” Dawn, April 2018.
Nikkid, “Visiting Artists in Residence bring mixed media installations and sculpture to Paducah’s creative landscape,” Paducah Arts Alliance, September 21, 2017.
Sarbani Ghosh, “16 Feminist Art Shows to See In Honor of Women’s History Month,” Artnet, March 6, 2017.
Islamic Art Revival Series, Women’s Invitational [exhibition catalogue], 2017.
“Feminist beauty on display: The IARS Women’s Invitational Exhibition 2017,” Ismailimail, March 20, 2017.
City of Irving, “IARS Exhibit: 5th Annual International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Islamic Art,” YouTube, November 17, 2016.
Islamic Art Revival Series, “2016 Art Gallery,” IARS, 2016.
City of Irving, “IARS Exhibit: 5th Annual International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Islamic Art,” YouTube, November 17, 2016.
Islamic Arts Festival, 2016 Catalogue
“Memphis artist Sarah Ahmad’s work featured at Nashville International Airport,” Knoxville Daily Sun, July 18, 2015.
Vermont Studio Center, “In the Studio with Sarah Ahmad-Interview,” Tumblr, January 2016.
“Viz City: The Elegant Nude,” NPR for Oregonians, October 2014.
“IARS Catalogue,” Islamic Arts Revival, 2014.
*Person of Interest, GOMEMPHIS, February, 2014
NY Center for Photographic Art, Same Different, Juror’s Selection Award, February, 2014
Studio Visit Magazine, Spring & Fall 2014
PUBLIC APPEARANCES (2015—)
2023 “Women in the Arts,” Sunny Days Mural Fest, Holberton, Tulsa, OK
2022 “Threshold of Contemporary Art,” with Annu Palakunnathu Mathew, Ranu Mukherjee, & Apoorva Bakshi, South Asian Literature & Art Festival, Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, CA
2021 Panel Discussion: Women of the Pandemic, Qatar America Institute for Culture
2021 Visiting Artist Lecture, University of North Texas
2021 Visiting Artist Lecture, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
2021 Guest Artist Talk, Seattle Colleges, Seattle, WA
2019 Philbrook Museum of Art, Regional Artist Series, Tulsa
2019 Immigrant Narratives and Art Practices; organized and participated, Tulsa
2017 Artist Talk & Panel Discussion, Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas, TX
2017 Artist Talk, Yeiser Arts Center, Paducah, KY
2016 Artist Talk, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Pakistan
2015 Artist Talk, Circuitous Succession Gallery, Memphis
EDUCATION
MFA Memphis College of Art, TN
MA Education, Union University, Jackson, TN
B.A. Fine Arts, National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan