A full time mother, artist and humanitarian, Aya was born in the States into  a Lebanese family with a Muslim upbringing ad raised in London and French educated. These are all aspects that come together to form Aya’s identity as a whole. After leaving school she undertook a foundation course at Chelsea college of Art and Design and went on to complete a BA at the Slade School of Art (UCL) with a year’s exchange program at the School of the Art Institute, Chicago. This was followed by an MSc in NGOs and Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science where she graduated with Merit.

As a multimedia artist, her work focuses on the use of found and recycled objects exploring loss, migration and memory. Aya’s hand-embroidered interventions onto culturally and historically specific objects, unfold silenced and authentic narratives around socially and politically engaged issues. In tandem with her practice, she ran a UK registered charity focused on the promotion of education and literacy for refugee and disadvantaged children across the Middle East.

To see Aya’s work go to www.ayahaidar.com