Haseeb Ahmed (b. 1985) is an American artist who lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. He produces objects, installations, and films. His work is often collaborative and draws from the hard sciences, blending art and aeronautics, myth and technology, to create new narratives.
Over the last 10 years Ahmed has structured his research-based artistic practice around fluid dynamics of wind and water. His focus is on what we can learn about our changing climates through the movements of the wind and the waters by what they carry, both physically and in terms of cultural associations throughout history.
His work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Antwerp, BE) and has been exhibited internationally at the Göteborg Biennial (Göteborg, SE), Museum Bärengasse, (Zurich, CH), The Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, USA), De Appel (Amsterdam, NL), and the Frestas Triennial (Frestas, BR), amongst others.
Formal Education
2014-2018
PhD in practice-based art
University of Antwerp/ Sint Lucas Antwerpen/ Zurich University of the Arts with Size Matters project under supervision of Prof. Florian Dombois, Werner Van dermeersch, Prof. Dr. Staf Van Tendeloo, and Prof. Oliver Chazot, Belgium and Switzerland
University of Antwerp/ Sint Lucas Antwerpen/ Zurich University of the Arts with Size Matters project under supervision of Prof. Florian Dombois, Werner Van dermeersch, Prof. Dr. Staf Van Tendeloo, and Prof. Oliver Chazot, Belgium and Switzerland
2010-2012
Jan van Eyck Academie
Research fellowship in Fine Arts, Maastricht, the Netherlands
Research fellowship in Fine Arts, Maastricht, the Netherlands
2008-2010
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Masters of Science in Visual Studies- MFA equivalent, at the Program in Art Culture and Technology with Joan Jonas, Gedimas Urbonas, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Cambridge, MA, USA
Masters of Science in Visual Studies- MFA equivalent, at the Program in Art Culture and Technology with Joan Jonas, Gedimas Urbonas, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Cambridge, MA, USA
Selected Exhibitions
2023
18 Winds
solo exhibition at Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, Belgium.
solo exhibition at Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, Belgium.
2022
FRONT Triennial: Oh Gods of Dust and Rainbows
commisioned artwork “Vanquish the Void!” exhibited at SPACES, curated by Prem Krishnamurti assisted by Murtaza Vali, Cleveland, USA
New Technological Art Award
exhibition of short-listed works at Zebrastraat, Ghent, Belgium
commisioned artwork “Vanquish the Void!” exhibited at SPACES, curated by Prem Krishnamurti assisted by Murtaza Vali, Cleveland, USA
New Technological Art Award
exhibition of short-listed works at Zebrastraat, Ghent, Belgium
2021
Interior Weathers
solo exhibition at 1708 Gallery including collaborative sound by Heavy Color and curated by Park Myers, Richmond, VA, USA
CURRENT Festival
commissioned artwork “Wind Works” for a group exhibition curated by Laura Bernhardt, Stuttgart, Germany
To the Edge of Time
commissioned artwork for a group exhibition in the context of Bang! Festival, Leuven, Belgium
Frestas Trienal de Artes: The River is a Serpent
commissioned artwork for the Frestas Trienal curated by Thiago de Paulo de Souza Frestas, Brazil
solo exhibition at 1708 Gallery including collaborative sound by Heavy Color and curated by Park Myers, Richmond, VA, USA
CURRENT Festival
commissioned artwork “Wind Works” for a group exhibition curated by Laura Bernhardt, Stuttgart, Germany
To the Edge of Time
commissioned artwork for a group exhibition in the context of Bang! Festival, Leuven, Belgium
Frestas Trienal de Artes: The River is a Serpent
commissioned artwork for the Frestas Trienal curated by Thiago de Paulo de Souza Frestas, Brazil
2020
Nature of Robotics
commissioned artwork for group exhibition at EPFL Pavilions, curated by Guilia Bini, Lausanne, Switzerland
MONOCULTURE: a recent History
commissioned artwork for group exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art, curated by Nav Haq, Antwerp, Belgium
commissioned artwork for group exhibition at EPFL Pavilions, curated by Guilia Bini, Lausanne, Switzerland
MONOCULTURE: a recent History
commissioned artwork for group exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art, curated by Nav Haq, Antwerp, Belgium
2019
Ruach not Rauch solo exhibition
at Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, Belgium
at Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, Belgium
Ruach not Rauch
site-specific installation commissioned for Werkleitz Festival: Model and Ruin, Dessau, Germany
site-specific installation commissioned for Werkleitz Festival: Model and Ruin, Dessau, Germany
Wind Avatar at Global Digital Art Prize Exhibition
installation for short-list of Global Digital Art Prize, ADM Gallery, Singapore
installation for short-list of Global Digital Art Prize, ADM Gallery, Singapore
2018
Wind Egg solo exhibition
at Museum of Contemporary Art (MuHKA), curated by Nav Haq, Antwerp, Belgium
at Museum of Contemporary Art (MuHKA), curated by Nav Haq, Antwerp, Belgium
In Our Present Condition…
Group exhibition in MIT Architecture Dean’s Gallery curated by Laura Knott, Cambridge, MA, USA
Group exhibition in MIT Architecture Dean’s Gallery curated by Laura Knott, Cambridge, MA, USA
2017
Gothenburg
International Biennial of Contemporary Art (GIBCA)
Two commissioned sculptures. Has the World Already Been Made? series,
Curated by Nav Haq, Gothenburg, Sweden
Two commissioned sculptures. Has the World Already Been Made? series,
Curated by Nav Haq, Gothenburg, Sweden
Loop
Group exhibition with Marina Pinsky, Anna Reading and Alex Bunn at Lubomirov/Angus-Hughes, London, United Kingdom
Group exhibition with Marina Pinsky, Anna Reading and Alex Bunn at Lubomirov/Angus-Hughes, London, United Kingdom
2016
Transactions
Group exhibition at University of Zurich, in collaboration with Elena Lange curate by Michael Hiltbrunner, parallel program for Manifesta 11, Zurich, Switzerland
Group exhibition at University of Zurich, in collaboration with Elena Lange curate by Michael Hiltbrunner, parallel program for Manifesta 11, Zurich, Switzerland
Wind Egg
Installation and public performance at von Karman Institute, Rhode-Saint-Genese, Belgium
Installation and public performance at von Karman Institute, Rhode-Saint-Genese, Belgium
Wird
solo exhibition at Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, Belgium
solo exhibition at Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, Belgium
Do
You Speak Synergy?
Group show with Fish Bone Chapel, Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, Belgium
Group show with Fish Bone Chapel, Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, Belgium
2015
Alanica International Art Symposium
Group show, curated by Nav Haq, commissioned by North Ossetian Ministry of Culture at North Ossetian National Library of Science, Vladikavkaz, Russia
Group show, curated by Nav Haq, commissioned by North Ossetian Ministry of Culture at North Ossetian National Library of Science, Vladikavkaz, Russia
2014
A is for Albatross solo exhibition
at Museum Bärengasse, Zurich, Switzerland
at Museum Bärengasse, Zurich, Switzerland
2013
Fish Bone Chapel
Designers and Artists for Genomics Award Commission, Naturalis Museum, Leiden, the Netherlands
Designers and Artists for Genomics Award Commission, Naturalis Museum, Leiden, the Netherlands
Lahore Literary
Festival
Alhamra Arts Festival, with collective Chalo Chalo Lahore Chalo, Lahore, Pakistan
Alhamra Arts Festival, with collective Chalo Chalo Lahore Chalo, Lahore, Pakistan
2012
Manifesta: the Fox’s
Legacy
Group exhibition Manifesta parrallel program Genk, BE and Maastricht, the Netherlands
Group exhibition Manifesta parrallel program Genk, BE and Maastricht, the Netherlands
Three Artists Walk Into a Bar
Group exhibition De Appel Art Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Group exhibition De Appel Art Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2011
Has the World Already
Been Made? x1
Symposium and Exhibition organized with Daniel G. Baird, Jan van Eyck, Maastricht, the Netherlands
Symposium and Exhibition organized with Daniel G. Baird, Jan van Eyck, Maastricht, the Netherlands
2008
Mapping Self
Group Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA
Group Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA
2007
The Common Sense solo exhibition
Around the Coyote Center for Art, Chicago, USA
Around the Coyote Center for Art, Chicago, USA
Teaching Experience in the Arts
2020-Present
Sint Joost Academy of Fine Arts, Professor in art and technology, den Bosch, the Netherlands
2018-2019
The Royal Academy of
Fine Art
Visiting professor in fine arts, the Hague, the Netherlands
2015-2019
Saint Lucas Antwerp
University College of Art Masterclass lecturer Antwerp, Belgium
2017-2019
Gluon Academy for Art
and Science co-teaching Science Technology Engineering Art and Math
(STEAM) Project course at Erasmus Hogeschool, Brussels, Belgium
2016-2019
Zurich University of
the Arts
Designed a taught four courses for
the Masters in Transdisciplinarity Department, Switerland
2016-2017
Scandinavian School
of Brussels
Secondary school and
International Bachelors curriculum in Visual Arts, Waterloo, Belgium
2016
Thesis Writing Lab: Making
Writing Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague, the Netherlands
2013
Replicators’ Master Class Academy of Visual Arts,
Maastricht in collaboration with the FabLab Zuid-Limburg, the Netherlands
2012
Master Class: How to Cast Anachronisms. Workshop at Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan
Awards, Grants, and Residencies
2019-2020
Mindspaces Laureate
Inaugural Laureate of the Mindspaces initiative by the European
Commissions Science Technology and Arts
(STARTS) initiative working with Robert MacNeel
and Associates and Zaha Hadid Architects.
La Becque Foundation
Inaugural Artist in Resident at La Becque Foundation in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland
Inaugural Artist in Resident at La Becque Foundation in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland
Center for
Contemporary Art (BAK)
Research Fellow at BAK for the project “How is the Weather Underground?” Utrecht, the Netherlands
Research Fellow at BAK for the project “How is the Weather Underground?” Utrecht, the Netherlands
2017-2019
Vertigo Residency Residency offered by EU
Commission’s Science Technology and Arts initiative for the “Wind Avatar” with
Beatrice de Gelder and Brain and Emotion Laboratory at the University of
Maastricht, the Netherlands
Schloss Post Web Residency Residency for internet-based art
Curated by Apparatus 22 hosted by Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany
Discovery Prize at Art Brussels
Work featured in winning booth
of Discovery Section at Art Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
2013
Designers and Artists
for Genomics Award
Winner of award to produce and the Fish Bone Chapel project in collaboration with the Netherlands Toxico-Genomics Center and Dr. Jos Klienjans in Maastricht, NL and shown at Naturalis Museum for Natural History in Leiden, the Netherlands
Winner of award to produce and the Fish Bone Chapel project in collaboration with the Netherlands Toxico-Genomics Center and Dr. Jos Klienjans in Maastricht, NL and shown at Naturalis Museum for Natural History in Leiden, the Netherlands
Prix de Rome Long-listed for the Prix de Rome given by the Mondrian Fonds, Culture
Ministry, the Netherlands
Lectures and Panel Discussions
2020
Considering Monocultures, Symposium convened by M HKA (Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp), Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven) and deBuren (the Dutch-Flemish house for culture and debate), Brussels, Belgium
2019
Re:Urgent for Climate Emergency Symposium Van Eyck, Maastricht, the Netherlands
2018
Why Work: Haseeb
Ahmed
Artist’s Talk at Gluon Foundation for Why Work series by Pieter
Vermuelen, Brussels, Belgium
Hash Awards
Artist’s Talk at Zentrum fur
Medien Kunst (ZK), Karlsruhe, Germany
2017
Artists’
Talks Vienna University of Applied
Arts, AU, John Moore’s University, UK, University of Washington, St. Louis, USA
2016
Money Panel
Discussion for Transactions, Manifesta Parrallel Program at University of
Zurich, Switzerland
That Art Exhibits Conference Presentation at academic
conference for practice-based art PhD’s, LUCA School of Fine Arts Brussels, Belgium
Wind Eggs Performance, lecture, and live
wind tunnel experiment at Printemps de Septembre, Toulouse, France
2015
A is for Albatross Artist’s
talk at MIT Program in Art Culture and Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Wind Personification Scientific
Poster presentation at “Drawings Conclusions: Art in Science” Conference, EMPA, Dübendorf,
Switzerland
2014
A
is for Albatross
Artist’s talk at Museum Bärengasse, Zurich,
Switzerland
Remote Sensor: Episode 4
Artist’s talk at Von Karman Institute , St. Genese-Rhode, Belgium
Remote Sensor:
Episode 3 De la Matiere au code, du bit a l’Atome, ISELP, Brussels, Belgium
Remote Sensor:
Episode 2 Seminarts presents State of the Art,
HISK, Ghent, Belgium
2013
Remote Sensor:
Episode 1 LaborArtorium: Research in Art and Science Presentation,
Ludwig Maximillians University of Munich, Germany
Remote Sensor ICT & Art Connect presentation at European
Parliamentary session, Brussels, Belgium
Fish Bone Chapel and Toxico-Prometheus
Project presentation to Dutch DIY Bio Group at Waag Society, Amsterdam,
the Netherlands
Performances
2019
Wind Tunnel Runway in I Want to Be Adored Site-Specific installation for Basis for Actuele Kunste (BAK), Utrecht, the Netherlands
2018
The Wind Egg A site-specific performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium
2016
Wird A site-specific performance at Harlan Levey Projects, Belgium marking part II in an ongoing trilogy
2016
The Wind Egg Site-specific performance at the von Karman Institute, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Belgium
Wind Works Performance Lecture at Printemps du Septembre, Toulouse, France
A Dome of my Own Performance laying out the plans for a Muqarnas Dome. Sitterwerk, St. Gallen, Switzerland
2012
Limburg Beacons Performance using Morse Code to communicate with buildings. Manifesta, Maastricht, the Netherlands
Professional and Collaborative Experience in Art and Design
2011-2018
Has the World Already Been Made? Has the World Already Been Made? Is an artistic research project initiated by Haseeb Ahmed and Daniel G. Baird. Its focus is the role of replication and global stylistic redundancy in artistic production historically and at present. The project consists of a library of molds and digital scans taken from architectural ornament across the world. This library is used as a vocabulary to construct installations as new forms from the old. The project resulted in 11 installations and a series of publications and photographic documentation including the Gothenburg International Biennial of Contemporary Art curated by Nav Haq.
2013-2016
Size Matters Research Group This three-year project investigates the relationship of models and model making in a variety of disciplines and art and art making. Emphasis is on wind tunnels and aeronautics. Hosted at the Zurich University of the Arts and led by Florian Dombois. It is undertaken with a PhD in art together with the University of Antwerp, and von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Rhode-Saint-Genese, Belgium
2015-2016
(no)action(no)space This 1 year long research project brings a diverse group of art and cultural practitioners together to consider art institutions artistic production at Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, DE 2
2006-present
Platypus Affiliated Society Founding member of Platypus an educational project that hosts symposia and publishes a monthly journal, The Platypus Review. The group is a platform for critically reassessing the legacy of 20th century radical Left politics, Chicago, USA and worldwide.
2009-2010
MIT Architecture Fabrication Shops, Supervisor Advising Art and Architecture Department students on technical support for projects. Cambridge, MA, USA
2009
IFAU und Jesko Fezer Architecture internship in Berlin, Germany specializing in user based design of galleries and museums. I worked on the re-design of Artists’ Space in New York City in particular, Berlin, USA
2008
Office for Counter Cultural Affairs Architecture internship in Chicago, IL, directed by Prof. Carl Ray Miller and specializing in digitally. fabricated furniture and structural tiling systems, Chicago, IL, USA
2005
Ecology in the City Think Tank at DePaul University As a member of this think tank, I researched the concept of “urban wilderness”. I specialized in sustainable design in an urban context. Chicago, IL, USA
Reviews
Ruby Reding, “Haseeb Ahmed’s The Wind Egg: The beautiful and bizarre intersections of art and science” The Word Magazine. http://thewordmagazine.com/art/exhibition-reviews/haseeb-ahmedsthe-wind-egg-the-beautiful-and-bizarre-intersections-of-art-and-science/
Hettie Judah, “Marcel Broodthaers Casts a Long Shadow on Brussels Gallery Weekend: Brussels is alive with feathery art,” Artnet News, https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/brussels-galleryweekend-2016-641519, September 9, 2015
Melane Huchet, “Haseeb Ahmed chez Harlan Levey Projects,” H Art Magazine, October, 2016
Sabrina DeTurk, “Distant Images, Local Positions,” Afterimage Vol. 41, No. 5. Afterimage The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism. Afterimage, n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.
Sandana,Lakshmi, “Built to Scale”, Wired Magazine February 2014 -“The Fish Bone Chapel”, http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2013/05/the-fish-bone-chapel. php - Interview with Regine Debatty, 23 May, 2013
“Neue Moscheen im Bild der Stadt”, http://www.detail.de/architektur/news/neue-moscheen-im-bildder-stadt-020556.html , 2 November, 2012
Contributed Writings
Haseeb Ahmed, Artists Picks, Spike Art Magazine, October, 2019
Haseeb Ahmed and Pieter Vermuelen, Turbulent Tijden (Turbulent Times), H ART magazine, December 2018, Antwerp, Belgium
Haseeb Ahmed, Wind Tunnel World: Where the Wind Blows Straight, in Too Big to Scale—On Numbers, Time, and Energy, Scheidegger and Speiss, Zurich, Switzerland, 2017
Haseeb Ahmed, We Aren’t the Same and This is Only Art, The Wind Tunnel Model: Transdisciplinary Encounters, Schiedegger and Spiess, Zurich, Switzerland, 2017
Haseeb Ahmed, Fish Bone Chapel, Allegory of the Cave Painting Reader, Extra City and Mousse Publishers, Antwerp, Belgium, 2015
Haseeb Ahmed and Dorien Schelfhout “Artist Haseeb Ahmed’s Tunnel Tricks,” The Word Magazine, http:// www.thewordmagazine.com/art/artist-haseeb-ahmeds-tunnel-tricks/, September 27, 2016
Haseeb Ahmed and Daniel Baird, interviewed by Daniel Smith for Paper-thin.org
Haseeb Ahmed and Bridgette Mongeon "Art and Technology Podcasts: A fire-side chat where 5 innovation, creativity, technology, and science meet”, http://artandtechnology.libsyn.com/
Haseeb Ahmed, “Descending through Densities” Allegory of the Cave Painting Reader, 2014, Antwerp, Belgium
Haseeb Ahmed, “On the Relationship of Form and Identity in Midwestern Islamic Architecture” New Literary Observer, 2014, Moscow, Russia
Haseeb Ahmed “Lahore Letters” Indus: A Journal of Art, 2014, Culture & Design, Karachi, Pakistan
Haseeb Ahmed, “News from the Netherlands”, FUSE Magazine, October 2011, Toronto, Canda
Haseeb Ahmed, “Crisis in the Eurozone and the Left: Responses to the Global Economic Downturn”, Platypus Review #48, July 3, 2012, Chicago, USA
Haseeb Ahmed, “Interview with Slavoj Žižek: The Occupy Movement, a renascent Left, and Marxism Today”, Platypus Review #42, 1 December, 2011, Chicago, USA
Haseeb Ahmed, “Art and Research at MIT” and “Research on the Edge”, Self-Published/ACT-MIT, March 2011, Cambridge, USA