Alexandria-born artist Wael Shawky (1971), who has been awarded the biannual Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award 2011, showcases an installation artwork in a solo exhibit at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin opening on 25 August.

Shawky has been chosen out of 15 artists nominated by global curators, and the judges justify their decision to give his the Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award as follows: "Wael Shawky's film oeuvre is remarkably impressive due to its consistent development and extraordinary precision. His re-performances of historical and political events ignite unconventional perspectives, which exceed reflections of Egyptian societal structures. He creates images that are crafted with technical mastership and therefore induce an immediate persuasiveness."

Wael Shawky studied fine arts at the University of Alexandria and later at the Graduate School of Fine Arts of the University of Pennsylvania (USA). He uses film and installation art to tackle social and political transformations in modern Arab history. Shawky’s work blurs the lines between fact, fiction, and animation.

At his solo exhibition at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, which runs until 21 October, Shawky showcases a new installation artwork entitled Al Araba Al Madfuna.

KW Institute for Contemporary Art


Auguststraße 69
D-10117 Berlin