Solo Exhibitions
2024 So expansive, you and I become null, Hunna Art, Kuwait City, Kuwait
2022 An Informal Affair, Bayt Al Mamzar, Dubai, UAE
Public Commisions
2025 Heavy petals, Islamic Art Biennale, Jeddah, KSA
2016 Entrelac at Amman Design Week, Jordan
Group exhibitions
2024 I forgot what you felt like, Hayaty diaries, London, UK
Completion in Motion, Peckham Safehouse, London, UK
Trash by Bad Art, Greatorex Street, London, UK
Levitate, Hayaty Diaries at Garden Walk Shoreditch, London, UK
Queer Enough, Bermondsey Project Space, London, UK
2023 Interplay, Royal College of Art, London, UK
Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE
Art Cairo, Egypt
2022 Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea
60 Years of Ties, Hangar Space, Amman, Jordan
2019 Amman Design Week, Wadi Finan Art Gallery, Jordan
Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE
Mixed Pallete, Wadi Finan Art Gallery, Jordan
2018 Mixed Pallete, Wadi Finan Art Gallery, Jordan
2017 Art Dubai, UAE
2009 Orient Gallery, Amman, Jordan
Special Projects
2021 TALK TO HIM, performance Video in collaboration with Imani Shanklin Roberts and MoCADA, New York, USA
2018 Amalgamate, Installation in collaboration with Silsal at Ruwwad, Amman, Jordan
Residencies
2024 Pocket Cow Residency, Malvern, UK
Notable Collections
National Museum of Jordan
Private Collection, London
Private Collection, Jordan
Private Collection, Abu Dhabi
Private Collection, Dubai
Press and Publications
2024 Vogue Arabia, June
2022 Womena, Dig Deeper, May
Arab News, April
Meets with Muses Podcast, 07/05/2022
2019 Arab-America Psycho Podcast, Thanks, New York!, 09/01/2019
2017 Arch Daily, February
RAYA (b. 1991) explores the politics of the body in a multidisciplinary practice that presents a deeply personal interrogation of form. With a background in textiles and patternmaking, the knowledge of working with soft materials is translated by hand into new sculptural mediums, from steel to copper and creates ornate naturalistic depictions inspired by heritage. Her work proposes that the body is the ultimate tool for reimagination and creation, articulating silent dialogues on autonomy and identity. The nuances of heritage and personal history confront the muted democracies of social constructs, turning her work into an arena for the renegotiation of being.
Based in London, she is of Palestinian heritage. Having been raised in Amman, Jordan. Raya studied at Pratt institute in New York where she began her career. 10 years later, she relocated to Dubai to further her inquiry both personal and professional. She is currently completing an MA in sculpture at Royal College of Art.
