Basmah Felemban: Building worlds, bridging realms

Basmah Felemban is a visionary artist, curator, and researcher whose work sits at the crossroads of Islamic art, esotericism, and contemporary culture. Born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and now dividing her time between Jeddah and London, Basmah’s artistic journey began in the glow of family’s computer. “Having full accessibility to the family PC meant I could go ham on exploring softwares and websites,” Bashmah tells Dazed MENA. “Everything changed for me when I learned the word ‘tutorial;’ the learning curve felt like literal magic and I’ve been hooked since.”

The self-taught graphic designer would go on to earn an MA in Islamic and Traditional Art from The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London, grounding her practice in the rich heritage of Islamic manuscripts and cosmography. Basmah’s work since has been showcased in a range of prestigious exhibitions both locally and internationally, including the Julia Stoschek Collection in Berlin, the Institute for Contemporary art at VCU, Noor Riyadh, Art Dubai, 21/39, Contemporary Istanbul, and the Venice Biennale. She has even gone on to win awards, including being honoured in the Young Talent category at the Arab Woman Awards in 2014, and returning as a jury member the following year. 

With such a vibrant and accomplished trajectory, it’s fitting that Basmah envisions a future where the Southwest and North African art scene thrives on its own terms. “I hope that we create more of our own annual opportunities that we can work up to being part of as practitioners,” the artist says. “More biennales, festivals, and summits that can be meeting points for us away from having to belong to another context.

A defining moment in her career came with her contribution to the Islamic Art Biennale in Jeddah in 2023. Her piece, ‘Wave Catcher’ (2023) transformed the adhan (call to prayer) into a spatial experience, using large wooden circular forms to represent sound. The spheres’ sizes, shapes and places reflected the nuances of duration and pitch within the sacred recitation, offering viewers a tactile and visual interpretation of an auditory tradition. 

Whether sculptural or digital, her work is steeped in historical inquiry, drawing from 12th to 14th century Islamic manuscripts on cosmographies, mythical creatures and cartography. But it also ventures boldly into the present, tying her fascination with physics, mathematics, geology, and marine life. Her current work explores worldbuilding as a means of understanding the mysteries in her family history, the role of imagination in rewriting identity, and the ways that humans have resorted to bridging gaps in collective memory. 

Inspired by her experience as a young creative in Saudi Arabia, Basmah founded the Saudi Street Art initiative in 2011, bringing the thrumming energy of Jeddah’s hip hop community into institutional dialogues and public exhibitions. By providing mentorship and opportunities to participate in curatorial projects, she amplifies the voices of young artists in Saudi Arabia, connecting grassroots creativity with the broader art world.“I’d like it if my work encouraged artists to be complicated and layered in their creation, to investigate deeply and to wisely choose what to show and what to hide,” she explains. 

Currently curating the 9th edition of Young Saudi Artists—a pivotal platform for emerging creatives in the region—Basmah has come full circle, curating a show that once featured her own work. “It’s a show where I showed one of my first artworks and grew to become a very credible platform for young artists in the region, so I’m honoured to be part of it this time on the other side,” she explains. But her ultimate goal lies beyond these achievements: “Everything I’ve been doing so far in my career has been to pave the way for my teaching era, so I can’t wait for that to look more real soon.”