AMAL LAALA (born, Naarm/Melbourne, 1979) works between countries of her ancestry and birth: Australia, Finland and Morocco. Laala is a socially engaged artist, educator and researcher interacting with her heritage, public space and communities to creatively activate dialogues around pertinent socio-political and cultural issues. Dealing with multiple; identities, cultures and languages she delicately explores ways of communicating subversive content, artistically expressing her stories, and those from a diverse public through often unconventional means, melding performance, installations, artist publications, interventions, videos and photographs. Her artwork is symbolic, poetic and relevant, questioning current social norms.
Laala holds a Masters of Art: Environmental Art from Aalto School of Art, Design and Architecture, Helsinki, received a Bachelor of Art: Photography and a diploma in International Public Art, RMIT. Laala has produced work with Helsinki Art Museum, Design Museum Helsinki, Kiasma, Tate Britain, South London Gallery, and Victoria & Albert Museum. She has created work in Australia, Finland, Jordan, Macedonia, Morocco, the UK and the U.S and has been supported by the Arts Promotion Centre, Kone Foundation and numerous councils in Melbourne's West: Geelong, Hobsons Bay, Melton and Wyndham. |
Education
2010-15 Masters in Environmental Art, Aalto School of Art, Design and Architecture Helsinki, FI
2008 Cultural Management workshop, (Melopee #5), Amuni, France
2006 Gallery Education Training Course, Tate Modern, London, UK
2003-04 Diploma of Art in Public Space, RMIT, Melbourne, AUS
1998-00 Bachelor of Arts Photography, Charles Sturt University, Albury, AUS
Personal Work
2024 OUTSIDE/IN, Group Exhibition, The Annex, AUS
2024 WUNDER GYM; Artist as Curator, Group Exhibition, The Annex, AUS
2023 WUNDER GYM: Recollection, Group Exhibition, The Annex & Louis Joel Arts, Melbourne, AUS
2023 SELF PORTRAIT SERIES (Image 001), Billboard, Wunder Gym, Woods Street Arts Space, AUS
2023 ROOTS IN A MIRICLE, Video Installation, Dear Agnes, Truganina Explosive Reserve, Melbourne AUS
2019 ANA, MINÄ, ME Limited Edition bags. Material Insanity, Museum of African Contemporary Art, MAROC
2019 SHuSH Poetry reading/performance. Geelong writers club, Geelong, AUS
2013 IF I WERE… Performance. Art and cross-cultural dialogue seminar, Suomenlinna, FI
2012-13 FATHER, FATHER, FATHER ‘Moroccan Mix’, Suden Radio Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, Centrale for
Contempory Art, Bruxelles, 30th Sao Paulo Biennal, Friday Late: Record, Reframe, Resist. V&A Museum
2010 LIVE FROM HELSINKI SLUMS Live performance. Planet of Slums, Mason Gross Galleries, NJ. U.S.A
2010 THE NEXT MAN WHO WALKS THROUGH THAT DOOR, I WILL MARRY Kunsti Museum of Art, Vaasa FI
2009 FATHER, FATHER, FATHER Performance. Art Omi, NY, U.S.A
2008 A LETTER TO MY LOVER Performance. Fusion Rebuild. Zagora, MAROC
2004 CORPORATIONS MAKE ME SICK Public Intervention. Melbourne, AUS
2004 RESISTANCE THROUGH RITUALS Performance game. Westspace Inc, Melbourne, AUS; group show
2003 MORNING NEWS Intervention. Platform Art Gallery, Flinders Street Station, Melbourne AUS
2000 F20, Photographic installations. Albury Regional Art Gallery and local shop fronts, Albury, AUS; group show
1998 STARTING OUT: VCE Top CATs. Photographs. National Gallery of Victoria; AUS; group show
Public Collaborations/Projects
2020 THAI WOMEN’S BUSINESS Community Art workshops, Cloverdale Community Centre, Geelong, AUS
2019-18 WOMENS RIGHTS - RECLAIM THE NIGHT Workshop/Public intervention, COGG, Geelong, AUS
2019 SUMMER OF STREET ART, Collaborative Mural, City of Melton, Melbourne AUS
2018 MY HOME – MY PRODUCE Photographs, Stories and Illustrations, Hobsons Bay Council, Melbourne AUS
2015-14 DESIGN YOUR OPINION! Caisa Cultural Centre, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art FI
2015-12 OUR CUISINE = OUR STORIES Community Art workshop/intervention. Pixelache Festival, Helsinki, Horisontti, Helsinki, Makuprojecti, Hämelinna,
STOA cultural centre, Helsinki, video, ‘The month of a hundred languages’ Stoa Cultural Centre, Helsinki FI
2015 -13 TASTE EXCHANGE: AN EVENT Public intervention/exchange. Caisa, Helsinki, Galleria KONE, Hämelinna, Art Häme, Riihimäki, Kauppatori, Helsinki, FI
2015-06 CALLIGRAFFITI Collaborative Workshop and installation. Caisa, Helsinki, FI, XIV Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, Skopje, MACEDONIA, Tate Loud:Conflict and Resolution, Tate Britain, London UK
2014 3TENI L’KHOBZ (give me the bread) ‘Public Space’ KULTE Gallery & Editions, Rabat MAROC
2014 MUUTTAA MUOTI! Community Art. Six workshops at Design Museum, Helsinki FI
2014 WHAT’S AN ARAB? Helenä Rautavaara Museum & Finnish/French High school FI
2012 WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? Workshop and Intervention. Helsinki Art Museum/STOA, Helsinki, FI
2011-12 YOUTH PROGRAMME COORDINATOR Helsinki Art Museum, FI
2012 How to make trouble and influence people in Helsinki II. Transition Hall 14, Taidekoulu maa, Helsinki FI
2012 How to make trouble and influence people in Helsinki. Kaiku-galleria, Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki FI.
2007-06 LEAD PROJECT ARTIST South London Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum, UK
Grants
2024 Creative Development Grant, (Seed funding for Art Collective), Wyndham City Council, AUS
2024 New Work Grant, ‘Outside/In’ Exhibition, Wyndham City Council, AUS
2022 New Work Grant, ‘Dear Agnes’ exhibition, Hobsons Bay City Council, AUS
2021 New Work Grant, City of Greater Geelong, AUS
2020 New Work Grant, (Urban Badlands Collective) Geelong After Dark, AUS
2018 Project Grant, Hobsons Bay City Council, AUS
2015 Project Grant, Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
2014 Residency Grant. (Group), Kone Foundation, Finland
Project Grant, Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
2013 Project Grant, (Group) Kone Foundation, Finland
Project Grant, Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
2012 Project Grant, Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
Residencies
2024 Neighbourhood Lab, 6 month residency, Platform Arts, Geelong, AUS
2014 New National Museum, Gullö, FI
2010 Platform, Vaasa, FI
2009 Art Omi - International Artist Residency, Ghent, New York, USA
2008 Terre Sans Frontier – Fusion Rebuild, Zagora, MAROC
2008 Triangle Arts Trust and Makan – Shatana International Artist workshop, Jordan
2005 City of Whittlesea – Artist in schools, Whittlesea, AUS
Professional Affiliations / Associations
2012-15 CATALYSTI OY – Transcultural Artist Association. Founding Member and Treasurer
2011-14 PTARMIGAN OY Cultural Activator of Situations/ Secretary
Memberships
MUU Artist Association – an interdisciplinary art organisation that represents and promotes new media art in Finland
Awards and Commissions
2020 No Contest Art Prize Recipient, Aphids
2019 Summer of Street Art, commissioned by Melton City Council
2015 Helsinki City, Artist award
2004 Australia’s 50 most uncollectable Artists (No 30), NUCA Network
2010-15 Masters in Environmental Art, Aalto School of Art, Design and Architecture Helsinki, FI
2008 Cultural Management workshop, (Melopee #5), Amuni, France
2006 Gallery Education Training Course, Tate Modern, London, UK
2003-04 Diploma of Art in Public Space, RMIT, Melbourne, AUS
1998-00 Bachelor of Arts Photography, Charles Sturt University, Albury, AUS
Personal Work
2024 OUTSIDE/IN, Group Exhibition, The Annex, AUS
2024 WUNDER GYM; Artist as Curator, Group Exhibition, The Annex, AUS
2023 WUNDER GYM: Recollection, Group Exhibition, The Annex & Louis Joel Arts, Melbourne, AUS
2023 SELF PORTRAIT SERIES (Image 001), Billboard, Wunder Gym, Woods Street Arts Space, AUS
2023 ROOTS IN A MIRICLE, Video Installation, Dear Agnes, Truganina Explosive Reserve, Melbourne AUS
2019 ANA, MINÄ, ME Limited Edition bags. Material Insanity, Museum of African Contemporary Art, MAROC
2019 SHuSH Poetry reading/performance. Geelong writers club, Geelong, AUS
2013 IF I WERE… Performance. Art and cross-cultural dialogue seminar, Suomenlinna, FI
2012-13 FATHER, FATHER, FATHER ‘Moroccan Mix’, Suden Radio Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, Centrale for
Contempory Art, Bruxelles, 30th Sao Paulo Biennal, Friday Late: Record, Reframe, Resist. V&A Museum
2010 LIVE FROM HELSINKI SLUMS Live performance. Planet of Slums, Mason Gross Galleries, NJ. U.S.A
2010 THE NEXT MAN WHO WALKS THROUGH THAT DOOR, I WILL MARRY Kunsti Museum of Art, Vaasa FI
2009 FATHER, FATHER, FATHER Performance. Art Omi, NY, U.S.A
2008 A LETTER TO MY LOVER Performance. Fusion Rebuild. Zagora, MAROC
2004 CORPORATIONS MAKE ME SICK Public Intervention. Melbourne, AUS
2004 RESISTANCE THROUGH RITUALS Performance game. Westspace Inc, Melbourne, AUS; group show
2003 MORNING NEWS Intervention. Platform Art Gallery, Flinders Street Station, Melbourne AUS
2000 F20, Photographic installations. Albury Regional Art Gallery and local shop fronts, Albury, AUS; group show
1998 STARTING OUT: VCE Top CATs. Photographs. National Gallery of Victoria; AUS; group show
Public Collaborations/Projects
2020 THAI WOMEN’S BUSINESS Community Art workshops, Cloverdale Community Centre, Geelong, AUS
2019-18 WOMENS RIGHTS - RECLAIM THE NIGHT Workshop/Public intervention, COGG, Geelong, AUS
2019 SUMMER OF STREET ART, Collaborative Mural, City of Melton, Melbourne AUS
2018 MY HOME – MY PRODUCE Photographs, Stories and Illustrations, Hobsons Bay Council, Melbourne AUS
2015-14 DESIGN YOUR OPINION! Caisa Cultural Centre, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art FI
2015-12 OUR CUISINE = OUR STORIES Community Art workshop/intervention. Pixelache Festival, Helsinki, Horisontti, Helsinki, Makuprojecti, Hämelinna,
STOA cultural centre, Helsinki, video, ‘The month of a hundred languages’ Stoa Cultural Centre, Helsinki FI
2015 -13 TASTE EXCHANGE: AN EVENT Public intervention/exchange. Caisa, Helsinki, Galleria KONE, Hämelinna, Art Häme, Riihimäki, Kauppatori, Helsinki, FI
2015-06 CALLIGRAFFITI Collaborative Workshop and installation. Caisa, Helsinki, FI, XIV Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, Skopje, MACEDONIA, Tate Loud:Conflict and Resolution, Tate Britain, London UK
2014 3TENI L’KHOBZ (give me the bread) ‘Public Space’ KULTE Gallery & Editions, Rabat MAROC
2014 MUUTTAA MUOTI! Community Art. Six workshops at Design Museum, Helsinki FI
2014 WHAT’S AN ARAB? Helenä Rautavaara Museum & Finnish/French High school FI
2012 WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? Workshop and Intervention. Helsinki Art Museum/STOA, Helsinki, FI
2011-12 YOUTH PROGRAMME COORDINATOR Helsinki Art Museum, FI
2012 How to make trouble and influence people in Helsinki II. Transition Hall 14, Taidekoulu maa, Helsinki FI
2012 How to make trouble and influence people in Helsinki. Kaiku-galleria, Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki FI.
2007-06 LEAD PROJECT ARTIST South London Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum, UK
Grants
2024 Creative Development Grant, (Seed funding for Art Collective), Wyndham City Council, AUS
2024 New Work Grant, ‘Outside/In’ Exhibition, Wyndham City Council, AUS
2022 New Work Grant, ‘Dear Agnes’ exhibition, Hobsons Bay City Council, AUS
2021 New Work Grant, City of Greater Geelong, AUS
2020 New Work Grant, (Urban Badlands Collective) Geelong After Dark, AUS
2018 Project Grant, Hobsons Bay City Council, AUS
2015 Project Grant, Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
2014 Residency Grant. (Group), Kone Foundation, Finland
Project Grant, Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
2013 Project Grant, (Group) Kone Foundation, Finland
Project Grant, Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
2012 Project Grant, Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
Residencies
2024 Neighbourhood Lab, 6 month residency, Platform Arts, Geelong, AUS
2014 New National Museum, Gullö, FI
2010 Platform, Vaasa, FI
2009 Art Omi - International Artist Residency, Ghent, New York, USA
2008 Terre Sans Frontier – Fusion Rebuild, Zagora, MAROC
2008 Triangle Arts Trust and Makan – Shatana International Artist workshop, Jordan
2005 City of Whittlesea – Artist in schools, Whittlesea, AUS
Professional Affiliations / Associations
2012-15 CATALYSTI OY – Transcultural Artist Association. Founding Member and Treasurer
2011-14 PTARMIGAN OY Cultural Activator of Situations/ Secretary
Memberships
MUU Artist Association – an interdisciplinary art organisation that represents and promotes new media art in Finland
Awards and Commissions
2020 No Contest Art Prize Recipient, Aphids
2019 Summer of Street Art, commissioned by Melton City Council
2015 Helsinki City, Artist award
2004 Australia’s 50 most uncollectable Artists (No 30), NUCA Network