Biography
As a child, Hend Al-Mansour carved large female figures into sand. Growing up, she was acutely aware of her limited opportunities as a Saudi Arabian woman. So instead of art, she studied medicine in Cairo, Egypt. For many years she practiced as a cardiologist but also built a reputation among her colleagues for the images she drew in the doctors' rooms. In 1997, Al-Mansour relocated to the United States, where she finally was free to follow her calling: art. |
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In 2002, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In 2013, she completed another Master of Art History at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Inspired by her interest in pre-Islamic art, her thesis focused on the mid-twentieth century shift in henna art in her hometown, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia. Al-Mansour based a series of prints on the historical designs her research documented.
Al-Mansour’s art reflects the female culture of her hometown. Arabic and Islamic aesthetics influence her work which references gender politics in the Arab world. In vibrant colors, her screen-prints integrate stylized figures, Arabic calligraphy, and designs of Sadou (Bedouin style) and henna. She also constructs shrine-like spaces out of printed fabric. Secluded by ceilings, rugs, columns and domes, nuanced by sound and light, such installations recall both Bedouin tents and Islamic architecture. Objects such as a fabricated tea set or a papier-mâché tree hint at personal narratives.
Al-Mansour was awarded McKnight Fellowship in 2018, Jerome Fellowship of Printmaking in 2013/14, the Juror’s Award of the Contemporary Islamic Art exhibition in Riyadh Saudi Arabia in 2012 and Minnesota State Art Board Artist Initiative grant in 2005. She was listed among the 100 most powerful Arab women in 2009, 2011 and 2012 in the online magazine Arabian Business. She has shown her work in regional, national and international exhibitions, lectured on Arab art and her personal journey, and curated exhibitions featuring Middle Eastern artists. Al-Mansour is a co-founder of the group Arab Artists in the Twin Cities and was a member of the Arab American Cultural Institute in Minnesota, where she worked to promote the understanding and expression of Arab culture in the West.
Al-Mansour’s art reflects the female culture of her hometown. Arabic and Islamic aesthetics influence her work which references gender politics in the Arab world. In vibrant colors, her screen-prints integrate stylized figures, Arabic calligraphy, and designs of Sadou (Bedouin style) and henna. She also constructs shrine-like spaces out of printed fabric. Secluded by ceilings, rugs, columns and domes, nuanced by sound and light, such installations recall both Bedouin tents and Islamic architecture. Objects such as a fabricated tea set or a papier-mâché tree hint at personal narratives.
Al-Mansour was awarded McKnight Fellowship in 2018, Jerome Fellowship of Printmaking in 2013/14, the Juror’s Award of the Contemporary Islamic Art exhibition in Riyadh Saudi Arabia in 2012 and Minnesota State Art Board Artist Initiative grant in 2005. She was listed among the 100 most powerful Arab women in 2009, 2011 and 2012 in the online magazine Arabian Business. She has shown her work in regional, national and international exhibitions, lectured on Arab art and her personal journey, and curated exhibitions featuring Middle Eastern artists. Al-Mansour is a co-founder of the group Arab Artists in the Twin Cities and was a member of the Arab American Cultural Institute in Minnesota, where she worked to promote the understanding and expression of Arab culture in the West.