Assem Hendawi

Assem Hendawi (b. 1989) is an artist who mainly works with still and moving images as well as text. With a conceptual approach, Hendawi uses a visual vocabulary that addresses many different social and political issues. His works create fictional and experiential universes that only emerge bit by bit. By investigating language self-referentially, he creates intense personal moments with rules and omissions, acceptance and refusal, which lure the viewer round and round in circles. The resulting works are deconstructed to the extent that meanings shift and possible interpretation becomes multifaceted. By merging several seemingly incompatible worlds into a new universe, he focuses on the ideas of “public space” and spaces that could be or spaces to come: the non-private space, the virtual owned space, space that is accessible by imagination. His works are often about contact with architecture and systems. Space and landscape are examined in less obvious ways and sometimes developed in absurd and abstract ways. He currently lives and works in Egypt.

In 2025 Assem Hendawi is one of twelve Moving Narratives Cycle 2 Fellows, a collaboration between the Prince Claus Fund and the British Council. 

*Learn more about Assem Hendawi's 20 minute presentation Fly Protocol (work in progress) for the AEROPONIC ACTS 2020 - DAI's 3 day lectures marathon at Radio Kootwijk, August 2020.

*During his journey with DAI, Assem Hendawi made significant contributions to: COOP SUMMIT 2019: Banquet X Climate Change and Speculative Gastronomy as well as COOP SUMMIT 2020: Reality Settings: Art, Biology & Computation 

* To support his  study with DAI, Assem was awarded with the 2018-2020 ArtEZ Scholarship. 

*Follow Assem's "Life after DAI" via Instagram and via his website