We are so excited to present our recent interview with artist Hend Al-Mansour! Hend Al-Mansour is a Saudi-American artist based in the Twin Cities, whose art “reflects the female culture of her hometown. Arabic and Islamic aesthetics influence her work which references gender politics in the Arab world.”
Al-Mansour was awarded the 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.
A huge thank you to Hend for speaking to us about her time in the MFA program, career trajectory, what inspires her practice, and her upcoming projects. This one is a must read – Enjoy!
What brought you to MCAD for your MFA?
I came to Minnesota to join a cardiology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Because I had been fond of making art I decided to take continuing classes at MCAD. Six months later I made two decisions – one was to shift careers, the other to stay in the US and not return to Saudi Arabia. Minnesota had become my home already and while I was commuting twice weekly to my classes, I came to bond with MCAD. So I applied for an MFA there.
How did your art change while you were here at MCAD?
I used to be a self-taught artist- which is a good thing – but for me, I was stuck in one place without even knowing it. Before (MCAD) I used pencil and watercolor to express my frustration with my Saudi reality. I did not experiment. I did not consider my audience. I did not think of the art media as voices in themselves. I did not think like an artist. When I came to MCAD my idea of art was that it is a means to an end. After I was someone who drew better than the people around, at MCAD, I was thrown into a swarming colony of talented creators. My ideas bounced back to me richer and more colorful. My curiosity flourished. It was an exhilarating, empowering, stimulating, embracing experience. My years at MCAD were among the sweetest in my whole life.
What is your favorite part about being a professional, exhibiting artist? What do you find most difficult?
The best thing is that I have permission to indulge in my favorite activity at any time. The most difficult is to have the chance to show it to others. Promoting your work is a talent in itself. If you are not good at it, you have to learn it, otherwise, your art will not be seen. You cannot grow as an artist without exposure.
What inspires you lately? Books, movies, music, art, podcasts…anything unexpected?
Usually seeing art inspires me. I had just been in the Milwaukee Art Museum and saw wonderful artworks that made me feel the urge to go to my studio and work. Lately, an artwork in a show I am part of titled “I Contain Multitudes”, has knocked my socks off. It was by Minnesota artist Fawzia Khan. It was a stunning Islamic vagina piece called “Veil”.
How do you deal with feeling creatively blocked or burnt out?
I try something new. Not moving away from whatever medium I am in but adding something else to it/them. I started with painting, I added 3D then installation, then screen-printing and now audio and video. I doodled digitally. I did body henna painting. I also experimented with other things that did not stick with me. My stimulation, other than seeing incredible artwork, is having a future exhibition. When I succeed in securing a place to show, I become an art machine.
What do you love most about Minneapolis?
My husband. Hehe. I met him here. But seriously, Minnesotans are wonderful people. I have a lot of good friends and lovely neighbors. Next to people, comes nature, with all the lakes and parks and the changing of seasons. I am a city girl though, and I love the metropolitan life of the Twin Cities. The rich arts scene, the architecture, the eateries. I do love snow too. Especially when it is fresh and enveloping everything.
How do you keep challenging yourself in your art?
It is not easy to step out of your comfort zone and make something daring. It is difficult to identify the line between making what you are best at and repeating yourself. Between creating something freshly exciting and making poorly executed work. Experimentation and asking for advice and feedback are the best.
What’s next?
I am embarking upon a project that includes video projection onto a three-dimensional object. The video is a mix of real-life filming and animation and both the video and the object share certain visual elements.
All images shared with permission © Hend Al-Mansour 2019
Interviewer: Hallie Bahn
Illustrator: Yi Wan
