| Intro | Algerian artist |
| Is | Artist |
| From | Algeria |
| Type | Arts |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 1948, Khemis Miliana, Khemis Miliana District, Aïn Defla Province, Algeria |
| Age: | 72 years |
Houria Niati (born 1948 in Khemis Miliana, Algeria) is an Algerian, contemporary artist living in London. Niati specializes in mixed media installations that criticize Western representations of Non-Western cultures and peoples. Her installations notably have live performances most commonly traditional Algerian music such as Raï, as a key visual representation of Niati’s homeland and culture. The installations and exhibitions joined together paintings, sculptures, drawings, photos, soundtracks, and performances.
Early life and career
Niati grew up in French-occupied Algeria, where over one million Algerians were killed for resisting occupation. When Niati was twelve years old, she demonstrated against French colonialism with her anti-colonial graffiti, which landed her in jail. Niati’s experiences with the French occupation and eventual revolution of her people greatly influenced her art later in life.
Niati moved to London in the late 1970s, where she observed Western art that depicted Algerian people, especially women, in a fictionalized and exotic way. This influenced her own depictions of post-colonial cultures, nations, and people. She attended Camden Arts Centre and Croydon College of Art.
Selected exhibitions
- 1983: Five Black Women, Africa Centre, London
- 1990: No to the Torture, first displayed at the Cartwright Hall Museum
- 1991: Bringing Water from the Fountain, first displayed at the Harris Museum
- 2013: Houria Niati: Identity Search, Conway Hall, London, UK
- ^
- Highet, Juliet (16 September 2013). “Houria Niati: Identity Search”. Asharq Al Awsat. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
Selected bibliography
Niati, Houria (1999). “Diverse Bodies of Experiences”. In Lloyd, Fran (ed). Contemporary Arab Women’s Art: Dialogues of the Present. WAL Women’s Art Library. ISBN 9781902770000.