Kani Kamil
Kani is a visual artist, and performer of experimental sound with hair. Born and raised in Iraq, currently lives and works in London. She is a member of the Community Arts Network.
Her works signifies the relentless and ruthless ongoing social and political systems of abuse in Iraqi Kurdish society, represent and embody the hidden certain societal issues through her hair and voice to chalenge the stereotype. Her interest is around stories that never been told or heard, history that never record, translating and decoding these stories into art and using art as a tool for social critique is the method in her artistic practice with using investigating form to reveal the unrevealed side of the stories, therefore the listening process is a major part of her practice.
She employing human hair as a main material as a tool for entanglement many perspective and politics and converge personal stories through it as a protest against this stigma that never disappear against a spicific gender in that society. Producing work through photography, installation, video performance and sound.
Kani also holds an MA in [fine art] from Middlesex University, London, with the artist Sonia Boyce as her tutor and is currently studying for a PhD in [fine art] at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Education
2019-2024 PhD student, Fine Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester.
2013 Master’s degree, Fine art, Middlesex University London.
2006 Bachelor’s degree, Fine art /Ceramic, University of Sulaimany college of fine art, Iraq.
Collective Exhibitions and performances
Upcoming:
- Gravitational Lensing: Feminist Film Dialogues program, Shapeshifters Cinema, United State.
- Hear My Voice, Portraits in Cloth at Royal West of England Academy, Bristol.
2024
- Somewhere Places Festival & Lab at Tilal-Utique in Tunisia in collaboration with Jaou Festival by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation.
2023
- ‘Traces of Displacement‘, a group show at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester.
- ‘Process and Practice‘ at Manchester Metropolitan University.
- ‘Fixing What’s Broken‘ exhibition, at apartment Project Gallery, Berlin.
2022
- Unlocking Diaries, Radio Fantasia, online.
- ‘Rethinking the Grand Tour’ project at Manchester art gallery.
- Missing Time, Hunar exhibition at UTS gallery, Australia.
- Artist in residency felloship award (Fix What’s Broken) at the Academy in Exile, Freie University in Berlin. To read about the residency click here..
- CASE event at Portico libary, organised by Manchester University and IPOW.
- Participated in A Thousand Channels, Colomboscop festival in Sri Lanka, episode three by Syma Tariq.
- Artists for Artists (AfA) Masterclass: Language Is Never On The Ground 2022
2021
- The II International Video Performance Competition LPG 2021 at the University of Querétaro, Mexico.
- Making Spaces, a research project exploring feminist responses and survival strategies during the Covid-19 lockdowns. published zine in the Baltic library.
- Textile and place, online.
- The 11th edition of the Kurdish Film Festival in (Babylon Cinema as Moviemento, Kreuzberg and FSK Kino) in Berlin.
- Brouhaha commissioned collaboratione sound project with artist Sherko Abbas by HOME for Push festival, Manchester.
- May flames pave the way for You, Kurdish contemporary artist group show at NOMUS museum, Poland.
2020
- Participation in a commissioned research project (Making Spaces) with the Feminist Space group from the University of Huddersfield.
- Participation in a research project (Girlhood and later life) this project is by Prof Penny Tinkler from Manchester University, led by Dr Jenna Ashton. Here you can find about that project.
- (Let the flame precede you) a group show of Kurdish contemporary artist at the Arsenal Gallery, Poland. Curated by Aneta Szylak.
- (Pot-holder) commissioned project by Kirklees council with women in exile at Huddersfield and Dewsbury women centre.
2019
- (Speaking Across Mountains) at the Middle East Institute, Washington D.C, curated by Heba Elkayal.
- ( Everyday Object), a collaboration project with the University of
Huddersfield and University of Salford in Manchester, Kate Smith, and Kelly Lockwood. part of The listening Guide in Feminist Narrative Research conference. - The Hull International Photography Festival, exhibition at the HIP Gallery in Hull.
- (Disclosure Up North), a photography exhibition at Mirabel Studios in Manchester.
- ( Feminist Space ), a collaboration project with the University of
Huddersfield and women center in Huddersfield. https://feministspaces.net/ - Performance with sound artist Tarek Atoui in (The Shuffle Orchestra)at the Calder, The Hepworth Wakefield, United Kingdom part of Yorkshire Sculpture International.
- (Cohere), V&A London, the project produced by Geoff Brokate, and Nina Emmett as a curator.
- (Cohere), HOME Manchester, the project produced by Geoff Brokate, and Nina Emmett as a curator.
2018
- (Still, I rise) at the Manchester art gallery, directed by Yusra Warsama, Manchester.
- A group exhibition of (The Traveling Heritage Bureau) artists in Alice Kettle project (Thread Bearing witness )at Whitworth art gallery/ Manchester.
- (A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN) an exhibition by Traveling Heritage Bureau, The Alexandria Library, Manchester, curated by Jenna C. Ashton.
- (Slowness) at (TRAFO, trafostacji art in szczecin) , Poland, curated by Aneta Szylak
- (The Traveling Heritage Bureau) HOME gallery/ Manchester, curated by Jenna C. Ashton.
2017
- (contemporary visions | Video art in loop) worldwide, curated by Roberto Ronca.
2016
- (Clamor) at the Institute of fine art Sulaimany/Iraq, the project curated by Sherko Abbas.
- Group show at the Kurdish House in London, curated by Kosha Hussain.
- (Homunculus) Asylum Caroline Garden’s chapel in London, curated by Rikha Samir.
- (Arising) at Reykjavik Art Museum in Iceland, the project curated by Yoko Ono working with women in an installation produced from testaments of harm and their eye’s photo.
2015
- (18th international open) at woman made gallery (WMG), Chicago. Curated by New Zealand artist Gill Gatfield.
2014
- The sound performance (When the Wild instrument sing) initiated by visual artist Sherko Abbas at Goldsmith University London.
- (Her Used boots and panties) at Vyner street gallery, London.
- (Sexism) at Indra and Samia gallery, London.
- (Stop the war) at Indra and Samia Gallery, London.
2013
- Participated in the MA fine art show at Middlesex University, London.
- (Eye-Eye) at Mile End art pavilion gallery, London, curated by Jeremy Akerman.
- (Out of this world) fine art student show at Middlesex University, curated by Farhana Hussain and Michelle Brown, London.
2011
- group show for sculpture and Ceramics, Arbil/ Iraq
- (Forth festival of the college of art) at Sulaimany University, Sulaimany.
2009
- (Women’s international Day) at Tawar Hall in Sulaimany.
Scholarship
- 2011 Research scholarship award to study MA in fine art at Middlesex University, London.
- 2022 Artist in residency felloship award (Fix What’s Broken) at the Academy in Exile, Freie University in Berlin.
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