Mohamed Hazem Mohamed Taha Hussein Abdalla (hazem taha hussein-HTH)
Born on 16/11/1961 in Giza, Egypt. Hazem Taha Hussein is a Visual Artist, Designer, Researcher, and Professor of Visual Communication Design at the German Jordanian University (GJU), School of Architecture and Built Environment (SABE), Department of Design and Visual Communication; Former Professor of Typography Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University; Royal University for Women, and German University in Cairo. He exhibited in International Biennials, Art Fairs, and Museums. He represented Egypt on different Occasions in Egypt and Abroad. Exhibited in the USA, Europa, Africa, Asia, and other Arab Countries and designed several typographical projects: Packages, posters, CI, and public art projects. His research concentrates on visual language in art and design, emphasizing the role of asemic writings, Arabic typography, and font design.
Solo Exhibitions (Selected)
2021__Linking Point, Al-Masar Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
2018__Inner-Dialogue, The Flower of Life, Al-Masar Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
2017__Inner-Dialogue, Al-Masar Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
2015__Shut-off, El-Bareh Art Gallery, Manama, Bahrain.
2013__The Mirage II, Al-Masar Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
2010__The Mirage I, El-Bareh Art Gallery, Retrospective, Manama, Bahrain.
2004__Ekhnaton Art Gallery, Cairo.
2001__Narratives IV, Espace-Karim Francis, Cairo, Egypt.
1999__El-Gezira Center of Art, Cairo.
1995__Narratives III, Tour House Gallery, Muenster.
1994__AWO Gallery, Duisburg, Germany.
1993__DAAD Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
1989__La Part du Sable Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
1988__Narratives II, Paintings and Object, Chr. Marian Stiftung Studios, Basel, Switzerland.
__Paintings, ACS-Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland.
1987__Narratives I, El-Mashrabia Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
Group Exhibitions (Selected)
2022 __Eloquence of Visuals, with Lynn Stern, Fre Ilgen, and others.
Curated by Kate YK LIM, Tokyo Gallery BTAP, Tokyo, Japan.
2022 __Eloquence of Visuals, with Lynn Stern, Fre Ilgen, and others.
Curated by Kate YK LIM, Visual Gallery Woong, Seoul, S. Korea.
2020 __Bank-House. Curated by Lobna Al-Amin, Manama, Bahrain.
2019 __Generations. Al-Masar art gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
2018 __Generations. Al-Masar art gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
2016 __General Exhibition for Contemporary Art. Palace of Art, Cairo, Egypt.
2015__View from Inside, FotoFest, Abu Dhabi Festival, UAE.
2014__FotoFest Biennial, Houston, USA.
2010__Land of the Hyperreal: Contemporary Art from Egypt, Havana, Cuba.
__What Happening Now? Casa Arabe, Madrid, Spain.
__Mirrors of Continuous Change, Seoul, South Korea.
2009__Painting, Al-Masar Gallery, Cairo.
__Alexandria Biennial 25, Alexandria, Egypt.
2008__Month of Photography, Vienna, Austria.
__Photomontage, From Athens to Marseille to Cairo, Marseille Museum, France.
__Sketches and Doodles, Mukhtar Museum, Curator T. Assem, Cairo.
__Photomontage, What happening now? Art Palace, Cairo.
__Photomontage, 13th Asian Bangladesh Biennale, Daka, Bangladesh.
2007__ Photomontage, Bonn Museum, Curator Dr. Karin A. von Roques, Germany.
__Photomontage, Occidentalism, Swiss Hotel, Curator K. Francis, Cairo.
2006__Hazem T. Hussein, S. Noshokati, Moataz Nasr, M. Aboul Naga, Portrait Art Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
__Paintings, Father and Son, Mohamed Taha Hussein and Hazem Taha Hussein, French Center, Alexandria.
__Paintings, with Ahmad Nosier, La Bodega, Cairo.
__Print Graphic, Artist Book, American University, Cairo.
2005__Hazem T. Hussein, M. Abla, A. Noseir, O. Fayuomy, and others, Agial Art Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.
__Paintings, with M. Abla, A. Nosier, and others, 21 Art Gallery, Dubai.
2004__Hazem T. Hussein and H. El-Zani, La Bodega, Cairo.
__Print Graphic, 1st Book-Biennale, Bibliotheca Alexandria.
2003__Graphic, Salon of Small Works, Cairo.
2002__Hazem T. Hussein, H. El-Zani and H. Lotfi, all bodega, Cairo.
2001__Kunsthalle, Stockholm, Sweden.
1999-2002__Al-Nitaq Festival, Cairo, Egypt.
1994-1997__Market Fair, Noteln, Germany.
1993__Hazem Taha Hussein and George Yansen, Gallery of the Faculty of Applied Arts, Giza.
1990__Eight Egyptian Artists, Kunsthalle, Augsburg, Germany.
1989__Egyptian Young Artists, Oman.
__Swiss-Egyptian Artist, French Institute, Cairo.
1988-93__The 2nd Youth Salon for Plastic Art, Cairo.
1988_Egyptians Young Artists, Madrid, Spain.
1987_Maadi Artist Exhibition, Cairo.
Academic Degrees
1997__Ph.D. in Design Philosophy and Communications Theories. Thesis (German): The Arabic Letterforms – A historical development and future perspectives. Supervised by Prof. Dr. Dr. Siegfried Maser. Wuppertal University, Germany.
1994__Diploma of Visual Communications Design. Thesis (German): “The new Arabic font. Supervised by Prof. Dimitri Wiersbitzky. High School of Design, Muenster University of Applied Sciences, Germany.
1990__Master Degree in Advertising. Thesis (Arabic): “Unifying the form-language in the commercial visual messages in Egypt. Supervised by Prof. Dr. Hassan El-Asser and Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Sami. Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University
1983__Bachelor of Applied Arts. Thesis (Arabic): “Promotional campaign for the new launching of Honda motor picks in Egypt. Supervised by Prof. Dr. Hassan El-Asser and Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Sami. Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University.
Academic Ranks
20 July 2017__Professor of Typography, Advertising Department, Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University, Giza, Egypt.
30 April 2006__Assistant Professor (equivalent to associate professor), Advertising Department, Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University, Giza, Egypt.
25 October 1998__Lecturer (equivalent to assistant professor), Advertising Department, Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University, Giza, Egypt.
11 November 1990__Assistant Lecturer, Advertising Department, Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University, Giza, Egypt.
29 December 1983__Teaching Assistant, Advertising Department, Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University, Giza, Egypt.
Employment History (Secondments and Deputations)
2019-21__Professor of Visual Communication Design, Graphic Design Department, College of Art and Design, Royal University for Women, Bahrain.
_ 2020, Head, Post Graduate Department.
2015-16__Associate Professor of Visual Communication Design, Graphic Design Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Arts, German University in Cairo.
2014-15__Associate Professor of Visual Communication Design, Graphic Design Department. Faculty of Art and Design. Royal University for Women, Bahrain.
2013-14__Associate Professor of Visual Communication Design, Graphic Design Department. Faculty of Applied Sciences and Arts, German University in Cairo.
2009-11__Head of Art and Design. Faculty of Art and Design, Royal University for Women, Bahrain.
2007-08__Head of Graphic Design Department, Faculty of Applied Arts, Mansoura University, Egypt.
2004-05__Guest Professor of Corporate Design, Faculty of Design, FH-Muenster University of Applied Science, Germany.
Peer-Reviewed Articles & Conference Papers
Abdalla, M. H. T. H. About the contemporary Bahraini Design: A brief study, (2016). In (Volume 3 of the Encyclopedia of Asian Design – EAD-3-BAH-003), Bloomsbury. (under publication)
Abdalla, M. H. T. H. The Hybrid Techniques by Arabic Typeface Design, (2017). In Journal of Applied Arts, Damietta.
Abdalla, M. H. T. H. The new Arabic Type classification system. In Journal of Applied Arts, Damietta, 2017.
Abdalla, M. H. T. H. Remixing as a phenomenon in the Arabic visual language: Graphic Design between modernism and postmodernism. In Journal of Applied Arts and Sciences, Issue 5: 15-30.
Abdalla, M. H. T. H. Designing Arabic Typefaces: Between Modernity and Tradition. In Global Journal on Humanities & Social Sciences, Issue 1 (2015) 549-557.
Taha Hussein, M. Hazem. Between the Culture of Handicraft and Industry in Typography. In (Arabic) Journal of Applied Arts, Damietta. May 13-15, 2008. pp 386-403.
Taha Hussein, M. Hazem. Visual written Signs: Between Semasiography and Glottography. In (Arabic) Journal of Faculty of Art Education, issue no. 5/15, Helwan University, 2005.
Taha Hussein, M. Hazem. Aesthetic Experience of Visual Signs- from Roman Ingarden to Jan Mukarovsky. In (Arabic) Journal of Sciences and Art, Issue no. 13, Helwan University, 2004.
Presentations / Conferences
__The 5th International Conference in Applied Arts, Damietta, Egypt, 23-25 March 2017
Presented: The Hybrid techniques by Arabic Typeface design.
__The 11th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices and the Design Principles and Practices Research Network, 2017
Presented: The New Arabic Typeface Classification System.
__The 4th International Conference in Applied Arts. Damietta, Egypt. 02-03 May 2015
Presented: Remixing as a phenomenon in the Arabic visual language: Graphic Design between Modernism and Postmodernism and Discussant.
__The 3rd World Conference on Design, Arts and Education DAE, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 02-03 May 2014.
Presented: Designing Arabic Typefaces: Between Modernity & Tradition.
__The 1st Jordanian – International Conference on Architecture and Design, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, 29-30 April 2014
Presented: The Dominance of Kitsch in the Visual Language in the Middle East, Discussant, and Session Chair.
__The 1st International Conference in Applied Arts, Damietta, Egypt May 13-15, 2008
Presented: Between the Culture of Handicraft and Industry in Typography, Discussant, and Session Chair.
Professional Academic Workshops
21-26/02/2015__Mapping Qualifications to the NQF, Royal University for Women “RUW,” Manama, Bahrain.
25/09/2012__Improving Employability Skills: Skills for the 21st Century, Manama, Bahrain.
04/11/2009__Internalizing Quality Assurance at Program Level: From Mission to Assessment, Royal University for Women RUW, Manama, Bahrain.
24-25/6/2009_International Publishing Research, Helwan University.
21-23/6/2009__Code of Ethics, Helwan University.
21-23/6/2009__Conference Organization, Helwan University.
17-18/6/2009__Scientific Research Ethics, Helwan University.
18-20/6/2007__The usage of technology in teaching, Helwan University.
12-14/5/2007__Concept and discussion about international Master-programs, DAAD-Workshop.
11-13/2/2007__Assessing teaching methods, Helwan University.
University Services (Academic Committees)
2020__Chairperson of Ad-hoc Search committee-CAD, Royal University for Women RUW, Bahrain.
2019-20__Chairperson of Professional Development Committee, Royal University for Women RUW, Bahrain.
2019-21__Chairperson of Promotion committee, Royal University for Women RUW, Bahrain.
2014-15__Member of Teaching and Learning committee, Royal University for Women RUW, Bahrain.
2013-2014__Member of Postgraduate committee, German University in Cairo GUC, Egypt.
2013-2014__Member of Teaching and Learning committee, German University in Cairo GUC, Egypt.
2009-2011__Member of Continuing Education and Community Engagement committee, Royal University for Women RUW, Bahrain.
Art and Design Academic Activities
2015__Mentoring of Workshop (Art History “Between Modernism and Postmodernism), Al-Bareh Art Gallery, Manama, Bahrain.
2015__Art Talk about the Al-Omara Art Project, Ministry of Culture, Manama, Bahrain. Speaker.
2012-13__Co-founder of the Art and Design Center ABCAD, Manama, Bahrain
2007-08__General secretary of the 1st International Conference of Applied Arts, Damietta-Branch.
Establishing the Project “Library and Graphic Laboratory” with the National Arts Center, New York, Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University, Egypt.
Fellowships, Competitions, and Prizes
2011__Artist Invitation to paint and work in Meissen company for porcelain, Dresden, Germany.
2005-06__Fellowship DAAD. Guest Professor. Teaching corporate design in FH-Muenster, Germany.
2003-05__Ministry of Culture Fellowship for Visual Artists. Cairo.
1995-97__High Education Egyptian Scholarship. Writing Ph.D. thesis, Wuppertal, Germany.
1993__Youth Salon, Prize of the Committee, Cairo.
1991-94__DAAD Scholarship. Studying Visual Communication Design, Muenster, Germany.
1989__Artist residency, Christoph Merian Stiftung Studios. A grant from Pro-Helvetia, Basel, Switzerland.
1986__Internship in packaging design. Kreuser Studio for packaging design, Dusseldorf, Germany
1984__Mobil Oil 1st Prize for Poster-Design of the Silver Year of the Faculty of Applied Arts, Cairo.
1983__Fellowship of Egyptian Center for Export to enhance the design of Egyptian packages, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Â
1982-83__Internship and later Graphic Designer by Americana †“Tarek Nour, Cairo.
Academic and Student Activities
2014-15__Certified Trainer in World-Skills competition. Trained the international Bahraini team in Graphic Design.
2014-15__Supervision of the branding competition “Bread Talk,” Manama, Bahrain.
2012-13__Anchor, Playing with Milk, ABCAD, Manama, Bahrain.
2010__The 1st International Seminar on Industrial Clothing- Exploring New Challenges. Sharing by the organization and designing the Seminar, exhibition, and print matters.
Translation and Editing
2009-11__ Consultant and Chief Editor Contemporary Practices Art Magazine from the Middle East, Dubai, London.
2007-08__English-Arabic “Artist in their World” (Picasso, Van Gogh, etc.) 9 Books, Elias Modern Publishing House, Cairo.
__English-Arabic “Mastering Art” (Drawing, Painting, Collage, and Animation) 4 Books, Elias Modern Publishing House, Cairo.
Design Projects (Selected)
2012__3D objects Design for the Egyptian booth, ITB, Berlin, Germany. Co-work with MAA- Company, Giza, Egypt.
2012-13__ABCAD, Corporate Design, Manama, Bahrain. Co-work with Jamal Al Yusuf.
2008__11th Cairo Biennale, Poster, and Corporate Design, Giza.
2003__Hybridity Exhibition, Poster, and Catalogue Design, Cairo.
2002__Misr Cafe Ltd., Corporate Design, Egypt and Jordan.
2001__Mohamed Taha Hussein, Book Design, Cultural Development Fund, Cairo.
2001__La Part Du Sable, Corporate Design, Cairo.
2001__Rojada, Corporate Design, Egypt.
2000__DAAD- 40 Years in Cairo, Poster, and Catalogue Design.
2000-07__Monginis Ltd, Corporate and Packaging Design, Egypt, India, and other Arabic and African countries.
2000__Nora Bachel Exhibition, catalog, and poster, Cairo, Egypt.
1999-2001__Rihana, Corporate Identity, and commissioned artworks, Alexandria, Egypt.
1999-2002__Al-Nitaq Art Festival, Corporate Design, Cairo.
1999__Al-Sewedy, Street advertisement, Egypt.
1988-2001__CEDEJ Centre. Typographic system for all the publications for Egypt and the Middle East.
Affiliations
2009-to date__Member of Fre Ilgen forum, Berlin, Germany.
2008-to date__Member of the contemporary practices art magazine advisory board, Dubai, London.
2008__Member of the High Committee of the Stock Exchange for Modern and Contemporary Art, Cairo, Egypt.
2007__Member of the High Committee of the 11th Cairo Biennale.
2002-to date__Member of the Cairo Atelier Association, Cairo.
2000__Member of the Youth Salon Committee, Cairo.
1999-to date__Member of the German Universities Graduates Association (Alumni), Cairo.
1998-to date__Member of the German Institutes Graduates Club-Cairo.
1983-to date__Member of the Plastic Arts Syndicate and Designer of the Faculty of Applied Arts, Cairo.