Ghada Khunji

Biography

Ghada Khunji, born in 1967 in Manama, the Kingdom of Bahrain, is a photographer who engages with surrealist styles through photomontage to explore her deep contemplations on cultural identity and the point of view of women hailing from the Arabian Gulf in the 21st century. Having graduated from Parsons School of Design and the International Centre of Photography’s Documentary Programme, Khunji started her career in the centre of the fashion world at the time, 1990s New York. Working as a freelance photographer, Khunji spent two years as a research assistant for various photo agencies, including Black Star and Magnum, followed by eight years as a printer and print manager for internationally acclaimed photographers Annie Liebovitz and Steven Meisel.

Khunji’s career as a documentary photographer blossomed whilst living in New York from 1991 to 2013. During this period, she was celebrated with a number of awards including the Lucie Discovery of the Year (2006), American Photo Magazine’s Image of the Year Award (2007), as well as the Golden Lights Award for Travel (2006). Khunji has exhibited widely in the US, UK, Spain, Italy, France and throughout the Middle East.

Ghada Khunji has previously participated in The Colombo Art Biennale, Sri Lanka and in Art Abu Dhabi. Khunji exhibited in the group show, Kahlil Gibran: A Guide for Our Times (2018) at Sotheby’s London. Simultaneously Khunji was in an ongoing show, I AM (2019), under the patronage of Queen Rania which debuted in Jordan, then toured internationally for over a year. Ghada Khunji also exhibited at The American University in Washington D.C. as part of a group show organised by Tribe photo magazine. Khunji participated in a group show Converse, Contemporary artists from Bahrain in dialogue with the historic Albertina Collection in Turin, Italy (2019). Khunji also exhibited in the Venice Biennial as a part of a group show The Wait (2019), and also exhibited at the Paris Biennale (2019) featuring artists from The Kingdom of Bahrain. Khunji presented a new work of art for an exhibition hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain, celebrating the International Day of Islamic Art at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (2020) . Additionally, Khunji represented the Kingdom of Bahrain at Al Burda Festival at Dubai World Expo (2019).