Miramar AlNayyar
Iraqi, B. 1997
Miramar Al-Nayyar is an Iraqi visual artist, muralist and activist based between Amman, Jordan and Dubai, UAE. Known primarily for her larger-than-life murals, Miramar is a self-taught painter who has spearheaded the modern street art culture of Amman. Scroll through to explore Miramar's artworks and extended biography.
Featured Artwork
Movement Capture #50
“Since 2019, movement has been the focus of my creative exploration, tracing back to how I learned to paint. I recall being fascinated while observing my father's hands freely and confidently moving on a painting or sculpture, realizing that this material is coming to life through his movement.”
Miramar’s inaugural presentation on Bawa explores her ever-evolving series of works called Movement Captures. These were created following the artist’s excursion to Wadi Araba in Jordan, an arid valley that stretches from Za'farana on the Red Sea coast to the Nile valley north of Beni Souef in Egypt. Fluid formations found throughout the rocks and caused by erosion sparked an intense curiosity, and her interest in the patterns extended beyond their visual appeal.
“In the patterns, I saw ocean waves, movements of dancers, and faces of people I had never met. This experience left me with an awareness of a primitive earthly connection, stimulating unexplored parts of my psyche; I found myself in those formations.”
The works achieve a great sense of depth and flow through a rich layering of thinly applied acrylics and oil paints. Experimenting between canvases and wood panels, the numbered works act as an evolutionary thread of the artist’s experiments in capturing her own natural movements as a single frame of a painting. Each motion of the artist is rendered with precision and spontaneity, expressing delicate layers of color that give the compositions their liveliness.
“The rock formations that shape our landscapes are the result of millions of years of erosion, and to me, they serve as a reminder of the ongoing evolution and growth that we experience as individuals.”
Biography
Miramar Al-Nayyar is an Iraqi visual artist, muralist and activist based between Amman, Jordan and Dubai, UAE.
Known primarily for her larger- than-life murals, Miramar is a self-taught painter who has spearheaded the modern street art culture of Amman. Growing up in a creative household with both her parents being painters, she learned to challenge her artistic limits early in her life, opting for the massive facades of buildings as her canvases.
In her studio, Miramar explores the relationship between human movement and the natural world, creating works that evolve across their series. In the city, she creates towering portraits with expressive gestures often rendered in a grayscale palette. Finding solace in the accessibility of public presentation, the city became her opportunity to tell stories of empowerment on a grand scale. “I realized that painting was feeding a need that I didn’t know I had. It was very spontaneous and that feeling of spontaneity proceeded until it engulfed my days and became my life.” Miramar’s works have been showcased across international museums and galleries, including Gallery Ras Al-Ain, The Museum of Modern Art, Lebanon, The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Jordan, and NOFA Gallery, Jordan.
Moreover, She has consistently participated at numerous festivals such as the Baladk Street Art Festival, Jordan, the Distrito Graffiti Festival, Colombia, and the Quoz Arts Festival, UAE.
In 2020, Miramar was featured on InStyle's Badass 50 list, celebrating women change- makers around the globe. In 2021, Miramar was the recipient of the Prince Claus Seed Award, an Amsterdam-based fund that awards emerging artists who extensively engage with social issues in their local contexts. During the same year, she was featured in The North Face’s Moving Mountains campaign, which produced apparel using Miramar’s artworks as a celebration of female empowerment and solidarity.
“I’m not only painting for myself now, but for the public as well and that sparks a sense of responsibility and sensitivity towards myself and others.”
Exhibition History
Solo Exhibitions
2017 Self Reflections, Fann wa Chai Cafe and Gallery, Amman, Jordan
Group Exhibitions
2020 NOFA Gallery, Amman, Jordan
2018 The First International Watercolour Jordan Forum, The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan
2017 Sab’een, Gallery Ras Ain, Amman, Jordan
Award and Collaboration History
2022 Qouz Arts Fest, Participating Artist, Satellite, AlSerkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE
2022 Harmony, Public Art Commission, ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai, UAE
2021 Prince Claus Seed Award, Recipient, The Netherlands
2021 We Move Mountains Campaign, Featured Artist and Activist, The North Face
2021 Open Art Shuffle Street Art Festival, Participating Artist and Muralist, Open Art Museum, The Netherlands
2021 Crossing, Studio8, Set Designer, IDEA International Dance Festival, Amman, Jordan
2019, 2021 International Dance Encounter Amman, Studio8, Coordination Assistant, IDEA, Amman, Jordan
2019, 2020 Baladk Street Art Festival, Colorist, Al Balad Theater, Amman, Jordan
2017-2019 Baladk Street Art Festival, Participating Artist and muralist, Al Balad Theater, Amman, Jordan
2019 Distrito Grafiti Street Art Festival, Participating Artist and muralist, Vertigo Graffito Group, Bogotá, Colombia
2019 Break The Silence, Participating Artist and muralist, ArtMejo, Embassy of the Netherlands, Amman, Jordan
2019 Wall of Contemplation, Participating Artist and muralist, MACAM and the EU, Byblos, Lebanon
2019 The Factory Art Festival, Participating Artist and muralist, The Jordanian National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan
Education, Residencies & Workshop History
2022 Wilderness as Archive, Artist In-residence, Tbilisi, Georgia
2020 Platform27, Artist In-residence, Amman, Jordan
2020 7hills skateparkspace, Artist In-residence, Amman, Jordan
2019 Imaginary Drawings Workshop, Participant, Yvonne Buchheim, Amman, Jordan
Features & Publications
2022 A GIANT AMONG MEN, Hadara Magazine
A GIANT AMONG MEN – hadaramagazine.com
2021 We Move Mountains IWD 2020 Campaign, The North Face International Women's Day
2020 The Badass 50 2020: Meet the Women Who Are Changing the World, InStyle magazine
The Badass 50 2020: Meet the Women Who Are Changing the World
2020 Miramar is the Artist Behind Amman's Street Art Revolution, MILLE World
The Arab Female Street Artist Putting Amman on the Map | MILLE
2020 The Writings on the Wall: Jordanian Artists Sends Strong Message of Female Empowerment, The National News
The writing's on the wall: Jordanian artists send strong message of female empowerment