Contemporary art space Kunsthalle Helsinki presents In Light Of…, the first solo exhibition in the Nordic region by Alia Ali (Art MFA 18). The show is produced in collaboration with the Helsinki Festival, Finland’s largest arts festival, and runs Aug. 20 through Nov. 1 in Helsinki.
While developing In Light Of…, Ali considered Kunsthalle Helsinki’s naturally lit galleries, using the fading light as summer transitions into autumn to shape how visitors experience the show. At the center is Homage, a new body of work featuring sculptural garments made from French velvet originally designed for Moroccan royalty and inspired by Yemeni ceremonial dress.
In addition to Homage, the exhibition includes an immersive, fully upholstered room exploring the history and craft traditions of batik, alongside photography, sculpture, wall paintings, and sound installations.
Textiles are central to Ali’s practice. Across her photographs, sculptures, and installations, she explores fabric as a carrier of memory and identity, considering how textiles shape histories and function as forms of resistance.
Informed by her Yemeni and Bosnian cultural heritages and experiences of movement and displacement, Ali’s multidisciplinary work engages material traditions, lived histories, and questions of how knowledge moves across place and time. Her practice is grounded in research and collaboration with Indigenous communities around the world. Ali is a Jameel Fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum and a Global Nikon Ambassador.
