New Canaan Library is pleased to welcome Syrian born artist and architect Mohamad Hafez as guest lecturer for the 8th Annual Stoddard Art Lecture. Mr. Hafez will speak about his dynamic and evocative mixed media sculptural art, which is informed and inspired by the war torn landscapes of contemporary Syria and other Middle Eastern countries. The lecture will be held on Wednesday, December 5, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. in the Adrian Lamb Room, preceded by a light reception at 6 p.m. Please register to attend, online at newcanaanlibrary.org.
Born in Damascus, raised in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and educated in the Midwestern United States, Hafez’s art reflects the juxtaposition of East and West within him, as well as the political turmoil in the Middle East. Through his architectural skills and the repurposing of scrap metal and found objects, Hafez creates arresting, often surrealistic, Middle Eastern streetscapes that are works of art while simultaneously being politically charged and thought provoking. Interwoven and contrasting the hard reality of the street scenes are subtle, softer messages of hope in the guise of audio recordings of his homeland, elements of his heritage, and peaceful verses from the holy Qur’an. Having been forced to migrate, along with his upper-middle class Damascene family, Hafez offers a very personal view of what it’s like to be thrust into the role of migrant; how people’s lives are before and after the migration, the turning points and their adjustment to new realities.

Mohamad Hafez has recently been featured in four highly acclaimed exhibitions and profiled in National Public Radio, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. He is currently exhibiting at numerous institutions, including The Brooklyn Museum, “Syria, Then and Now: Stories from Refugees a Century Apart,” October 13, 2018–January 13, 2019 and Fairfield University Art Museum, Quick Center for the Arts, “Collateral Damage,” October 26 – December 15, 2018.

Hafez is the recipient of a 2018 Connecticut Arts Hero Award for his extensive and continuous body of work on issues such as the Syrian civil war, the worldwide refugee crisis, and an overall desire to counter hate speech. He serves as a 2018 Yale University Silliman College Fellow.