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I Special I Spécial
Héla
Ammar
Born in Tunis in 1969, Héla Ammar is a
visual artist who lives and work in Sidi Bou
Saïd in Tunisia. She is also Doctor of law.
Originally a painter, her interest for
photography comes from a strong desire
to stage herself, she imagines this as a
way to share her feelings more easily but
also to use her own image. Curious and
open to the world, Hela feeds on books,
travels, experiences and all the emotions
that she can get. She learns her technique
mostly by doing, but she receives
nevertheless a short training in a private
workshop. Active feminist, she starts
through photography a sociocultural
struggle : highlighting the evolution of
the status of women in contemporary
Arab societies and condemning the
contradictions that they are facing. In
2011, Hela Ammar takes part in the project
“Artocratie”, which allows her to get out of
her workplace, make portraits of strangers
encountered on the street and, therefore,
create a new relation to the street. A piece
that she sees as a tribute to the thousands
of Tunisians whose portraits displayed in
public have replaced the posters of the
former president Ben Ali. Her works have
been displayed at Contemporary Art Fairs
such as the World Nomads in New York
City, Printemps des Arts Fair Tunis 2012,
The Harassment Exhibition at Darb Center,
Cairo 2012, Bamako Encounters (Arab
Springs) Mali 2011, Dream City 2010 and
2012, Marrakech Art Fair 2010, ArtDubai
2008, Barcelona Biennal 2007, ArtParis
AbuDhabi 2 r