Aissa Deebi is visual artist and a scholar based in New York and Genève. His early work investigates the complexity of daily practices in post 1948 Palestine: Days like this (1997); Makkan (1998); My Dream House (1999); Nothing is New Only Forgotten (2000). Later Deebi’s work tackled the theme of immigration and alienation, which culminated into his PhD research, providing critical analysis of Arab Diaspora as a creative space. In tandem with his scholarly work, Deebi produced a body of works that interrogate the complex phenomena of cultural-migration Diaspora reality as experienced by an adult Palestinian-American artist in post Sept 11 America: Killing Time (2004); Naked Heroes (2003); Dead Sweet (2004) Tal El Samak (2011). Most recently in 2013 Deebi’s work the Trial was exhibited at the Venice Biennale 55.
Deebi held several positions teaching art and design at a number of institutions including the Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, in the United Kingdom, Centre de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Design, Mexico and Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok Thailand. In 2010, Deebi joined the American University of Cairo’s Arts Department as a Professor of Art and Design, teaching in the areas of studio arts, design practice, theory and photography. In 2011 he was appointed to become the Director of the Visual Cultures Program, which includes the visual arts-film and graphic design majors. Deebi revamped the Art Program’s curriculum and structure to reflect the contemporary art discourse both in research and in practice. Additionally Deebi was the Director of the Sharjah Art Gallery at the American University of Cairo
Currently Deebi is the Chair of the Department of Art and Design at Montclair State University, New Jersey.
Deebi is was a founding member of ArteEast in New York City, where he served as the first Director of the Visual Arts and Director of the Board. He is also a consultant on education for the Birzet University’s Museum in Palestine, and the curator of Mizna, the Arab American Art and Literature Magazine in Minneapolis, USA.
His work was exhibited across the globe from the 55th International Venice Biennale, and the Queens Museum of Art in New York to the Haus am Lutzowplatz in Berlin, in addition to the Asia-Pacific Triennial, Taipei in Taiwan, VCU Art Gallery in Doha, Elga Wimmer Gallery in New York, and Art in Dubai.