cc: Nidal El Jishi

Jadra, Mount Lebanon, 2026

Hi! I am Hala! I am a multidisciplinary creative who works across marketing, communications, exhibitions, community events and social impact programs.

As an artist manager for Palestinian-American artist Walid Kaddoura — I lead the development of his practice and international presence across Beirut, Dubai, Doha and Dallas. In Doha, I secured Walid Kaddoura's place in the Echo of Lost Innocence exhibition at Msheireb Museums, curated by Bachir Mohamad in September 2024 in collaboration with Qatar Charity. In January 2025, I brought his work to Dallas, Texas, partnering with Wayward Coffee Co. on the salon-style event Artist Talk & Show. Most recently, his work was selected for the ICON Incubator feature in ICON MENA's 10th Edition: MOSAIC.

I worked as Social Media Manager at the Sundance Institute, supporting the Sundance Film Festival and its year-round Labs and programs — including the Indigenous, Women in Film, Creative Producing, Documentary, and Theater programs. In partnership with Michelle Satter (Founding Senior Director of Sundance Institute's Artist Programs) and Tara Hein-Phillips, I led and produced a hybrid, six-month Arabic-language filmmaking program with the CARE organization. Also, at the Sundance Institute, I became a consultant on Arab and Middle Eastern films for the institute and served as a reviewer for the Sundance’s Documentary Fund.

I also have worked with independent filmmakers and artists, devising and strategizing marketing and communications plans for distribution, fundraising, outreach, visibility, and reach. Among those collaborators are award-winning filmmakers Anna Fahr and Karim Kassem, and emerging artists Sarah Richani, and Walid Kaddoura.

I hold an MFA in Art Practice from the University of California, Berkeley (2022), and a BS in Business Marketing with a minor in Sociology from the Lebanese American University in Beirut (2013).

I can’t live without art, film, community, culture, panels, talks and dialogues. It is like breathing for me! I also believe that impact happens there. In Los Angeles, I also co-founded the Arab Media Arts Collective, alongside Sam Shaib and Louay Khraish.

I was awarded $20K in grants and project funding by Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, the Berkeley Center for New Media, UC Berkeley’s Sultan Program in Arab Studies, Center for Cultural Innovation, and LA Review of Books Publishing Workshop.

As a practicing artist, I exhibited and showcased my work at the Worth Ryder Art Gallery, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Refugee Eye Gallery in San Francisco, and at the Arab Women in the Arts Showcase by the Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI).