Xenia Gazi is a globally-educated curator, museum educator, and artist with a focus on Islamic art from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA regions). She holds an MA in Visual and Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Coventry University, United Kingdom.
With a background in the business and aviation industries in the Middle East, Gazi approaches her artistic practice and curation with a love for the region she worked and lived in for years. She sees art museums and galleries as influential cultural platforms with the power to convey counternarratives to the often-negative images of Islam. Between 2018-19, she performed visitor research in the Islamic Art galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago and presented a proposal to museum administration with initiatives to enhance interpretation and exhibition design while increasing attendance. With a rise in demand for Islamic art exhibitions within the United States and Europe, this research is needed.
Gazi lives in Chicago, IL where she pursues an independent studio practice and teaches Islamic Geometry at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She regularly lectures on her research within art institutions.
