Saj Issa Palestinian-American, b. 1994
Saj Issa is a Palestinian American artist born in St. Louis and raised between the Midwest and West Bank, Palestine.
Saj Issa received her BFA from Webster University and her MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her practice has garnered recognition, including the 2022 NCECA Graduate Student Fellowship and selection for the prestigious Great Rivers Biennial at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2024). Her work was featured on the cover of Artforum’s Summer 2024 issue, accompanied by an extensive portfolio exploring her artistic practice.
Issa has participated in artist residencies at Belger Crane Yard Studios in Kansas City and Craft Alliance in St. Louis. Her practice, noted for its thoughtful interrogation of cultural memory and identity, has attracted critical attention through interviews with Hyperallergic, Juxtapoz, and Khamsa Magazine, among others.
EDUCATION
2023 MFA, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA
2017 BFA, Webster University, St. Louis, MO, USA
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2024 Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Great Rivers Biennial
2022, NCECA Graduate Student Fellow
2020, Artist’s Fellowship Inc. Grant
Department of Art Award
Laura F. Anderson Scholarship
Elizabeth Heller Mandell Memorial Scholarship
Luminary Arts Artist Grant
Foundations of Contemporary Arts
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024, Your Refuge, PSA STL, St. Louis, MO, US
2023, Evicted From The Hachoora, New Wight Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
Exposed Remains, Albertz Benda, New York, NY, US
2022, Americana Hamam, Albertz Benda, Los Angeles, CA, US
Le Maximum Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
2019, Back Home in Your New Home, Kranzberg Art Center, St. Louis, MO, US
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024, Painting in Real Time, Santa Ana, CA, US
Luminary 10th Anniversary, The Luminary, St. Louis, MO, US
In Bloom, Berlin, Germany
2023, Ruscha & Co., Los Angeles, CA, US
Rostros, Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
I’ve Gone Looking For America, Murmurs Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
2022, I Don’t Need It But I Want It, F2T Gallery, Miami, FL, US
Juntos, Tlaloc Studios, Los Angeles, CA, US
Many, Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA, US
New Art Dealers Alliance, New York, NY, US
Materials Fair, Mexico City, Mexico
American Architecture, Spy Projects, Los Angeles, CA, US
Felix Art Fair, Los Angeles, CA, US
2021, City Too Hot, 702 Traction Ave, Los Angeles, CA, US
2020, True/False Festival, Sager Braudis Gallery, Columbia, MO, US
Artist-In-Residence Exhibition, Belger Crane Gallery, Kansas City, MO, US
Residents Curate Residents, Belger Crane Gallery, Kansas City, MO, US
March Exhibition, Sager Barnes Gallery, Columbia, MO, US
2019, Gandee Cup Gallery, Syracuse, NY, US
AIRs Show, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO, US
Twin Cup Exhibition, MSWU Clay Guild, St. Joseph, MO, US
Form Will Find its Way, NCECA 2019, Katherine E Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, US
2018, 2018 Chicago Print Fair, Chicago, IL, US
AIRs Anniversary Show, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO, US
2017, The Year of The..., Arcade Gallery, St. Louis, MO, US
Synecdoche, Arcade Gallery, St. Louis, MO, US
2016, Sweet 16, Webster University, MO, US
Art in Bloom, St. Louis Art Museum, MO, US
Slurp!, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO, US
Disappearance of Palestinian Folk Art, Webster University, MO, US
Varsity Show, Art St. Louis, MO, US
SELECTED PRESS
2025, Everything is Political, Slow Factory
2024, Artforum, June Issue
The Office Magazine, Theo
2023, HyperAllergic, Interview with Sarah Wolfson
Khamsa Magazine, Interview with Nour Regaya
New American Paintings, MFA Annual Issue #165
New Cube, Interview with Molly Barnes
Arab News, Interview with Rawaa Talass
Juxtapoz Magazine Podcast, Interview with Evan Pricco
2022, UCLA Newsroom, Interview with Madeline Adamo
New American Paintings, MFA Edition #159
Nike Jordan Rebellionare
2019, Ceramics Monthly Magazine, Long-term Residence Artists
St. Louis Post Dispatch, STL Mug Market Press Release
CUT/PASTE, Radio Talk/Interview, STL Public Radio
St. Louis Post Dispatch, Back Home In Your New Home Press Release
St. Louis Magazine, Back Home In Your New Home Press Release
Form Will Find its Way, NCECA 2019
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS
2019, Back Home In Your New Home with Kiki Salem
2018, For What?, Print Publication with WORK/PLAY
2016, Disappearance of Palestinian Folk Arts, Documentary Film with Sharif Eid
RESIDENCIES
2019, Belger Crane Studio Artist-In-Residence
2018, Craft Alliance Artist-In-Residence
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Fertile Dreams, Group Exhibition
Tabari Artspace 1 November 2025 - 1 April 2026Fertile Dreams exists in the slippages between soil and psyche, where earthly terrain fuels the landscape of the unconscious. Fertility is not only a question of biology, but of sustenance,...Explore -
Tabari Artspace Presents Saj Issa at Art Dubai 2025
Never Make a Wish in a Dry Well 16 - 20 April 2025Palestinian American artist Saj Issa views ceramics as intimate repositories of touch, memory, and myth. In Never Make a Wish in a Dry Well , she borrows from an old...Explore
