Ameni Abida (Sfax, b. 1997) is a self-taught artist, living and working in Doha. She holds a degree in Culture and Politics from Georgetown University and an MA in Museum and Gallery Practice from University College London. Her upbringing was marked by a series of relocations—each move prompting a reinvention of her environment and, by extension, a do-over for herself. She lived in Nigeria, Libya, and Saudi Arabia, among other places.
Her artistic trajectory is deeply personal, echoing her ongoing exploration of new environments and the emotional landscape they kindle. Working across painting, drawing, illustration, and digital media, she seamlessly blends conventional painting techniques with the digital and oftentimes intermixes both in her practice. This hybrid method allows her to create layered, vibrant, and emotive paintings that evoke the emotional and psychological undercurrents of her themes, encompassing mental health, self-love, identity, and the world around her. Ameni’s body of work reflects this profound exploration of identity and belonging, mirroring her internal landscape shaped by diverse geographical and cultural shifts. Through her paintings, she delves into notions of permanence and ephemerality, portraying homes not merely as a physical space, but as a temporal realm that shelters fleeting moments and transient routines. Still, she finds stability in instability, beauty in transition, and home in sun-kissed family reunions in Tunisia.
For Ameni, the start of summer marks a significant pause—a staycation at home away from home. Tunisia, with its blue skies and azure sea, the scent of jasmine hanging heavy in the air, and the familiar rhythm of family rituals, anchors her sense of home. There, summers are more than a seasonal occurrence; they are a perennial return to the essence of her roots. Her recent body of work depicts vivid moments spent with her loved ones, ranging from playing until dawn, taking a nap on the terrace, backstroking in the swimming pool, doom scrolling endlessly on the sofa, to savouring Ftayer in her grandmother’s kitchen. These scenes immortalise her state of being, which continually defines and redefines her sense of self and place.
