MISSION STATEMENT

AhmadyArts is an independent curatorial, educational, and arts advisory practice headed by Leeza Ahmady. Working both locally and internationally, with a special focus on Asia, Ahmady exhibits, contextualizes and advocates the work of contemporary artists and other arts and cultural practitioners. Through her exhibitions, presentations, academic pursuits, talks and writings, Ahmady has pioneered the development and promotion of works by artists from Central Asia (Afghanistan, Krygyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan).

ABOUT LEEZA AHMADY(BRIEF BIO)

Born and raised in Afghanistan and based in New York, Ahmady is an independent curator and educator noted for organizing large-scale multidisciplinary visual art platforms, festivals, exhibitions, artistic collaborations, academic symposiums, and experimental educational forums. She is recognized for her foundational research concerning the largely unknown artists of Central Asia. She is director of Asia Contemporary Art Week (ACAW) New York since 2006 —a curatorial and educational platform through which she brings together leading New York and Asia based museums and galleries for exhibitions & dialogues with over 2000 presented artists from all regions of Asia in 8 editions.

Since 2014, Ahmady has staged the significant projects, performances, lecture-performances and activities of over 250 artists, curators and other creative minds in 6 iterations of ACAW FIELD MEETING, (2014-2019)— an acclaimed forum for arts professionals hosted at notable venues such as: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asia Society, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Performa, SVA Theatre and Alserkal Avenue (Dubai).

Ahmady was a member of Agents / Curatorial Team for DOCUMENTA (13) exhibitions in Kassel, Germany and Kabul, Afghanistan (2010-2013). She has presented talks at local and international institutions including Duke University, The New Museum, Smithsonian Freer Gallery of Art, Asia Art Archive & Art Basel Hong Kong, Sharjah Art Foundation (UAE), Center for Contemporary Art (Kabul, Afghanistan), and The National Museum of Kazakhstan among many others. She has contributed texts to publications such as Flash Art, ART21, ArtAsiaPacific, Ibraaz, Creative Time Reports, Manifesta Journal, and more.

Short CV Full CV