Saba Taj (b. 1986) is a visual artist based in Durham NC. Saba uses interdisciplinary practices to explore the gaze, representation, power, and apocalypse.
EDUCATION
2016 M.F.A. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2011 B.A. Art Education, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC; summa cum laude
SELECT ART ACHIEVEMENTS
RESIDENCIES, FELLOWSHIPS
2019-20 Post-MFA Fellow with the Documentary Diversity Project at the Center for Documentary Studies, Duke
University, Durham NC
2017-18 Artist-in-Residence, Salaam: Exploring Muslim Cultures, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
2017 Southern Constellations Fellow, Elsewhere Museum, Greensboro, NC
2015-16 Teaching Fellow, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
AWARDS
2020 Joyce Wilkins Pope Grand Prize Award for Laila in Orchids, North Carolina Artists Exhibition, juried by Nat
Trotman.
Isadora Duncan Dance Award nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design, with Hushidar
Mortezaie, Anum Awan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and jose e abad
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 Perkins + Will, Nazar (site-specific installation), Durham, NC
2018 Twelve Gates Arts, Of Beast | Of Virgin, Philadelphia, PA
MOSS Arts Center, Salaam, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA
2017 Gatewood Gallery, we have adorned everything on earth, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Sumter Art Gallery, Muslims are Awesome, Sumter, SC
Guilford Art Gallery, we have adorned everything on earth, Guilford College, Greensboro NC
2016 Allcott Gallery, creatures from the earth made of earthly materials, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2014 Carrack Modern Art, An-Noor, Durham, NC
2013 Litmus Gallery, Technicolor Muslimah, Raleigh, NC
Ravenscroft School, Technicolor Muslimah, Raleigh, NC
2012 Room 100, Technicolor Muslimah, Durham, NC
Carrack Modern Art, Technicolor Muslimah, Durham, NC
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020 Basement, Breathing without a Body. Chapel Hill, NC
Elder Gallery, Figure | Form. Charlotte, NC
2019 Counterpulse, Tomorrow We Inherit the Earth (performance). San Fransisco, CA
Asian Arts Initiative, New Asian Futurisms. Philadelphia, PA
2018 Rubenstein Art Center at Duke University, (In)Visible Organ, hosted by the Calla Initiative. Durham, NC
The Stud, Tomorrow We Inherit the Earth, performance with SFAC. San Francisco, CA
SOMArts Cultural Center, The Third Muslim, curated by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Yas Ahmed. San Francisco, CA
The Warehouse, Bull City Meets the Bayou, New Orleans, LA
2017 Cassilhaus, En | Gender, curated by Courtney Reid-Eaton. Chapel Hill, NC
Twelve Gates Arts, #BLM: Masterminding our Ordered Rage, curated by Atif Sheikh. Philadelphia, PA
American Tobacco Campus, Black on Black, curated by Mike Williams and Linda Dallas. Durham, NC
OUTsider Arts Festival, creatures from the earth made of earthly materials. Austin, TX
Carrack Modern Art, conjuring other planes of there, curated by Durham Artists Movement. Durham, NC
Durham Arts Council, MACONDO - A Journey Through Magical Realism, curated by Rafael Osuba. Durham, NC
2016 Visual Art Exchange, Black on Black, curated by Mike Williams and Linda Dallas. Raleigh, NC
Twelve Gates Arts, I Bear Witness, curated by Atif Sheikh. Philadelphia, PA
Carrack Modern Art, al maghreb ghareeb: the strange west. Durham, NC
The Elephant Room Gallery, Poets/Artists. Chicago, IL
Ackland Art Museum, Depth Perception, curated by Kelly McChesney. Chapel Hill, NC
Arcana, Everyday Chaos: Re-Collaging the Surface. Durham, NC
2015 Carrack Modern Art, the DAM show, Durham, NC
Greenhill Gallery, Self-Portraits by NC Artists, curated by Edie Carpenter, Greensboro, NC
2014 NCCU Art Museum, 75th Anniversary Alumni Exhibition, North Carolina Central University, Durham
Durham Art Guild, Face to Face, Durham, NC
Carrack Modern Art, Interface || interference, Durham NC
Pleiades Gallery, Truth to Power; juror: Kenneth Rodgers. Durham, NC
2013 World Islamic Economic Forum, MOCAfest, London, UK
Durham Art Guild, 59th Annual Juried Exhibition; Juror: Edie Carpenter, third prize. Durham, NC
Exchange Gallery, Visual Art Exchange, Featured Artist, Raleigh, NC
Visual Art Exchange, Unfettered; Juror: Katharine Adkins, Raleigh, NC
International Museum of Women, MUSLIMA: Muslim Women’s Art and Voices, curated by Samina Ali. Web
2010 Durham Art Guild, 56th Annual Juried Exhibition; juror: Maria Magdalena Compos-Pons. Durham, NC
SPEAKING
2020 Featured Speaker, International Women's Day Lecture. University of Toronto, CA.
2019 Panelist, Alternative Visions and Counter Institutions, as part of Open Engagement. The Carrack Modern Art,
Durham NC
Keynote Speaker, Resilience and Triumph, Womxn of Worth Initiative Conference. University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill.
2018 Hybridities, the Evil Eye, and the Apocalypse, sponsored by the Department of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies
Visiting Artist Series. Duke University, Durham NC
2017 Art, Resistance, and the Dominant Narrative, TEDxDuke, “Uncharted Waters.” Duke University, Durham, NC
Panelist and Facilitator, Articulating Value with Culture Mill. Living Arts Collective, Durham, NC
Speaker, 38th Annual Minority Health Conference, “Systems of Power: Reclaiming our Past, Restructuring our Future.” University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2016 Panelist and Facilitator, Southern Constellation Convergence with Elsewhere Museum. Nasher Museum of Art,
Durham, NC
Panelist, Artivism, hosted by the Durham Art Guild. Durham, NC
Panelist, Arts Activism in Durham, hosted by the Forum for Scholars and Publics. Duke University, Durham, NC
ARTS ADMINISTRATION, etc.
2020 Curator, In Vulnerability, The Ackland Museum of Art. Chapel Hill, NC
2018 (current) Executive Director, The Carrack Modern Art. Durham, NC
2017 Advisory Committee, Duke Performances Building Bridges initiative. Durham, NC
2016 Board of Advisors, The Carrack Modern Art. Durham, NC
2013-16 Lead Administrator, Durham Artists Movement. Durham, NC
2014-15 Graduate Assistantship, Hanes Visiting Artist Lecture Committee (HVA). University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill NC
2013-14 Member of Pleiades Gallery. Durham, NC
TEACHING
2019-20 Workshop Instructor, Nasher Museum of Art. Durham, NC
2018 Workshop Instructor, Endogenous Zones, Duke University. Durham, NC
Art Teacher, Githens Middle School. Durham, NC
2017 Visiting Artist Workshop Instructor, North Carolina Museum of Art. Raleigh, NC
2016 Art Instructor, The Arts Center. Carrboro, NC
Visiting Lecturer, University of North Carolina. Chapel Hill, NC
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
2018
Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali. “Queer Muslim Futurism.” Archer Magazine, Issue 10.
B., Marke. “‘The Third Muslim’ Highlights Queer Faith, Art, Resilience.” 48 hills, January 23 (web).
Kini, Aditi Natasha. “Queer Muslim Artists are Beyond a ‘Movement.’” Intomore.com, January 24 (web).
Marques, Catarina. “The Third Muslim: Against All Discrimination.” Metal Magazine, January (web).
Felix, Annie, “Queering Visibility In the Age of Digital Journalism,” New Museum: New INC, June 22 (web).
Stascio, Frank, “The State of Things: LGBTQ Faith Leaders Come Out of the Shadows,” WUNC 91.5, Durham NC, April 27 (broadcast).
Habib, Samra, “Queer Muslim Women from the South: ‘we exist and we are fierce,’” The Guardian, February 3.
2016
Stascio, Frank, “The State of Things,” representing Black on Black, WUNC 91.5, Durham NC, October 25 (broadcast).
Howe, Brian, “In the Carrack’s Former Digs, Durham Artists Movement Creates a Safe Space for Diverse Voices,” INDYWeek, July 20.
Kuruvilla, Carol, “Queer Muslim Artist Saba Taj Sees Her Art as an Act of Resistance,” Huffington Post Religion, June 24.
Yusuf, Muhammad, “Targeting Stereotypes,” The Gulf Today, January 14.
Clarey, Brian, “Exhibit Explores Artists’ Relationships with Self,” Triad City Beat, February 4.
Rivero, Daniel, “This Artist Will Break All Your Stereotypes of Muslim Women,” Fusion. November 26 (web).
Stascio, Frank, “The State of Things,” WUNC 91.5, Durham NC, March 30 (broadcast).