“Karimah grew up in Newport, South Wales, in a Yemeni, Bangladeshi and Welsh family. She moved to London about seven years ago to study and graduated with an MA in architecture from the Royal College of Art. Unsurprisingly, given this background, Karimah thinks carefully about the consumption of her art and the value of multidisciplinary design.” - iD
Karimah Hassan in studio. Photo Credit Thomas Brady 2025
BIO
Karimah Hassan is a London-based painter and writer whose practice bridges visual art, poetry, and public storytelling. Trained as an architect, she creates immersive worlds through Painting Out Loud - a process-led approach that invites audiences into the act of creation itself.
Drawing from her Welsh, Yemeni, and Bangladeshi heritage, her work explores belonging, memory, and the language of colour, blending fine art and pop culture with a belief that creativity is a form of social technology. Through her Substack platform, The Gremlins, her spoken-word Poemcasts, and her ongoing Museum Rat column, Karimah builds spaces for self-taught creators to think, feel, and make.
“Hassan's work captures how it is to be in the moment... It's all part of Hassan's ongoing mission to use art as an instrument to connect.” - Elle
She has exhibited internationally across London, New York, Toronto, Ibiza, and Beirut, and collaborated with global brands and cultural institutions including Molton Brown, & Other Stories × UNICEF, Rosewood Hotels, The Standard, Burberry, The Barbican, and Alexander McQueen’s Sarabande Foundation.
“Through her street art projects she engages a broader community and breaks down barriers, bringing other people's stories to life, lifting them up and highlighting them in their own environments.” - The Wick
Bio FR.
Vit et travaille à Londres, Royaume-Uni
Formée à l'architecture au Royal College of Art, Karimah Hassan développe une pratique transdisciplinaire où se rencontrent peinture, écriture et performance.
À l’intersection de l'abstraction lyrique, de la figuration flottante et du modernisme spirituel, Karimah Hassan érige des paysages mentaux nourris par le rêve, la mémoire collective et l'expérience vécue. À la charge intuitive et spirituelle des images répond une structuration précise, héritée d’une pensée architecturale de l’espace. Les compositions se déploient par plans successifs. Les formes et les couleurs circulent, et la superposition des plans et des couches aboutit à la création d’une image multidimensionnelle. Son travail puise autant dans l'observation de son environnement immédiat que dans un vaste monde intérieur. Des paysages, des silhouettes et des formes abstraites apparaissent puis disparaissent dans un même champ visuel, faisant constamment varier l'échelle du regard, du détail intime à une vision cosmique.
Son travail a été présenté au Royaume-Uni, aux États-Unis et à l'international, notamment au Migration Museum et à Rosewood London (Royaume-Uni). Ses œuvres figurent dans les collections de la Sarabande Foundation (Royaume-Uni) et de la Fondation Montresso (Maroc).
Education
2014–16 MA Architecture — Royal College of Art, London, UK
2014–15 Research Fellowship — Kyoto University of Arts, Japan
2010–13 BSc Architecture — Cardiff University, UK
Selected Residencies
2026 Montresso Foundation — Marrakech, Morocco
2025 Villa Lena Residency — Tuscany, Italy
2025 Secteur Privé Residency — Beirut, Lebanon
2025 The Standard Hotel Residency (Sweet Nothings) — New York, USA
2022–23 Sarabande Foundation Studio Residency — London, UK
2022 The Standard × Bergdorf Goodman Residency — New York, USA
2018 Artscape Residency — Toronto, Canada
2018 Con Artist Gallery Residency — New York, USA
Selected Projects & Commissions
2025 Molton Brown — Artists of Note Global Campaign (Oudh Accord & Gold, September 2025)
2025 & Other Stories × UNICEF — International Women’s Day Collaboration, London (March 2025)
2024 Personalised Artworks — Salvatore Ferragamo, Bond Street, London, UK
2023 Mural Commission — Vans & Jukebox Collective, Cardiff, UK
2023 Mural Commission — Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK
2021 Window Display — Burberry, Mayfair Flagship Store, London, UK
2020 Educational Programme — The Barbican, London, UK
2020 Mentorship Programme — Arts Council England
2019 Community Mural — The High Line, New York, USA
Selected Exhibitions & Shows
Solo Shows
2026Between Two Kingdoms — Secteur Privé Gallery, London
2025 Soleil — Secteur Privé Gallery, Beirut
2025 If Thoughts Become Things — Inbetween Gallery, Ibiza
2025 Sweet Nothings — The Standard, New York, USA
2024–25 Four Generations — Rosewood London, UK
2024 Sensai — Selfridges VIP Lounge Commission, London, UK
2022 Abrdn Yearbook — Sarabande Foundation, London, UK
2021The Strangers Yearbook — Kiosk N1C & Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, Public Display, London, UK
2019 Strangers in My Blood — Pamenar Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2019 Moving to True North — Unit 31, London, UK
Group Shows
2026 Moments for Lebanon — Galerie Au Roi, Paris
2026 Mexico Art Week— Casa Nala, Mexico City
2025 LAS Begins — The Artworks Creekside, London, UK
2024 House of Bandits — Sarabande Foundation, London, UK
2022–23 Taking Care of Business — Migration Museum, London, UK
2021 Bound — Dover Street Market, London, UK
2021 Five: 50 — Mile End Art Pavilion, London, UK
2021 Served — Sarabande Foundation, London, UK
2020 Herstory — Maddox Gallery, London, UK
2018 Residence Showcase — Con Artist Collective, Manhattan, NYC
2018 Cooties Collective — Chinatown Soup Gallery, Manhattan, NYC
2016 Degree Show — Royal College of Art, London, UK
2015 Degree Show — Aqua Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
Solo Shows
The Migration Museum, London
Sarabande Foundation (Alexander McQueen), London
Montresso* Foundation, Morocco
Public Installations / Live Painting
2021–22 The Strangers Yearbook — Coal Drops Yard, London, UK
2021 Vans Checkerboard Day — Jukebox Collective, Cardiff, UK
2019 Crxss Platfxrms NSF — Copeland Gallery, London, UK
Public Talks & Collaborations
2025 Reorienting the Gaze — The Arts Club Mayfair, London (October 2025)
2025 & Other Stories × UNICEF — International Women’s Day Collaboration (March 2025)
2025 Molton Brown — Artists of Note Global Campaign
2024 Rosewood Art & Culture Talk — London
2022 Creativity & Identity — Soho House, London
2022 Brand Partnerships — MTA Art Agency × Sarabande Foundation, London
2020 The Nature of Creativity — Creative Mornings UK (Digital)
2019 Creativity & Opportunity — HK Strategies × British Library, London