naz ali aula| about biography and art stations in her life 

B I O G R A P H Y
Naz Ali Aula (b. 1989, Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq) is a Kurdish visual artist and a
software engineering graduate who has been painting since early childhood. Her work
grows from a deep love of painting and from her need to express herself as a woman.
Beneath their vivid color, her canvases carry hidden symbols and quiet messages — a
wholly feminist world that calls for peace across all genders.
Like so many women, she also carries the daily weight of motherhood and home: the
cooking, the constant care of her children, and the exhaustion that leaves little time or
energy for the studio. Simply finding hours to paint is itself a struggle. Yet the passion
for art burns inside her like a fire that will not let her stay silent; in her moments of rest
she returns to the canvas to give shape to her feelings, her thoughts, and her ideas.
Many people see her paintings only as beautiful, colorful works. In truth, each one holds
layers of thought and meaning, gently pushing back against the expectations society
places upon women. Look closely and the paintings begin to speak — fairy tales and folk
legends reborn, like new myths brought to life by her own fingers.
She paints on wide, large canvases and fabrics. Her works almost always open onto
galaxies and cosmic, color-filled spaces scattered with infinite points of light; within
these boundless scenes she places her figures and her stories, each one chosen to carry
the message she wishes to tell.
A mother of three sons, she now shares the joy of painting with her own children.
Her artworks have found homes across the world — in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, the
United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, Herzegovina, and Slovenia. Naz Ali
Aula’s art reflects her love of life and nature, and she continues to create meaningful
work that resonates with viewers around the world.

 

naz ali aula| about biography and art stations in her life 
A R T I S T S T A T EM E N T
“I paint slowly. I live with each painting so that all of my feelings and inner
thoughts can become an honest expression of who I am. I never rush to finish a
work — art should be cooked well, with patience and care, until it is truly ready.
Around my figures I paint galaxies and endless points of light, and within them I tell
the stories I need the world to hear. Many people see color; I hope they will also see
the thoughts, the questions, and the dreams of a woman who paints because her
soul cannot stay quiet.”
S O L O E X H I B I T I O N S
2023 — Solo exhibition at the invitation of the U.S. Consulate General in Erbil,
Kurdistan, Iraq.
2023 — Solo exhibition at the invitation of the Goethe-Institut Iraq, as part of its
ongoing Helan 2 art project.

2022 — First solo exhibition at the invitation of the Goethe-Institut Iraq, as part of
the Helan project, in cooperation with Sev Gallery, Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq.
2022 — “Shamaran in the Apple Farm,” solo exhibition in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan,
Iraq, as part of the Art Frosh Project by the Vim Foundation.
2022 — Solo exhibition at the invitation of Koya University, Koya, Kurdistan, Iraq.
2021 — Solo exhibition at the invitation of the Kurdish Writers Union, Kurdistan,
Iraq.
G R O U P E X H I B I T I O N S
2023 — “Existence,” Goethe-Institut, in cooperation with Sev Gallery and the
Framing School, Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq.
2023 — Iraqi Women Artists Exhibition, French Institute, Baghdad, Iraq.
2023 — Iraqi Women Artists Exhibition, Baghdad, Iraq.
2023 — “Bassamat Al-Fan – 7,” Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2023 — “Someone Says Love,” Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
2021 — The 3rd Sulaymaniyah Symposium, Kurdistan, Iraq.
2021 — Kurdish Women Innovators Festival Throughout Greater Kurdistan.
2018 — Kurdish Women Festival, Kifri, Kurdistan, Iraq.
2012 — Kurdish Women Exhibition, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq.
2006 — “We Exist if We Are to Be Seen.”
AW A R D S
— — Runner-up, Kurdish Women Innovators Festival Throughout Greater Kurdistan,
held in Kifri, Kurdistan, Iraq.
C O N T A C T
Website www.nazaliaula.com
Instagram @naz_ali_aula
Facebook facebook.com/naz.aula