Omar Imam

Join the CASE Art Fund for a conversation between former Arab Documentary Photography Program fellow Omar Imam and Magnum Foundation executive director Kristen Lubben as they discuss Imam’s approach to making work about refugees, and the intersection of art and documentary when photographing trauma.

Omar Imam (b. 1979, Damascus, Syria) is an Amsterdam-based, visual artist, and Rijksakademie alumni. In his sculptures, short films, and photographic works, Imam uses irony and a conceptual approach to respond to war, its consequences, and causes. Imam’s photographs vacillate between mundane documents and utterly inconceivable dreams. His project "Live, Love, Refugee" has been shown in 16 countries around the world.

Kristen Lubben is a curator, writer, and editor whose work explores the intersections of photography, art, and politics. Prior to joining the Magnum Foundation as its first Executive Director in 2016, she was Curator at the International Center of Photography in New York. She has curated numerous exhibitions, including triennials of contemporary photography and video, monographic surveys of socially engaged artists, and installations drawn from her research in historical archives, including the ICP’s collections of the work of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro. She is the author of several publications on photography and its histories, including the award-winning Magnum Contact Sheets.