Tony Khawam

The Burden of Damascus

2019

Tony Khawam born in Aleppo, lives and works in South Florida, USA. Khawam received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY (1985) and a Master in Commercial Art from Montclair State University, NJ (1987). He is deeply rooted in his Middle Eastern heritage and the American experience through histories, current events, and the surrounding urban landscape with influences of post-war German and American art. His heritage paintings are formed by ideas about today’s socio-cultural issues such as social disruption, displacement, and immigration, intertwined with the American culture. Khawam has been exhibited nationally in galleries and museums and a recipient of recent awards including the “Artist Support Cultural Grant” Broward County Cultural Division, FL (2021/22); the “American Rescue Cultural Grant” National Endowment for the Arts through Florida Division of Arts & Culture (2021); “Individual Artist Award, Specific Cultural Project”, Florida Division of Cultural Affairs (2021); the “Creative Investment Program Award” Broward County Cultural Division, FL (2020). He is a panelist for Grant programs and public art appointed by the Broward County Cultural Division, Fort Lauderdale, FL, and a participant in numerous workshops including “Artists at the Community Development Table” Americans For the Arts (2019); and the “Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute” Broward County Division of Culture, Fort Lauderdale, FL (2019). Khawam’s work is included in numerous museums, private and public collections throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. He has given “Artist talk” and participated as a panelist at several art institutions. Khawam has been interviewed by and published in Sky News Arabia, Boca Raton Magazine; Miami Shoutout Magazine; WLRN Public Media, Miami PBS-NPR; Palm Beach Illustrated; Aventura Magazine; Lifestyle Media Group; News Break Michigan (9/2020); Brooklyn reporter News (10/2019); Artrepreneur Media (9/2019); Voyage Miami Magazine (1/2018); NJ Savy Living magazine, NJ (5/2000); The New York Times, NY (7/1998), to name few.