Nabil Mousa
b. 1966, Syria
Lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri.
Syrian-American interdisciplinary artist working across painting, installation, and socially engaged practice.
Professional Roles
Founder and Director, Mousa Art Initiative (MAI), St. Louis, MO, 2023–Present
Curator, The Palestinian Holocaust: Art Against Erasure, Mousa Art Initiative, St. Louis, MO, 2026
Art Chair (Visual Arts Program), Atlanta Pride Festival, Atlanta, GA, 2017
Current Shows
Shapes of Transcendence, Foundry Art Center, St. Charles, MO, 2026
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Shapes of Transcendence, Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO, 2026
Shapes of Transcendence, Gallery at Forest Park, St. Louis, MO, 2025
Retrospective, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 2025
Veiled Realities, High Low Gallery, Kranzberg Arts Foundation, St. Louis, MO, 2024
Fractured, CICA Museum, Gimpo, South Korea, 2023
Virtue, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 2023
Fractured, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, MO, 2022
Birds Without Wings, Rainier Club, Seattle, WA, 2019
American Landscape: An Exploration of Art & Humanity, Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, MI, 2017–2018
Judgment Day 9/11, Gallery 874, Atlanta, GA, 2017
Veil of Ignorance, Salamatina Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2016
Mousa Retrospective, Salamatina Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2015
Colors of My Heritage, Alif Institute, Atlanta, GA, 2012
Judgment Day 9/11, Mattress Factory Lofts, Atlanta, GA, 2012
Lost in Translation, Buckhead Plaza, Atlanta, GA, 2011
The Road to Equality, GLAAD / Fenuxe Magazine, Atlanta, GA, 2010
Diversity and Equality, GLAAD, Atlanta, GA, 2007
Memories, The Granite Room, Atlanta, GA, 2008
Selected Group Exhibitions
In the Beginning, Hudgens Center for Art & Learning, Atlanta, GA, 2026
Reflections Unveiled, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, MO, 2025
Portraits, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 2024
In the Beginning, Quinlan Visual Arts Center, Atlanta, GA, 2024
Paradise Built on the Bones of the Slaughtered, ArtPrize Seven International Art Competition, Grand Rapids, MI, 2015
Dreams, Salamatina Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2015
Art Wynwood Miami, Salamatina Gallery, Miami, FL, 2014
Coming Together, B-Complex, Atlanta, GA, 2011
Longing, StudioPlex, Atlanta, GA, 2011
Catwalk Meets Canvas, Art Partners / High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, 2010
Mattress Factory Lofts Exhibition, Art Partners / High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, 2009
Convergence, StudioPlex, Atlanta, GA, 2009
Perspective, The Granite Room, Atlanta, GA, 2009
Atlanta Artists Center Juried Exhibition, Atlanta, GA, 2009
Lectures and Panels
The Palestinian Holocaust: Art Against Erasure, Mousa Art Initiative, St. Louis, MO, 2026
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, NY, 2019
NYC Pride, New York, NY, 2018
Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, MI, 2017
Leadership and Curatorial Work
Founder and Director, Mousa Art Initiative, St. Louis, MO, 2023–Present
Curator, The Palestinian Holocaust: Art Against Erasure, Mousa Art Initiative, St. Louis, MO, 2026
Exhibitions & Education Committee Member, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, MO, 2022–2024
Community-Based Projects
The Palestinian Holocaust: Art Against Erasure, Mousa Art Initiative, St. Louis, MO, 2026
Syrian Refugee Outreach Project, Alif Institute, Atlanta, GA, 2022
Syrian Refugee Outreach Collaboration, ArtReach & Clarkston Community Center, Clarkston, GA, 2018
Arts & Culture Chair, Atlanta Pride Festival, Atlanta, GA, 2017
Veil of Ignorance Performance, Atlanta Pride Festival Parade, Atlanta, GA, 2016
Judgment Day 9/11 Community Project, Mattress Factory & Gallery 874, Atlanta, GA, 2012 / 2017
Instructor, Alif Institute, Atlanta, GA, 2013
Education
Georgia State University, Coursework in Painting and Drawing, 2002, 2006
University of Georgia, Coursework in Painting, Drawing, and Art History, 2004
University of Tennessee, Coursework in Studio Practice and Art History, 1999–2001
Publications
Breaking the Chains, Nabil Mousa, Skira, Milan, 2016
Mosaic: Themes in Asian American Studies, Gibbs Smith Education, Kaysville, UT, 2026. Featured artist/artwork inclusion.
Nabil Mousa: Art as Civic Education, Visual Language, Activism, and Teaching Identity from K–16, academic book proposal in development for submission to a university press.
Interviews
“Nabil Mousa: Artist.” Arts Interview with Nancy Kranzberg, KDHX, hosted by Nancy Kranzberg, July 1, 2024. Podcast interview, 11 min.
Selected Press and Critical Writing
The New York Times
Art in America
NBC News
The Art Newspaper
The Detroit News
Detroit Metro Times
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Artnet News
ArtsATL
Creative Loafing
Fenuxe Magazine
Fox2Now, Kevin S. Held
St. Louis Magazine, Caroline Kopsky
Brookhaven Buzz
Decatur Dispatch
WZZM 13 – ABC
Fox 17
CNN iReport
PR Newswire
11Alive Atlanta
Chimes
MLive
GRNow
Collections
Alif Institute, Atlanta
Buckhead Club, Atlanta
GLAAD, New York
Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, Atlanta
Numerous private collections