Born in 1988, Jad El Khouryis a Lebanese multidisciplinary artist, currently based in Oslo, Norway. He graduated with a master’s degree in Architecture from the Lebanese University in 2016 and with a master’s degree in Art and Public Space from Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2022.

Environmental sensitivity, politics, architecture, and heritage come together in pursuit of healing in El Khoury’s artistic practice. The medium and techniques are constantly metamorphosing in response to the serendipities and contexts the artist encounters. With a sense of urgency and site-specificity, his projects vary from static visual installations to socially engaged practices. Jad El Khoury’s work has been shown internationally. He was awarded the Arte Laguna Prize for Urban Art and Land Art in 2019. El Khoury is currently starting a residency at Rådhuset i Oslo where he will be until 2024.

Soft Shields is a project born in the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion, which weaves together narratives gathered during Jad El Khoury’s field research. Wandering through the most impacted streets, the artist engaged with homeowners and collected their stories, testimonies and experiences of August 4th, 2020. The familiar sight of Beirut’s balconies and their colorful curtains underwent a dramatic transformation, where the symbolically and practically protective fabric was shattered.