The London-based collector and curator, who serves on Tate’s photography acquisitions committee, caught the collecting bug from her father, who began on her behalf while she was still a child. Now, the 24-year-old has taken the helm, assembling ambitious holdings of Middle Eastern contemporary art.

What was the first work of art you ever bought?

A Sterling Ruby ashtray. I have always admired how fluidly he moves between disciplines: painting, fashion, ceramics, and soft sculpture. There is a curiosity to his practice that resonates with me.

Did your family collect anything when you were growing up?

When I was seven years old, we took a family trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It’s known as the “Land of En-chantment”; my father jokingly calls it the “Land of Entrapment”—a sign of how deeply immersed he became in the region’s art and culture. That visit marked the beginning of his collecting journey and his reverence for Southwest historical and Native American art. Over the years, his interests have expanded to include Western contemporary works, Indian modernists and miniatures, and iconic black-and-white photography. Growing up alongside my father’s evolving collection, I witnessed how passion can shape a meaningful and deeply personal archive. I’ve recently begun taking a more active role in collecting, bringing new dimensions to the collection through textiles, artists from the Middle East, fashion photography, and couture. The people I have met and the experiences I have had as a collector have instilled in me a sense of responsibility and the importance of custodianship, not only to preserve the legacy of artists and designers but to actively platform their work. At any given time, we are organizing around 70 loans for exhibitions, ensuring that these voices are seen, studied, and celebrated.

What area of collecting are you excited to dig deeper into?

I’m increasingly drawn to the intersection of couture and sculpture, where garments are contextualized less as clothing and more as moving installations. Designers like Iris van Herpen and Daniel Roseberry are at the forefront of that shift.

Name three artists you are particularly excited about right now. 

I have always been drawn to Mandy El-Sayegh’s practice—particularly the intricate, labor-intensive process behind her layers of paint and screen-printing. Alia Ahmad’s paintings draw from the landscapes and cultural memory of Riyadh, blending motifs from Bedouin weaving, Arabic calligraphy, and digital aesthetics to explore themes of belonging and transformation. I also deeply admire how Nour Jaouda combines sculpture, installation, and found materials to explore the complexities of identity and displacement.

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