When Stereotypes Crack, Middle Eastern Women Rewrite the Frame in Art

A centuries-old myth persists: Middle Eastern women are silent, invisible, and defined by others. Step into the halls of LACMA’s "Women Defining Women" exhibition, and that illusion unravels fast. Here, seven artists from across the region wield the camera, brush, and lens to reclaim their stories and challenge tired Western narratives. Rania Matar’s portrait of Iman Vellani—Ms. Marvel herself—lets the subject set the scene, blending family history with superhero presence. Newsha Tavakolian’s imaginary album covers give voice to Iranian singers silenced by law, turning absence into bold visual protest. Almagul Menlibayeva’s Red Butterfly transforms a Kazakh legend into a modern symbol of defiance, while Tal Shochat and Lalla Essaydi both riff on Orientalist fantasies, flipping the gaze and embedding poetry and protest in every frame. Raeda Saadeh’s video of vacuuming desert sand becomes a meditation on resilience, and Hayv Kahraman’s fragmented figures trace the journey of self-assembly amid displacement. Each work is a vivid refusal—proof that visibility is not granted, but seized, and silence is never the whole story. #MiddleEasternArt #WomenArtists #CulturalIdentity