Critical Distance DIRECTORY Hala Alsalman

Hala Alsalman is an interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker with a background in journalism. Through video, collage and ceramics, her work investigates political power, history-making and gender relations within the context of the Middle East. Being of Iraqi ancestry, she often draws inspiration from ancient Mesopotamian scholarship and aesthetics. Hala graduated from OCAD University in 2024 with an SSHRC-funded interdisciplinary MFA her thesis project “Remember the Future: Oneiric Artifacts from Mesopotamia, ” which will show at Art Windsor-Essex in March 2026. The film component, “The Rod and The Ring”, has screened at CICA Museum in Korea and Pleasure Dome’s New Toronto Works in 2025. Hala was recently awarded a research-creation grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.