Mary Tuma, Spiral, embroidery floss, pins, 37h x 40w in, 2018
Mary Tuma was born in Oakland, California in 1961 to a mother of Irish descent and a Palestinian father from the Galilee. She began sewing and crocheting with her mother at an early age. Her love of these processes led her to begin her formal study of art as an apprentice at Beautiful Arts Hall in Kerdassa, Egypt, where she learned to weave tapestries. Later, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Costume and Textile Design from the University of California at Davis, and then went on to study women’s fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. In 1994, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Fine Art from the University of Arizona. She taught art at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte from 1997 until 2021, at which time she began devoting full time to her artistic practice.
Her artwork investigates the spiritual connection of the Palestinian people to their lands and homelands, as well as feminist perspectives surrounding body/land and spiritual practices she investigates.
Tuma has shown her work in numerous venues in the United States, including Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco, the Crocker Art Museum, The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, The Al-Quds Gallery, Washington DC, the Station Museum, WhiteBox, NYC and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, MI. Her work has also been shown in South Korea, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Birzeit, Athens, Rome, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kuwait, Beirut and Turkey.
Tuma’s work has appeared in Contemporary Practices, Art in America, Dar Al-Hayat, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Counterpunch, NYArts, Mother Jones, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Jordan Star, among others.
She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mary Tuma, Emanation, crocheted satin ribbon, 11.5 x 10.75 x 1.5 ft, 2009
Mary Tuma, Intifada Stones (to Throw at Israeli Tanks as They Drive Up Your Street), foam, recycled party dresses, beads, pins, (Pile 1) 9 x 25 x 10 in, (Pile 2) 26 x 24 x 48 in, (Pile 3) 12 x 22 x 18 in, 2009- present
Mary Tuma, Unsung Heroes, deconstructed/reconstructed dresses,
(L) 93 x 29 x 3 in (R) 93 x 27.5 x 4 in, 2019
current gallery hours : thursday, friday and saturday : 1 to 4pm
