AGENDA

Sara Badr Schmidt (Lebanon, b.1968) defies categorization with her eclectic range of materials and processes, consistently returning to the complexity of identity and a deep appreciation for artisanal craftsmanship. Her work delves into intimate realms with surgical precision and parental tenderness. In her mixed media exhibition at Saleh Barakat’s Agial Gallery, titled "We left home…but what is home," Badr Schmidt explores the deeply personal, almost primal quest for home. Despite a sense of division in her psyche, her art serves as both a record of the past and a glimpse into the future, illuminating the enduring impact of exile on individual existence.

Badr Schmidt's art brings intimacy and individuality to themes of place, belonging, and identity, resonating with broader social and cultural contexts. Born in 1968 in Stockholm to Swedish and Lebanese parents, Sara grew up between Lebanon, Sweden, and France. She graduated as the top student from the E.F.E.T. School of Graphic Arts in Paris in 1992, launching a distinguished career marked by exhibitions in Paris, Milan, and Beirut, including Art Paris and Parcours Saint-Germain. Sara has contributed significantly to design, founding the concept store Artishow in Lebanon, serving as artistic director of Femme Magazine, and co-founding the graphic design firm One-Off in Beirut.

More recently, Sara has incorporated rug-making into her creative repertoire, producing custom-made rugs through specific commissions that result in unique pieces or limited series. Her textile compositions, installations, paintings, and textual works are imbued with poetic sensibility, inviting personal reflection from viewers.