Christina Shoucair & Yasmina Hilal
On the Curator-Artist Bond
Written by Soraya
“Christina and Yasmina on friendship, first shows, and the quiet work that holds an exhibition up. Some of the most important relationships in the art world never appear on a wall label.”
Behind many artists is a curator who recognised something before anyone else did. Behind many curators is an artist who trusted them before they had a reputation to lean on. Those relationships are rarely visible to visitors, yet they often shape the work just as much as the exhibition itself.
I met Christina last year through an exhibition she had curated in Paris. What began as a conversation about her practice turned into a friendship. As two young founders trying to build meaningful projects in the arts, we found ourselves exchanging ideas and looking for ways to support one another. Whenever Christina spoke about her latest exhibitions, one artist’s name kept coming up: Yasmina. She never spoke about her simply as someone she exhibited, but as someone she had grown alongside. It made me wonder what happens when an artist and curator build not only exhibitions together, but a lasting friendship. This conversation is the result.
The Origin Story
Christina and Yasmina met in 2022, when Christina was assembling the first exhibition for Hayaty Diaries and knew only that she wanted a Lebanese artist in the room. What she didn’t have yet was a name — so she asked for one.
Christina, do you remember the first time you saw Yasmina’s work? What made you think, I want to show this artist?
“I do remember the first time I saw Yasmina’s work. We had just started conceptualising our first exhibition for Hayaty Diaries, and I knew I wanted a Lebanese artist to be represented in the show. I messaged my godmother’s niece asking for recommendations since she was based in Beirut, and I actually went back through our DMs recently to find the exact message she sent me. She simply put it: “Collage, mixed-media artist. My all-time favorite” followed by Yasmina’s profile.
That was my introduction to her work. What I fell in love with immediately was her sense of materiality: the layering, the texture, and the way she so effortlessly told stories through image and material. There was something incredibly tactile and experimental about her work that I hadn’t encountered before. What drew me in then is the same thing that draws me in now: her extraordinary ability to narrate human experience. Whether she’s exploring her own history, family stories, collective memory, or broader narratives, there’s an honesty to the work that makes people feel connected to it. She has this rare ability to make something feel both intimate and shared.
Of course, I wouldn’t define her practice in exactly the same way today - her work has evolved so much since then (we met in 2022!), expanding into new themes, materials, techniques, ideas, and forms. She’s really stepped into her identity as an ARTIST above all. But what’s so exciting is that despite all that growth and experimentation, the soul of her practice remains unchanged. Watching that evolution has been one of the most rewarding parts of our relationship. It’s what keeps me hooked, keeps me wanting to grow alongside her, and keeps me excited to see where her practice goes next. Yasmina is constantly evolving, constantly challenging herself, yet she remains committed to the emotional honesty and storytelling that made me fall in love with her work in the first place.”
Yasmina, what do you remember about Christina before she became “a curator” in your life?
“Honestly, I knew absolutely nothing about Christina she came into my life. I had never seen her before, we only had a few common friends. But there was something about her presence over the first call that stayed with me. She had that excitement and ability to make me feel seen and understood from the very beginning, and that’s something I don’t forget. Long before she was a curator in my life, she was someone who made me feel that my voice and work mattered.”
If someone had told you then that years later you’d be sitting together discussing your shared history, what would have surprised you most?
“That I’d end up spending time with her parents in Lebanon while she’s abroad! And that we’d discover her house is basically a street away from mine. It feels like one of those things that sounds made up.”
The Leap of Faith
Every curator has a first artist. Every artist has a first curator. Both are, in their own way, an act of faith made before there is any evidence to support it — no track record, no institutional cover, nothing to point to if it goes badly. Their first show together was in London. The first piece sold before Yasmina had even walked through the door.
Christina, why Yasmina?
“Because for me, she has this really rare balance of being exceptionally talented while also being so human. What has always drawn me to Yasmina’s work is her ability to tell stories with such honesty and vulnerability. She’s willing to go to places a lot of artists are afraid to go, and because of that, you feel seen when you encounter her work.
As a curator, that makes working with her incredibly inspiring. She brings so much truth into a space. Visually, her work has this excitement and texture to it, but what I love most is the feeling it creates. There’s a familiarity to it, even though the imagery, the materials, and the way she expresses herself are entirely her own. It feels unique and unexpected, yet so recognizable at the same time. When Yasmina is in an exhibition, you often feel like you’re looking at something you should already know, but at the same time, something you’ve never seen before. And I think that’s a very special thing. Not every artist can do that.”.
Yasmina, what did it mean to be someone’s first artist?
“What’s crazy is that the first piece sold before I had even arrived at the exhibition. It was my first-ever show in London, and I was honestly so confused. I remember thinking, “How is this possible?” But in hindsight, it told me a lot — not only about the work, but about the trust and belief Christina had in it from the very beginning.
At the time, it didn’t feel like a responsibility. It felt like a friendship built on mutual excitement and support. Only later did I realize how special it was that we were experiencing so many firsts together.”
Looking back, was that first exhibition built more on conviction or trust?
“I think trust came first. Neither of us could have known where any of this would lead, but there was an instinctive trust between us. The conviction grew from there.”
Growing Alongside Each Other
Four years is long enough for a practice to change shape entirely. Yasmina’s has moved from photography and collage into objects, embroidery and ceramics; Christina’s eye has taken in hundreds of artists since that first Beirut recommendation. What’s striking is that both of them, asked separately, describe the same thing: an expansion outward that has somehow made the centre clearer rather than harder to find.
Words copyright of Naso Art Journal.
Images courtesy of Christina & Yasmina.
The full feature is exclusively in Issue 4 of Naso Art Journal.
