About

Transcript: Reema was born in South Dakota, grew up in California; Damascus, Syria; North Dakota; and is currently based in Houston, TX. In 2007 Reema received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Houston in Interior Design, and has been a practicing designer for over thirteen years. In 2020 Reema received a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Houston in Interdisciplinary Practice and Emerging Forms, focusing on Transmedia Storytelling: the use of digital and analog media to tell narrative stories across platforms.

Artist Statement

Over the millennia, our ancestors passed down records through performance art, pictograms, and aural recitations. More recently, our knowledge seems to be isolated within increasingly specialized industries and modern technologies.

As a child, I used my imagination to make up tales, and much like my ancestors, I used any media available to tell them. Today, I draw inspiration from ancient artistic traditions and modern technologies to create interconnected worlds that cross media platforms in a unified and coordinated way. The way a story is articulated through different media, and the method in which various platforms deliver a story is critical to the narrative-line. Each distinct medium shapes the mechanics of a narrative, and the transitions from one platform to the next immerse the audience in the story. For instance, in one project, All Roads Lead To Home, I used photos, prose, social media, and augmented reality to record personal memories in a non-linear, interactive autobiography that celebrates each type of media and its strength in storytelling.