FAME Collective, the cultural platform championing art and design by female artists from the Middle East, has made its London debut via FAME Majlis, a physical home where art, design, and dialogue meet in the spirit of regional hospitality. Unfolding in the heart of Belgravia, a district in Central London, FAME Majlis will open by invitation from late October 2025.
Conceived as both a salon and a sanctuary, it reimagines the traditional majlis, a space for gathering and exchange as a contemporary cultural destination where creativity and connection coexist. “This is not another showroom,” says co-founder Lara Jabara. “When women come together, incredible things happen. FAME Majlis is a space for gathering, exchanging ideas, and meaningful conversation — where women can unite, share their unique stories, and spark connection and change.”

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The inaugural exhibition, “Reorienting the Gaze: Archives of the Future,” curated by Lara and her mother (and FAME co-founder) Christiana Jabara, encapsulates what the platform stands for: a talented community of women generating meaningful and elevated art and design that tell stories of their lived experiences, beloved homelands, and the blended cultures that define the MENA region today.
The exhibition features a dynamic roster of artists and designers, from established names to emerging talents, including Mona Trad Dabaji, Carla Baz, Talin Hazbar, Neda Salmanpour, Ameera Kawash, Assied Toii, Nevine Bouez, Hilda Hiary, Alia Mouzannar, Nada Debs, Maysaloun Faraj, Karimah Hassan, Mary-Lynn Massoud, Hala Matta, Tala Fustok, Zeinab Alhashemi, and Heba Al Akkad, alongside collaborative works by Iwan Maktabi with female designers from the region. Together, their works act as a shared archive that continues to evolve through touch, time, and reinterpretation.

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To mark the opening, FAME hosted a talk at The Arts Club Mayfair titled “Reorienting the Gaze: Living Archives of the Future.” The thought-provoking discussion brought together Ameera Kawash, Karimah Hassan, and Lameice Abu Aker, artists whose practices reflect the fluid dialogue between heritage and futurity. Kawash spoke about reanimating Palestinian tatreez through AI and ecological processes, transforming patterns of loss into data-driven renewal. Hassan described her paintings as portals, performed through poetry, movement, and sound, transforming artistic process into ritual. Meanwhile, Abu Aker shared how her family’s glassblowing heritage informs her playful sculptural forms, preserving memory through material and color.

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Through FAME Majlis, the Middle Eastern tradition of gathering has evolved into a home for creative women whose works bridge past and present, intimacy and innovation. It is both a platform and a living archive, where heritage becomes a language of the future, and the collective imagination of women continues to shape culture.
The showroom will be taking appointments will end of October, for appointments: info@famecollective.com