Maryam-Zahra Ali (b. 1985), great, great granddaughter of American educator, author, and adviser to multiple presidents of the United States—Booker T. Washington, is a filmmaker, creative director, and multi hyphenated artist. Born under a leo sun, leo moon, and scorpio rising with a life path of number two, she is the youngest of 6 siblings. Born and raised in the historic Bay Highlands of Annapolis, Maryland. A very small, private community of 60 homes made up solely of summer cottages purchased by the family of Frederic Douglass in the 1890's that served as a resort for Black Americans who were denied public access to a beach.
With equal creative passion and talent in creative arts and story telling, Maryam’s professional career has included art directing, creative directing, set decorating, set dressing, prop mastering, event design, creative writing, filmmaking and photography. A true modern day renaissance woman.
Entirely self taught, Maryam has been in touch with her creative abilities since a young child and uses art as a way to express herself. Creativity has always been a talent and skill she uses to connect to others and maneuver through, deconstruct, reinvent, rescue, and refresh aspects of her life.
In 2024, Maryam spent the majority of her time art directing for her brand The Artisan Sugar Company, as well as prop mastering and set designing social media content for Bayer. In 2022-23, Maryam art directed several segments for the A&E and Homemade Nation networks. In 2021, she was the set designer and creative director on several projects, including 2021 Chicago International Film Festival award winning film “Artistic” directed by Nina Lee, executive produced by Lena Waithe, starring Marshawn Lynch. In 2020, Maryam co-curated the art exhibit for Youtube Music’s “Leaders and Legends Ball” honoring Laface Records at Atlanta’s History Museum. n 2019 she creative directed a fashion look book which pages were published in Vogue Italia. Her art pieces have been in 10 local art shows since 2018 and she has curated three of her own. She has acquired several national and international collectors and clients of her art and creative services since deciding to pursue arts professionally and is continually evolving and maturing as an artist on different platforms.
Outside of her art, Maryam has begun studies in different new age philosophies and spirituality practices, in this state of a transformative awakening she hopes to incorporate her studies, practices, learnings and teachings through her creative, artistic work to reach others that are also awakening and helping raise the vibration of this planet.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My art is conceived through a cathartic method. I use it as a way to express what I can’t sometimes express emotionally or verbally in everyday life. It is full of emotion, layers, textures, vulnerability and truthfulness… both hard and soft. I have no directions or rules I follow when I am creating. When I am truly in it, I feel outside of it, as if the keyboard, brush, pen, or needle is stroking itself. Through my art I feel hidden and safe, yet fully exposed. Through art, I am able to immortalize places, lovers, feelings, and moments that are ultimately passing through me like the wind (as they should). As I dive more into my spirituality, I hope my art will ascend with me as well. I wish to become more aligned with the messages and stories from my angel guides and higher self that I am meant to share and ultimately leave behind (but forever remain in the eternal memory bank in the universal cloud of knowledge).
Maryam-Zahra Ali (b. 1985, United States)
Currently lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia
maryam@artisansugar.com | www.forevermza/collect
ARTIST CV
EXHIBITIONS
2017 Trips Around the Sun, Steele, ATL GA (Solo, Mixed Media)
2018 One Word, OPE Gallery, ATL GA (Group, Mixed Media)
2018 Seasons, Gallery 992, ATL GA (Solo, Mixed Media)
2019 Armour, ATL GA (Solo, Wearable Art)
2020 Youtube Music “Leaders and Legends Ball”, ATL GA (Art Curator)
2020 Koncept House “Power to the Woman”, ATL GA (Group, Mixed Media)
2020 Black Joy Manifesto, ATL GA (Group, Short Film)
2022 Koncept Art Series, ATL GA (Group, Mixed Media)
2023 The Speak Easy, ATL GA (Group, Monologue, Host)
2024 The Evening Tea, ATL GA (Solo)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Works held in private collections in the United States.
Private collections, Atlanta GA
Private collection, Chesapeake VA
Private collection, Annapolis MD
Private collection, Los Angeles CA
Private Collection, Houston, TX
Private Collection, New York, NY
Private Collection, Prato, Italy
PROJECTS/ART DIRECTOR
Prop master/Set Design, Bayer (Alka Seltzer, Astepro), 2024
Private event design, Chesapeake Avenue, 2023
Art Director, A&E Network, Homemade Nation Segments, 2022-23
Art Director, Set Decorator, Short Film: "Lumps", (2022)
Set Designer, Killumanti MUSIC VIDEO, Director Nate Edwards (2021)
Art Director, ZARA, Director David Nixon, (Fall 2021)
Creative Director, Set Decorator, Short Film: "Artistic", Producer Lena Waithe, (Fall 2020)
- Art Exhibition Curator, Youtube Music's "Leaders & Legends" Ball, Atlanta, GA (2020)
- Event Decorator, Staff, Georgia Senator's "Celebration of Service" Dinner, Atlanta GA (2020)
-Creative Director, Set Decorator, Artist: Sammie, Music Video (2020)
-Creative Director, Set Decorator, Artist: Sammie, Music Video (2020)
-Cretive Director, Set Decorator, Artist: Doe, Music Video (2020)
-Art Director, Creative Director, Armour Photo Shoot, Vogue Published (2020)
-Event Decorator, Art Curator, "Armour" Pop Up Shop, "Seasons" Art Show, "One Word" Show, ATL GA (2019)
-Art Director, Set Decorator, Short Film: "25", (2018)
-Art Director, Set Decorator, Short Film: "Aquarius", (2018)
-Art Director, Creative Director, Short Film: "The Story of Lady Wamu", (2018)
-Art Director, Set Decorator, Feature Film: "Love & Logic", (2017)
