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Mona A. El-Bayoumi at Michigan State University

About the artist

Mona A. El-Bayoumi

Painter, educator and activist, working between Washington, D.C. and the wider world for more than four decades.

Mona El-Bayoumi grew up in East Lansing, Michigan, where her household was filled with people from around the world. This exposure along with international traveling from a young age influenced her and thus her work. Her formal studies were at Michigan State University where she obtained her BFA in Painting and Drawing. Later, she pursued post-graduate studies in Art Education, and then obtained a Masters Certificate in Museum Studies at Georgetown University. She has been volunteering as a docent at the National Museum of Women in the Arts for the past 30 plus years. Mona has also worked for “Arts for the Aging” (AFTA), a program where artists facilitate art activities for senior citizens in the D.C. Metropolitan area. She was a Visiting Artist in Residence at Aidan Montessori School where she worked with young children.

Mona has exhibited in the United States and around the world including Egypt, Paris, and South Africa. In her exhibits, political themes in their various forms are reflected. Mona El-Bayoumi resides in Washington DC.

Mona’s Early Journey

Discover the formative years that shaped Mona's unique perspective and ignited her passion for art.

  • A World at Home

    Born in Alexandria, Egypt and raised in East Lansing, Michigan, Mona grew up in a household filled with people from around the world.

    Art came to her as a natural second language – one many of her teachers recognized early and encouraged from the start.

    Mona A. El-BayoumiMona A. El-Bayoumi

  • Mastering the Craft

    Her formal studies were at Michigan State University, where she obtained her BFA in Painting and Drawing, followed by a year studying art in London in 1984.

    Later, she pursued post-graduate studies in Art Education, and then obtained a Masters Certificate in Museum Studies at Georgetown University.

    Mona A. El-Bayoumi at Michigan State UniversityMona A. El-Bayoumi in London, 1984Mona A. El-Bayoumi with her early paintings

Mona’s Creative Legacy

A glimpse into the work and vision that define her artistic journey.

  • A Lifelong Commitment

    Her work has been exhibited from Washington, D.C. to Cairo, Paris, and South Africa, moving fluidly between Ancient Egyptian figures, Arab landscapes, still lifes, and unflinching political commentary.

    A Lifelong CommitmentA Lifelong Commitment

  • A Mother's Lens

    Raising five children gave Mona a perspective no studio could teach. Watching the world through a child’s sense of wonder sharpened her own — reminding her that art lives in small, fleeting moments, not above them.

    A Mother's LensA Mother's LensA Mother's Lens

  • Art as Activism

    Mona’s later work turns the brush into an act of resistance. Exhibited around the world, it takes on injustice in D.C., imperialism across the Arab world, and the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

    Art as ActivismArt as ActivismArt as Activism