Ali Al Jabri is an artist and the former Artistic Director and Curator of Amman’s Museum of Popular Traditions. From a prominent Aleppo family, Ali Jabri studied at Victoria College in Cairo. In the 1960’s, he moved to California where he studied architecture at Stanford University and began to nurture his artistic talents. Shortly thereafter he moved to the UK to study English Literature at Bristol University before finally relocating back to the Middle East in 1977 and began his artistic career. A meticulous documenter of everyday life, architecture, cultural artifacts, and the people he observed, many works in Jabri’s artistic output can be seen as a kind of visual diary. A deep affinity with the simultaneous presence of ancient heritage, urban life, and the contradictory conditions of modern society formed a backdrop to his work, which began during his years in Cairo. This grew more complex upon his move to Amman, where his work employs greater satire and social commentary.