Azra Akšamija is an artist and architectural historian born in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina and based in Boston. She is professor in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Architecture where she is the director of the Art, Culture and technology Program. She is the founding director of the MIT Future Heritage Lab (FHL). She holds a MArch from Princeton University and a PhD in Architecture from MIT and Diploma Engineer degree from the Technical University Graz.
Akšamija's work explores the intersection of art, design, history and preservation, often focusing on cultural heritage, identity and social justice issues. Her artistic practice engages with topics such as the representation of Islam in the West, the agency and resilience of refugee communities, and the role of art in addressing social inequalities and environmental challenges. She is the author of two books: Mosque Manifesto: Propositions for Spaces of Coexistence (2015) and Museum Solidarity Lobby (2019); and the co-editor of Design to Live: Everyday Inventions from a Refugee Camp (2021) with Raafat Mazjoub and Melina Philippou.
She has exhibited her work in leading international venues and museums in Zagreb, Belgrade and Ljubljana, the Sculpture Center and Queens Museum of Art in New York, the Royal Academy of Arts London and Design Festivals in Milan, Istanbul, Eindhoven and Amman. Most recently, her work has been shown at the Kunsthaus Graz in 2024, the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2024, the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2023 and 2021, and the Aga Khan Museum Toronto in 2020. Her work has been recognised with the Art Award of the City of Graz in 2018, and an honorary doctorate from the Montserrat College of Art (2020), the LafargeHolcim Award 2021, and the Emerging Voices award by the Architectural League New York in 2022.
She received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2013 for her artistic work in the Altach Islamic Cemetery. She is the editor of the book Architecture of Coexistence, Building Pluralism published in 2020, which features Award recipients in Europe as case studies. She served as an on-site reviewer for the Award in 2016.
