Selwa Abd is a moroccan-born artist, music composer and freelance designer / consultant based in
New York City.
Her prolific and thought-provoking output challenges critical questions surrounding the future of technology, her own fragmented personal identity shaped by the complexities of post-colonial urban environments, and the influence of virtual realities on contemporary society.
Inspired by Deleuze's interpretation of Henri Bergson's philosophical framework, she embraces intuition as a legitimate method for investigating these complex issues in all her creative endeavors.
Selwa collaborated with a diverse array of cultural artists spanning the realms of both the art and music worlds. Her musical compositions were showcased in exhibitions of contemporary visual artists, she also remixed the works of musical artists, including Depeche Mode.
She is a recipient of the NYSCA x Roulette Artist Grant (2025), NYFA x Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment’s Women Fund Grant (2024), The Jerome Hill Artist Alternate Award (2023), the Issue Project Room Residency (2022) and
Harvestworks Technology Immersion Program Grant & Fellowship (2022).
Selwa has shown works at MOMA Ps1, Roulette, Moogfest , National Sawdust, EKKO Festival, Sonic Arts Festival, Issue Project Room x The Center for Performance Research, Basilica Hudson, Fridman Gallery, The James Gallery, 47 Canal and The Brooklyn Film Festival to name a few.
Selwa has earned recognition from outlets including The Washington Post, BOMB Magazine, GQ Middle East Magazine, Resident Advisor, Mixmag Mena and Artforum.
Her music has been released on labels such as Optimo Music and Tresor Records.
Selwa is the founder of the community resource Pick Up The Flow and the publishing imprint BIZAARBAZAAR.
She's been a NTS Radio DJ resident since 2018.
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CV contact
ig bandcamp
Artist CV
Born 1992, Casablanca, Morocco.
Lives and works in New York City.
Education:
2021 | CF, User Interface Design Program
2013-2016 | Parsons School Of Design - The New School, BFA in Communication Design (First Class Honours)
Solo Shows:
2022 | As If Reality Part II, ISSUE Project Room & Center for Performance Research, NYC
2022 | As If Reality Part I, ISSUE Project Room & Harvestworks, Governors Island, NYC
Selected Group Shows:
2024 | EKKO Festival & Bergen senter for elektronisk kunst, Bergen
2024 | Printed Matter Book Fair, NYC
2024 | National Sawdust, NYC
2023 | Warm Up Series, MOMA PS1, NYC
2023 | The Future Of Water Festival, Music Gallery, Toronto
2023 | Presentation of multi-media project “Coins” (project with Miho Hatori), Roulette, NYC
2022 | Medium /98.6F series with Miho Hatori, 47 Canal, NYC
2021 | Radial series, Fridman Gallery, NYC
2017 | Show with William Basinski & YATTA, ISSUE Project Room, NYC
Awards:
2025 | NYSCA X Roulette Artist Grant
2024 | NYFA x Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment | Women’s Fund for Media, Music & Theater
2023 | Jerome Hill Artist Alternate Award
2022 | Harvestworks Grant & Fellowship
2020 | SACEM Grant
Residencies:
2024 | Bergen Senter For Elektronisk Kunst Residency
2022 | Issue Project Room Residency
2018 | RBMA Bootcamp Participation, Bonaroo
Press:
2024 | The Best Albums out of Nov. 22 | NPR
2024 | The GQ Sound Survey | GQ Middle East (print+online)
2024 | Freedom and Resilience Theme, Bergsonist new EP, Mixmag mena (online)
2023 | MoMA Ps1 Warm Up Feature, Cultured Mag (online)
2023 | Story feat. cross-section of NYC’s DJ community, Cult Classic (print)
2022 | Best Music of 2022, by Jace Clayton, Art Forum (print+online)
2022 | NYC Artists Breaking Barriers, GQ Middle East (print+online)
2020 | Bergsonist's techno diary, The Washington Post (print+online)
2020 | Breaking Through Artist of 2020, Resident Advisor (online)
2020 | 10 Under The Radar Releases.., Dazed (online)
2020 | Q&A by Ruth Saxelby, Love Injection (print)
2020 | Bergsonist Resists, Nouveau York (online)
2020 | A Guide to Bergsonist’s Sprawling, Intuition Driven Electronic Music, Bandcamp Daily (online)
2019 | Bergsonist's Bodiless Archive, Borshch Magazine (print+online)
2019 | Noise 101: Bergsonist, Scene Noise (online)
2019 | Selected by Holly Herndon Interview Series, Mixcloud x Shure (online)
2018 | Elaborate Intuition, Bomb Magazine (print+online)
2017-2024 | Various Features, The Wire (print+online)
Shows:
ISSUE Project Room, MOMA Ps1, Roulette, Moogfest, National Sawdust, EKKO Festival, Sonic Arts Festival, The Center for Performance Research, Basilica Hudson, Fridman Gallery, Spectacle Theater, 47 Canal, The James Gallery (CUNY), Boston Museum, Brooklyn Film Festival, Kafe Haerverk, Dripping Festival, Sustain-Release Festival, Bar Laika, Knockdown Center, Nowadays, Jupiter Disco, Mitsuki (Japan), Station Gare Des Mines (Paris), Industrial 236 (Vancouver), Mood Ring, Elsewhere, Bossa Nova Civic Club, Crown Hill Theater, ELM Foundation, The Music Gallery (Toronto), Paragon, Honey’s, Good Room, Brooklyn Bazaar, Deep Blue (Vancouver), Le Bain, Trauma Bar (Berlin), Ballesta Club (Madrid), Grillx (Vienna), Le Lieu Unique (Nantes), Output, Hyperion Tavern (LA), Secret Project Robot, First Unitarian Congregational Society, Nothing Changes, Betty’s Bar and Grill (Nashville), Sugar Hill Disco, Cafe Koz (Frankfurt), Fourth World Festival, Trans-Pecos