Salad Hilowle b. 1986

Salad Hilowle works in a variety of media. Primarily known for his celebrated video works, presented in film and art contexts, he also works with photography, sculpture, performance and installation. With rare sensitivity and precision, he uses a research-based approach that highlights forgotten or hidden stories throughout art history and popular culture. In his art, Hilowle has often explored the representation of Afro-Swedes in cultural history. Through the research of archival records, Hilowle traces overlooked subjects and tells alternative stories.

Salad Hilowle (b. 1986 in Mogadishu, Somalia) holds an MFA from the Royal Institute of Art (2020) and a BFA from Konstfack (2018) in Stockholm. In 2026 Hilowle’s acclaimed video installation Maroonen was presented as part of the exhibition Badin –Beyond Surface and Mask at the National Museum in Stockholm. In spring 2023 he had a solo exhibition at Eskilstuna Art Museum featuring his video work Vanus Labor, alongside sculpture and photography, as well as the new performance work Journey of Unity. Other solo exhibitions include American Swedish Insitute in Minneapolis, USA, Kulturhuset Stockholm, Gävle Konstcentrum in collaboration with the County Museum of Gävleborg and the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in connection with the Bernadotte Scholarship Hilowle received in 2020. He has also exhibited at Bildmuseet, Umeå, Kalmar Art Museum, CCI Fabrika, Moscow, GIBCA (Gothenburg International Biennial of Contemporary Art), Borås Art Biennal, and Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm, to name a few.

Hilowle is represented in the collections of Moderna Museet, Gothenburg Art Museum, Carlsberg Foundation Collection, Uppsala Art Museum, Borås Art Museum, Kalmar Art Museum, Västerås Art Museum, Konstmuseet i Norr, Public Art Agency Sweden, Stockholm konst and the County Museum of Gävleborg.