Saara Mahbouba (b. San Jose, California) is a visual artist, writer, and artistic researcher currently based in Helsinki. She received her B.A. from New York University and her M.A. from Aalto University. Her professional experience includes work with a number of galleries, art based NGOs, and academic institutions. Her research interests are primarily in the intersection of identity and labor, and making critical theory in this area more accessible and engaging through her practice. She is a first generation American, half Finnish and half Iraqi and is interested in the ‘in-betweeness’ of her own experience. Her use of mediums ranges from text and theory based work, visual art (painting, drawing, installation, video and experimental materials), to performative actions both within and outside of artistic settings.