Biography
Elika Blake joined Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Middle East department in 2022. Elika is responsible for the research and cataloguing of the biannual auction sales, which span works from the Arab world, North Africa, Iran, and Türkiye from the twentieth century to present day. She has worked closely on landmark sales including Sotheby's inaugural auction in Saudi Arabia, Origins. In 2024, Elika was project manager for Hafla: A Celebration of Middle Eastern Art, overseeing a month-long series of exhibitions including Khamseen: 50 Years of Saudi Visual Arts.
Of Persian British descent, Elika holds a BA in History of Art from the University of Manchester with a research focus on modern and contemporary Iranian art and identity, and an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from SOAS University of London. Her Master’s thesis presented a study of Arab art within the history of biennials. In 2024, she co-curated Hudood: Rethinking Boundaries, an exhibition of contemporary Arab art from the Barjeel Art Foundation at the Brunei Gallery in London, and is published in its accompanying title.
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