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Menna Abou O’llow

Des Moines, Iowa 50317
Polk County
Business Type:  Independent Creative
Design
Graphic
Education
Arts Instruction/Lessons
Cultural Education
Curriculum Development
Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
Literary Arts
Media
Digital
Marketing/Advertising
Visual
Carving
Mixed Media
Painting
Printmaking

I am an Egyptian American visual artist and educator based in Des Moines, Iowa. Working across drawing, painting, and printmaking, my practice explores themes of identity, memory, and womanhood through a visual language grounded in contrast, symbolism, and emotional restraint.

I earned a BFA in Printmaking and Studio Art in Cairo, Egypt, and my work has been exhibited internationally in the United States, Poland, Malaysia, Russia, Italy, Qatar, Mexico, and Egypt. Alongside my studio practice, teaching has been an important part of my artistic journey. I taught art and design to middle and high school students in Egypt and Qatar, supporting students in developing college portfolios and guiding them through advanced programs, including AP Art, IGCSE, and AS Art.

I currently work as a Community Access Program (CAP) Teaching Artist at the Des Moines Art Center while pursuing a Master’s degree in Brand Communication at Drake University. I maintain an active studio practice at Mainframe Studios in Des Moines.

I accept art commissions and also offer support in brand identity and brand communication strategy.

You can visit my studio at Mainframe Studios, Studio #366, 900 Keosauqua Way, Des Moines, IA 50309, or connect with me through my social media platforms.


Last Updated: March 19, 2026, expires: Sep. 09, 2027

Race: White

Ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino

Use this section to get the parent/child taxonomies for a single post being viewed

The above pulls in each of the parents within the artist-discipline taxonomy , which is good, if I want to display them alone without their children.
Terms: Arts Instruction/Lessons
Terms: Carving
Terms: Cultural Education
Terms: Curriculum Development
Terms: Design
Terms: Digital
Terms: Education
Terms: Graphic
Terms: Literary Arts
Terms: Marketing/Advertising
Terms: Media
Terms: Mixed Media
Terms: Painting
Terms: Printmaking
Terms: Visual
Terms: Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class

I need to probably display these like this:

Dance: Ballroom, General, Hip Hop, Jazz.

Design: General, Graphic

Will need to figure out how to return the sub categories (artist-discipline) for each parent individually and then loop through all parents assigned to the CPT (artist) being viewed.

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In this section I was able to successfully pull all sub categories that belongs to the 2 parents selected. This could be good if I was trying to show all possible choices under that parent, but what I really need is to pull just the selected ones back.
In this section I was able to successfully pull all sub categories that belongs to the 2 parents selected. This could be good if I was trying to show all possible choices under that parent, but what I really need is to pull just the selected ones back.

Artist Work

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