EFA STUDIO PROGRAM: Member Artists

Camille Eskell

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As a first-generation American and the youngest of three daughters in a Middle Eastern Iraqi-Jewish family from Bombay (Mumbai), Camille Eskell explores her cultural history and familial heritage through a feminist lens. The convergence of these ancient societies—and their shared marginalization of women—deeply shaped her, particularly within her own family dynamic.

In The Fez as Storyteller, a series of mixed-media sculptures and two-dimensional works, Eskell examines the lasting psychological and social effects of patriarchy. Drawing on Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sephardic traditions, the work reflects her lifelong interests in art, history, costume, and psychology. She blends materials to explore themes of female empowerment and constraint.

Eskell often uses the fez cap—traditionally male Ottoman headgear—as a structural base for storytelling and a symbol of the patriarchal foundation established by her grandfathers, who left Iraq to trade the hats in India. Her hybrid works combine digital photo-based collage with saris, handmade papers, cast sculpture, trims, jewels, and embellishments, using techniques such as garment deconstruction, hand-sewing, and beading.

Camille Eskell exhibits extensively in solo and group shows both in the U.S. and internationally. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections, including the Hudson River Museum (NY), the Chrysler Museum of Art (VA), and the Housatonic Museum of Art (CT). She has received multiple artist fellowships from institutions such as the New York Foundation for the Arts (Drawing), the Connecticut Commission on the Arts (Painting), and the Connecticut Office of the Arts (Mixed Media). Her work has been featured in The New York Times, CT Post, The Hartford Courant, Art New England, and HuffPost, as well as online journals including Art Spiel, FF2 Media, Posit 19, and Ante Mag. Her residencies include the Weir Farm National Historic Site and the Vermont Studio Center. Eskell holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Queens College/CUNY and resides in the greater New York area.