Hello,
My name is Zeina Dghaim. I am a Canadian cultural heritage expert and practitioner and founder of Nibana.
I specialize in cultural heritage interpretation and online exhibition curation, identifying and interpreting overlooked narratives embedded within artefacts, collections, and historic sites.
For more than twenty years, I have worked across museums, cultural and educational institutions, contributing to projects with organizations such as the Aga Khan Museum, the New-York Historical Society, the Neustadt Gallery, Qatar Museums Authority, Opera Atelier, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, and Zayed National Museum.
I hold a PhD in Hispanic Studies (Digital Humanities) from Western University, where I developed a novel methodology for the digital activation and preservation of museum collections and heritage sites. I also hold a Master's degree in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations from the University of Toronto and an Honours BA in Spanish Language, Culture, and Literature from Western University.
My professional journey began in the fields of art education and community development, where I designed and delivered art- and education-based programmes within government institutions, prisons, distress centres, and not-for-profit organizations. During this time, I applied the role of art and culture as a tool for rehabilitation and human development. Over the years, my work evolved into the cultural sector, where I began developing art and cultural programmes, online exhibition platforms, and learning and training strategies for museums and heritage organizations.
Alongside my professional practice, I love writing, travelling, dining out, sketching, painting, and photographing things that captivate my heart and mind. I am also a lifelong student of the humanities. My research and travels have shown me how every culture contains wisdom, perceptions, and stories that can deepen our understanding of ourselves, the world, and others. At the heart of this understanding is compassion, or the capacity to appreciate humanity and to engage with it through respect, humility, and care.