(b. 1951) Born in Sousse, Tunisia in 1951, Slimane is one of the major contemporary artists in Tunisia as well as in the Arab world. He graduated from the Escola Massana of Barcelona in 1977 and the Technological Institute of Art in Tunis in 1982. Two years later, he began to learn ceramics in Barcelona. He traveled a lot, notably in Tokyo where he completed an eight-month residency at the Idemetsu Tokyo Museum and studied the national treasures of Japan and inevitably developed a passion for the arts in the Far East countries. In 1990, Ben Slimane was elected as a member of the International Academy of Ceramics in Geneva. His works have been exhibited beside works by maestros like Miro, Picasso, and Artigas. His works are part of various private and public collections including the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, Idemitsu Museum of Arts in Tokyo, the British Museum, and the Benaki Museum in Athens. In 1990, he became the first Arab to be invited to become a member of the Academie Internationale de la Ceramique in Geneva. He received several awards including the Prize of National Culture in Tunisia, the International “Grand Prix” of Ceramic in Vietri Sul Mare, Italy in 2002.