‘The Continuation” (2024) is a deeply personal self-portrait. In this work, I stand nine months pregnant with my fourth child, embodying strength and pride while reflecting on the generations of women who came before me and the life growing within me. The composition weaves together my Jewish, Egyptian, and Syrian experiences, drawing on the spiral of time and the power of tradition as we move forward.
I wear a garment I created, hand-drawing 1,200 Jewish stars in memory of the victims brutally murdered on October 7. This garment is a testament to strength, resilience, and the enduring spirit of our people and our nation. “The Continuation” honors both the past and the future, celebrating the power of life and tradition as we carry forward our legacy.
Fortune Chalme is an artist inspired by her multicultural heritage and personal identity. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she is named after her grandmother, Fortunee Wahba, who immigrated to the United States from Cairo, Egypt, in the early 1960s.
Forced to flee a country where Jews had lived for centuries, she started anew in America. On Chalme’s mother’s side, her great-grandparents immigrated from Syria and Morocco, bringing with them a legacy of rich traditions that have shaped her life and art.
Chalme’s work often explores themes of Jewish identity, womanhood, and her Syrian and Egyptian heritage.
A hallmark of Chalme’s art is its meditative, performative aspects, which she photographs and films, capturing moments that reflect resilience, continuity, and cultural memory.
Chalme writes,
Fortune Chalme is an exhibiting Artist and designer living in Oakhurst, New Jersey with her husband and 4 children. She holds a BFA from The School of Visual Arts in NYC and has studied at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Her work has been exhibited across the U.S. and abroad.