Halla Erfan Shafey: Earned her B.A and M.A. in Economics from the American University in Cairo (1987, 1992). For 25 years, she worked as an economist and Senior Development Consultant, Policy Advisor and Evaluator with international development institutions such as the United Nations and World Bank and has numerous publications. In 2006-2011, she attended the atelier of artist Magd Sagini and workshops with several renowned pastel artists in the UK and United States.. Since 2012, she has become a full-time, largely self-taught artist. Her first solo exhibition ‘Passion for Pastels’ held in Bab-Selim Gallery in September, 2012. In 2013, she (1) had work accepted at 114th Annual Pastel Society of England Exhibition in London and received the first prize for non-members (2) had work accepted in the 41st juried exhibition of the Pastel Society of America in New York and become elected as a Signature Member of the society (3) had work juried into the International Pastel Biennial of Spain (4) had work published in the prestigious Pastel Journal. Participated in several group shows and was nvited to exhibit in the Art Carnival at the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome, March 2014. She was invited to participate in the SIwa Annual Art retreat of the Ministry of Culture and participated in the group exhibition in Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum in May 2014. She also participated in group exhibitions organized by the Cultural Development Fund and the Supreme Council for Culture in addition to a group show at Picasso Art Gallery in 2014. In 2015, one of her paintings was juried into the Pastel Society of England exhibition and she was invited to become a member of the Pastel Society of East Paris and exhibit with them in May 2015. Some of her works are in public collections of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and in private collections in Egypt and abroad.