Draft:Asy Syifa Kaila Saidah

Asy Syifa Kaila Saidah (born 16 April 2008) is an Indonesian artist. She is known for being the only artist from Riau who qualified for the 2025 Kids Biennale Indonesia Exhibition and gained an international recognition for succeeded in winning the Gold Palette Winners award at the prestigious 44th International Children's Art Competition & Concourse “Small Montmartre of Bitola” in North Macedonia.

Asy Syifa Kaila Saidah
Born	(2008-04-16) 16 April 2008 Bengkalis, Riau, Indonesia
Occupation	Artist
Relatives	Zakaria bin Muhammad Amin (maternal grandfather)

Early life and education

Saidah was born on 16 April 2008 at RSUD Bengkalis in Kelapapati, Bengkalis, as the youngest child and only daughter of the two children of Muhammad Yahman, a teacher, and Rita Puspa Zakaria, a civil servant. She had a brother, Muhammad Asyrof Al-Ghifari, a character actor. Saidah was of Javanese and Malays descent. Her maternal grandparents were Zakaria bin Muhammad Amin, an ulama who was known as the first generation of charismatic ulama in Bengkalis, and Siti Zainab binti Kimpal, an actress who was popular in the Singapore film industry from the late 1940s until the early 1950s. Saidah's maternal uncle were Azra'ie Zakaria, a lecturer at Asysyafi'iyah University who was the first person from Bengkalis to study at Al-Azhar University, and Gamal Abdul Nasir Zakaria, a lecturer in Islamic education and Arabic at the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Education Institute, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Her maternal aunt was Zaharah Zakaria, a politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives in Bengkalis from the Development Works Fraction.

Saidah completed her elementary education at SD Negeri 1 Bengkalis, then continued to MTS Negeri 1 Bengkalis where she participated in UNRI Civics Olympiad held by University of Riau, and is now studying at SMA Negeri 1 Bengkalis. During her time at the school, she was active not only in the arts but also in academics. Saidah won a first place in the English speech contest at the 2024 Aozora English Festival and representing Riau at the 2025 High School Model United Nations held at the University of Indonesia. In the simulated international conference, Saidah represented Egypt on the council of the International Labour Organization.

Artistic career

Saidah began her career in fine art and continues to actively participate in various national and international events. She first participated in the 2024 Lotus Art Courses Biennale Exhibition which was held by Lotus Art Courses at the Surabaya Arts Council Gallery from 5 until 7 January 2024, where she was one of 60 artists selected from hundreds of participants. She then participated at the Terus Terang Art Exhibition held by Keprawirotaman Art Yogyakarta at Gallery Prawirotaman Hotel Yogyakarta from 3 until 25 February 2024 along with 91 other artists in which she takes the "Terus Terang" theme. Saidah later displayed her work at the National Gallery of Indonesia representing Riau at the 2025 Kids Biennale Indonesia as one of the 142 best works from a total of 1,026 works that were curated. She won the Gold Palette Winners award representing Indonesia at the 44th International Children's Art Competition & Concourse “Small Montmartre of Bitola” in North Macedonia where she had to compete with 80,000 works from 85 countries around the world to be able to enter as one of the 400 best works selected.