Deema AlGhunaim
Kuwaiti, B. 1984
Deema was born in Kuwait, a country nestled between the sea and the desert. Throughout history, Kuwait has served as a resting place for bedouins, seafarers, poets, and migratory birds. Deema's personal experiences have been shaped by two significant events: the demolition of the old city when her father was six, and the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq when she was six. Scroll below for Deema's extended biography
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Space Oddities X
In the 1960s, a whole genre of music started to emerge around the topic of outer space and the moon landing. David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Elton John were some of the many singers and bands who explored space through music. One common thread found in their lyrics is the confrontation either with the past or the future. Deema listened to songs such as ‘Space Oddity’ and ‘In The Year 2525’ while gauging clay balls and aligning them on the ink plate. She enjoyed their unexpected proximity and their capacity for spreading.
Biography
Living in a place of transiency, she feels an urgent need to chronicle and capture the essence of her immediate surroundings: her room, her family, familiar faces, landscapes, and the local flora. Deema's keen attention to the everyday language people use and her fascination with the objects that touch the ground – be it a rock, shell, carpet, tile, tire, foot, or plant – further enrich her artistic perspective.
Deema obtained a Bachelor of Architecture from Kuwait University in 2008. In 2012, she co-curated “Kethra”; Kuwait’s first participation in the Venice Architecture Biennial. Her interest in urban renewal and the destruction of Kuwait’s old town drove her to establish ‘Madeenah’ in 2014. Madeenah is an interdisciplinary social enterprise and agency for urban development using cultural tours as a method for research and access to local knowledge. Currently, she is a co-author and conductor of ‘Naktub’; an Arabic creative writing program for children. She is also currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford.
Education
2008 Bachelor of Architecture, Kuwait University, Kuwait
2022 Visiting CRIT Program, NYC CRIT CLUB, New York, USA
Exhibition History
2023 Solo Exhibition Recollections, Sultan Gallery, Kuwait
2022 Faal: records of future encounters, Object Salon Exhibition, Kuwait
2022 Speculative Horizons, Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait.
2016 Solo Exhibition Blueprints, Museum of Modern Art, Kuwait
2012 Solo Exhibition Madad: monitoring movement, Free Atelier, Kuwait
2009 Solo Exhibition |Tæ'boõq|, exhibited in Safat Square, Derwazat Abdulrazzaq and Sultan Gallery, Kuwait