Rua AlAwadhi
Kuwaiti, B. 1998
Rua Alawadhi is an artist and architect who recently graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Kuwait University (2021). During her studies, Rua developed a keen interest in the concept of world-building, particularly inspired by the likes of Japanese and Italian art. Experimenting with various mediums on paper, Rua’s series of works invent imaginary realms ornamented with intricate structures and surrealist forms. Scroll through to explore Rua's artworks and extended biography.
Featured Artwork
Isidora - Risograph
This is one of three works from Rua’s series inspired by Italo Calvino’s 1972 novel, Invisible Cities, which finds Marco Polo speaking to Kublai Khan about his travels throughout the wondrous and surreal cities under the Khan’s possession. Visualizing these imaginative cities using Marco Polo’s descriptions, Rua has created a series of color pencil works on paper that portray the special qualities of each environment.
In Isidora, we see a city portrayed by its noteworthy spiraling staircases. Different variations of these staircases are proposed by Rua, each of which finds itself aimlessly spiraling throughout a perplex series of rooms and halls. These imagined cities and their inventive descriptions have acted as significant sources of inspiration for the artist’s world-building process.
Biography
Rua Alawadhi is an architect who recently graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Kuwait University (2021). During her studies, Rua developed a keen interest in the concept of world-building, particularly inspired by the likes of Japanese and Italian art. Experimenting with various mediums on paper, Rua’s series of works invent imaginary realms ornamented with intricate structures and surrealist forms.
In 2019, Rua participated in Looking at Al Sawaber, a group exhibition that took place at the Contemporary Art Platform (CAP) which captured memories and interactions with the Al Sawaber Complex in Kuwait, prior to its controversial demolition. Aside from her work as an artist, Rua has actively contributed to the Kuwaiti architectural community. In 2021, she served as the creative director of T-square Magazine, a non-profit, student-run architectural publication committed to exploring Kuwait’s contemporary architectural discourse. In 2023, she served as an instructor at THULUTH, a design workshop organized by the Society of Architecture in Kuwait University, which gathers students of architecture, interior design and visual communications, to collaborate under one umbrella.
Talks
2023 Identity of a Visual Artist, Torous Bookstore, Kuwait
Group Exhibitions
2019 Looking at Al Sawaber, Kuwait