Biography:

Deema Alghunaim (b. Kuwait, 1984) focuses on the tension between language and land in contemporary settings and forms of movement. In her interdisciplinary practice, she instils imaginary modes of living into established urban systems. Deema works with raw footage, automatic writing and living spaces, and builds personal and immediate encounters.

Deema holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Kuwait University (2008) and an MFA from The Ruskin School of Art (2024). She is part of Safat Studios community of artists and a founding member of Naktub; an Arabic creative writing programme for children funded by the Promenade Cultural Centre. Deema has been a contributor to the fields of critical conservation, placemaking, local knowledge production and social entrepreneurship through several initiatives including Madeenah, en.v and Loyac.

Education:

2024

Master of Fine Arts (with distinction) from The Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University, UK.

2008

Bachelor of Architecture from Kuwait University, Kuwait.

Experience:

2021-Present

Co-creator of NAKTUB; an Arabic creative writing program for children, commissioned by The Promenade Cultural Center - Kuwait.

2014-2020

Co-founder and Managing Director at Madeenah - Kuwait.

2012-2015

Researcher and concept developer at Raw Design Studio - Kuwait.

2010-2012

Architect at Master Plan Dept., Kuwait Municipality - Kuwait.

Dec 2008-Sep. 2009

Architect at 'alpha architects' office-Kuwait.

Exhibitions:

2024

BITE. MFA Degree Show, Ruskin School of Art - Oxford University, UK.

2023

Recollections. Sultan Gallery - Sabhan, Kuwait.

2022

The Object Salon. Curated by Athoub Al bousaili and Sulaiman Al Amar Safat Studios - Kuwait City, Kuwait

2016

Blueprints. Museum of Modern Art - Kuwait City, Kuwait.

2012

Madad: Monitoring Movement. The Free Atelier - Kuwait City, Kuwait

Kethra, Curated by Zahra Ali Baba, Ricardo Camacho and Deema Alghunaim. Venice Architecture Biennale: Common Ground - Venice, Italy.

2009

|Tæ'boõq|. Safat Square, Derwazat Al-Abdulrazzaq and Sultan Gallery - Kuwait.

Residencies:

2021

AWAKEN Youth Fellowship. en.v - Kuwait.

2018

Gulf Designers Programme. Victoria & Albert Museum - London, UK.

2017

Mawane Winter School. Khalaf House - Manama, Bahrain.

2016

Mujawarat Qassim Haddad. Khalil Al-Sakakini Cultural Center - Bahrain.

2015

Travelogue. Faculdade de Belas Artes do Porto - Porto, Portugal.

Published Work:

Un Monument Pour Les Femmes Martyres: itinérances urbaines du travail artistique de Khalifa Qattan dans la ville de Koweït. co-authored with Anahi Alviso-Marino and published in Les Cahiers d’EMAM - France 2020.
Two Portals of Time. Desired Landscapes: a magazine reading into cities - Greece 2020.
The Journey of Alif. Commissioned by Nagwa - Kuwait 2019.
Yasmeen’s Dress. Asalah Publishers - Lebanon 2018.
Two Readings of Land. Desired Landscapes: a magazine reading into cities - Greece 2018.
Post-dhow. Al-Funoon Magazine, NCCAL - Kuwait 2016.
A Souvenir Image of the Sea. T-Square Magazine - Kuwait 2015.
The Silent Forest. Hudhud Publishers - UAE 2015.