CULTURE CORNER

Shahad Alfaili and Rawan Sadeq founded Alzajil Mailing Club, which started as a simple friendship tradition between the two of them. They used to write to each other while living and studying abroad. In their own words, they loved the thoughtfulness, anticipation and the personal touch that came with the handwritten correspondence. Both Shahad and Rawan are deeply connected with the community: Raw...

Dar.nur.art is an online platform showcasing the works of artists that they are excited about. The artists are represented regionally and internationally. In this digital space, clients can view, purchase work and learn about various artists. Owner of dar.nur.art is Noor Al Zabin, who has a BSc in Business Management from King’s College, London. Prior to establishing dar.nur in 2006, Noor spent 7-...

Reem introduces herself as a creative entrepreneur, but she is a multipotentialite - an architect, an illustrator, an owner of a fencing academy, and a competitive figure skater with a flair for the arts. In this episode we spoke of her love of fencing and her experiences as a competitive fencer. Reem has shared how her relationship with fencing healed once she started coaching youngsters in her o...

Tim Waddell is a Founder and Artistic Director of Staged in Kuwait Productions. Tim has been in Kuwait for over two decades, teaching, working in marketing and branding fields, as well as operations and IT, and successfully running Staged in Kuwait, a community theatre. Staged in Kuwait is a volunteer staffed theatre company where Tim oversees aspects from season planning and graphic design to mar...

Maha Alasaker is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans photography, performance, textiles, and natural dyes. Through her work, Maha embarks on a deeply personal journey of self-discovery, while thoughtfully engaging with questions of culture, identity, and self-worth—particularly how a woman’s upbringing shapes her sense of self. Her projects have been exhibited internationally, with sho...

Farah has been a loving music figure in Kuwait for years, setting standards and breaking barriers in what was perceived as a male dominated scene. As DJ Bonita she has also started an online records shop - Vinyl Destination, to a great community response. Farah wanted to make a different use of her classical music training, and to make a serious impact on the community. This led her to a music the...

Areej Saleh is a poet, and a founder and creative director of Art Scene. Her work on promoting creatives started while she was still a high school student, working with her older sister on Kuwait Poet Society. After studying in the USA, she came back with an even stronger feeling of creating safe spaces for poets, stand up comedians, creatives in general. The roots of Artscene, which she founded w...

Josh Guzman is an educator and antiques dealer who is pursuing his passion in interior design, history and culture. In this episode we discussed his road to Kuwait and how he found himself to be an antiques dealer in Kuwait. Josh was sharing with us his favourite places to look for antiques and why his love of carpets led him to be @thecarpetguykw. Initially a teacher, Josh found himself starting...

Dr. Jawaher Al Bader is an architect, artist and art educational expert in studio-based instruction. She has a Ph. D. in Curriculum and Instruction in Art Education with a specialisation in Studio Environment. She also holds an MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute and BArch and BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. Dr. Jawaher is also a former faculty member at Kuwait University where she taught...

Razan AlSarraf is an artist and educator based in Kuwait. Through painting, drawing, video and sound, she reflects on the interactions of people with land and landscape. She received an MFA in Art from California Institute of the Arts and a BFA in Fine Arts with honors from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Razan exhibits internationally, within solo and group shows in New York, Los Angeles,...

Nada is a writer and literary translator from Kuwait. She is the author of Fountain of Youth, a semi-finalist in the 2016 Vine Leaves Vignette Collection Award, and Mischief Diary from 2018, a young adult short story collection. She has collaborated with Maha Al Asaker on Women of Kuwait (Daylight, 2019), which was a finalist in the Lucie Photobook Award. Nada translated Boyhayna Al Essa's Arabic...

Sara Abdulla is a Bahraini architect and entrepreneur, as well as a cofounder of Dust for Experience Design, a multidisciplinary design studio specialising in injecting soul into spaces, concepts and brands. She actively engages in promoting architecture as an inclusive discipline, through creating collaborative spaces, reviving historic and cultural buildings and designing experiences, workshops...

Ghadeer Ali is a cultural producer and a founder of Waha. As a marketing and communications professional, Ghadeer has contributed to various companies over the years, while supporting non profit organizations and platforms. She has created Waha, a woman-led social, cultural and creative community, oriented to learning and collaboration. In this episode, we were discussing the concept of community...

Maha Hassan is the longest serving radio presenter of 99.7 RKFM, producer, and talented DJ. Maha has helped transform the English station on Kuwait radio to what it is today - modern, informative, contemporary and much adored station. One can easily find a lot of followers who swear by Maha's music choices. Maha believes that music can always make your life a little bit better and her efforts in f...

Eleanor Burton is a Training and Relationships Manager at en.v. Throughout her professional career, Eleanor has been devoted to capacity building of civil society organisations. Her roles in en.v include programme and training design and implementation, strategic planning, working with youth, education, etc. Eleanor is also involved in cross sector partnerships and fostering the relationships with...

Lidia Janakievska is an architect and interior designer whose career has been tied to Kuwait for more than 35 years. In more than 42 years of international experience, Lidia has worked in a variety of sectors, including hospitality, aviation, large public works, etc. Her everlasting goal was marrying architecture with interior design for functional and elegant public spaces. Over the years in Kuwa...

Chaitali B. Roy is a cultural journalist and a writer who has been a part of Kuwait's society for more than 20 years. Chaitali has written countless articles for the Arab Times, respectable newspapers in English language, covering topics in culture, arts, education, heritage, as well as personal inspiring stories of individuals and highlights from Kuwait's everyday life. She has authored a book on...

In this episode of Culture Corner we are searching for the answer on the importance of cultural heritage for a cultural identity of a nation, and examining our relationship to buildings. What qualities should one have to become a heritage specialist and are his or her contributions always in the shadow of other professions related to the cultural field? Zahra Ali Baba is an architect and a cultura...

Rana Al Omani is an entrepreneur, fitness instructor and animal rescuer. More than 20 years ago, Rana was among the first female restaurant owners in Kuwait. Following her multiple passions, she has also started a successful fitness business, bringing many new practices to Kuwait. Nowadays, Rana runs Buongiorno restaurant and devotes a lot of her time to rescuing and nurturing animals, especially...

Altaf and Sharifa are close collaborators, who, after 10 years of friendship and thriving corporate careers, joined forces when they found themselves ready to start something of their own. Both felt inspired to venture into the footwear business, one typically dominated by men, and founded THUNA. Each piece of the brand harmoniously embodies both of their personal styles and is designed with comfo...

Liane AlGhusain @lianeya is a Palestinian-Kuwaiti artist and writer. Liane is a textile artist experimenting with a number of forms, including video, sculpture, and text. Her main research interests are in the fields of mysticism, feminism, post-colonialism and science fiction. Liane holds BA and MA in English literature and creative writing from Stanford University and MFA in Art and Media from N...

Romain Danger is a French designer based in Kuwait. His experience in the Middle East allowed him to develop his skills in branding, photography, video direction, product design and more. He has worked on branding and visual identity of numerous businesses throughout the city, including the aesthetics of multiple restaurants and the Kuwait National Cinema Company. In 2021 he established Warshagrap...

Aseel AlYaqoub is a research-based, interdisciplinary artist and writer whose work spans drawing, printmaking, video, sculpture, and installation. Her practice interrogates the complexities of national identity and post-colonial states. Through archival engagement and critical inquiry, AlYaqoub explores how political narratives and cultural memory are shaped, using her work to question inherited s...

Fatema AlBader is an artist and educator. She is dedicated to introducing innovation in education in schools in Kuwait and the United States where she currently resides. Fatema creates her art with passion and determination, believing that in order to stay consistent with creativity, one must dedicate time to it. She is preparing for her first solo exhibition that will be hosted next year in Kuwai...

Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud is an author, a photojournalist and a cultural consultant. Claudia has been living in Kuwait since 1979 when she joined Arab Times as a first female photojournalist. Claudia has written a number of books on Kuwait's history and heritage, captivated by the country's changing surroundings. She is also a tireless advocate for animals' rights. In this episode of Culture Corne...