Thuraya Al-Baqsami

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Thuraya Al-Baqsami was born 1952 in Kuwait City. She is a Kuwaiti female artist.

She began her artistic career at an early age. In 1969 she became a member of the Kuwaiti Art Society, and was awarded a bronze medal in 1971 by the Kuwaiti Society of Formative Artists.

She received her academic training in Cairo, Egypt at the "College of Fine Arts" during 1972 and 1973 before moving on in 1981 to earn her Masters Degree in Graphic Book Illustration and Design from the "Art College of Surikov" in Moscow, Russia.

Thuraya Al-Baqsami received the Golden Palm Leaf award from the GCC Biennale in Riad in 1989 and in Doha in 1992. Her work on the book on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Liberte 98, was praised by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. She was awarded the First Prize of the Kuwait National Museum-Exhibition in 1987 and 1992. She also designed 2002 and 2003 the Kuwaiti United Buddy Bears. The Exhibitions of the United Buddy Bears went to many metropolises on all five continents.

For over three and a half decades, Thuraya Al-Baqsami has remained steadfast in her commitment to use the arts as a vehicle for intellectual transformation and social change. Her rich and complex body of work is based upon the woman's narrative.

Her work can be found in public and private collections throughout Asia, the Middle East and the United States as well as in Europe.

Thuraya Al-Baqsami is considered by many as a heroine of the Kuwaiti woman's voice and her artwork has become an international symbol of the Arabian women's dignity and strength.

Thuraya Al-Baqsami is considered by many as a heroine of the Kuwaiti woman's voice and her artwork has become an international symbol of the Arabian women's dignity and strength. She received awards in literature for her collection of short stories Cellar Candles from the "Kuwait Foundation for the Advanement of Sciences (KFAS)" in 1993 and the "State Award for Children Literature" in 1997 for a children's tale book - The Recollection of small Kuwaiti Fatuma.