Arwa Nawawi

Saudi SaudiJeddah, Saudi Arabia

I am the Saudi visual artist Arwa Abdullah Nawawi. I grew up in an artistic environment of which my father, the late artist Abdullah Mohammed Nawawi, was an essential part, so art became my first passion and the path on...

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Works available: 18 of 32 in the gallery
Prices: 2,999 Saudi riyals to 74,999 Saudi riyals
Sizes: 40–200 cm wide
Mediums: Acrylic on Canvas

Biography

I received a bachelor's degree in art education from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah in 2005. In my work I seek to present Saudi identity and heritage in a contemporary spirit, through an expressive style in which the painting starts from feeling and memory and carries my own imprint and vision.

I have been counted among the fifth generation of Saudi artists. I have taken part in many art exhibitions and forums at home and abroad, and in 2025 I held my first solo exhibition, An Indelible Trace (Athar La Yumha).

I carry the mark of the artistic legacy I grew up with, yet I continue to build my path with my own voice and style, believing that an artist's worth lies in the ability to turn experience and feeling into a trace that remains.

Artist statement

I believe that art is not merely an image to be seen, but a space in which we discover what we may not be able to express in words.

Through my practice I look for a contemporary expression of Saudi identity, drawing on memory, place, heritage and the human details that shape who we are.

Feelings are the starting point of most of my works. I do not treat the painting as a mere visual composition; I see it as a state, a feeling and a memory. So I try to translate what I feel into honest works that carry something of me and, at the same time, reflect my bond with Saudi identity and heritage.

Over the years I have sought to build an experience of my own and to find an artistic voice and an independent identity for myself, without repeating my father's experience, but carrying his mark and his passion with me in my own way. I believe that the most beautiful thing an artist can inherit from those who came before is not style, but love, passion and honesty towards art.

— Arwa Nawawi

Practice

Style: Feelings are the starting point of most of my works. I do not treat the painting as a mere visual composition; I see it as a state, a feeling and a memory. So I try to translate what I feel into honest works that carry something of me and, at the same time, reflect my bond with Saudi identity and heritage.
Themes: Saudi identity, heritage, memory, place, people, the Saudi environment, old cities, crafts and customs, the relationship between past and present, and human and social change.

CV

Education

A Saudi visual artist with a bachelor's degree in art education from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, 2005. She has drawn since childhood and developed her practice through continuous work and participation in exhibitions, forums and art projects. She seeks to present Saudi identity and heritage in a contemporary spirit that expresses her own artistic vision.

Bachelor's degree in art education, formerly the College of Art Education (King Abdulaziz University), Jeddah, 2005
Diploma in business administration, United Kingdom, 2013

Courses and workshops

Portrait course with the artist Khadija Attas, 2003
Watercolour course at the House of Artists (Bait Al-Tashkeelyeen), 2004
Course with the distinguished artist Nahar Marzouq, 2020
Course at the Literary and Cultural Club in Jeddah with the artist Yousef Ibrahim and the artist Nahar Marzouq
Drawing workshop with the artist Abdullah Idris

Employment

Art education teacher for 5 years, 2006–2010
Accountant for 4 years at an import company, 2016–2019
Quality officer for 6 years at an import company, 2019–2024

Memberships

Member of the Culture and Arts Association in Jeddah from 2004 to 2022

Forums

The Fourth Siwa Forum, Siwa, Egypt, 2021
The Ninth International Kasbah Forum, France, 2022
My name recorded among the fifth generation in the book Ajyal (Generations) by the distinguished artist Ahmed Felemban

Participations

First participation: I took part, on the campus of the College of Art Education in Jeddah, in the exhibition of art education graduates in 2005.

I stopped for 5 years because of my scholarship abroad to complete my university studies, and afterwards I returned to the art scene with passion and longing.

I took part in several group exhibitions from 2010 to 2024. Among the most notable is my participation with Misk Art in the Ban exhibitions 1 and 4 and the Summer 2023 exhibition, with the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Gallery, Naila Gallery and several galleries in Jeddah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province since 2018.

I took part in Misk Summer 2023, a unique experience at the invitation of Misk. I showed alongside leading artists in 5 exhibitions at different times with Atelier Jeddah for the Arts, under the direction of the distinguished Mr Hisham Qandil. I also took part in the Eastern Province exhibition at the Scitech research centre in 2022, and in many shows at galleries in Jeddah and Riyadh.

I won the prize of the contemporary art competition of the distinguished pioneer artist Abdulhalim Radwi, run by his daughter Dr Maha Radwi, and I was one of the ten winners in the final round of its first season in 2022 at the Culture and Arts Association in Jeddah.

With my fellow artists I also took part in making the first mural of the flag of the Kingdom, in 2022 at the Culture and Arts Association.

I showed one of my works alongside my father in his last solo exhibition before his death, in 2022 at Lacoste Café, under the patronage of the businesswoman Samar Al-Hashimi.

Solo exhibitions

First solo exhibition, An Indelible Trace (Athar La Yumha), 2025, at Atelier Jeddah for the Arts

Group exhibitions

I have taken part in several art exhibitions in Jeddah and beyond, most notably the Misk Summer and Ban exhibitions at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Gallery in Riyadh, 3 participations in different years with Naila Gallery and Art Vision Gallery in Riyadh, and several participations with Atelier Jeddah for the Arts. As for international exhibitions and forums, I have had group exhibitions in Bahrain, Egypt, France and Spain.

Awards and honours

The Fourth Promising Women Artists Award (Al-Waedat)
Abdulhalim Radwi School Award
An award for an exhibition held on the university campus, 2005

Artist residencies

Residency at the Ninth Paris Forum
Residency at the Fourth Siwa Forum
Residency at the Rabie Tanomah Forum
Residency at the Waves 2 Forum in Umluj

Collections

Praise be to God, more than 50 of my works have been acquired over my career so far.

Collaborations

With private bodies

Press, publications and interviews

Written about by Alam Al-Rajul magazine
Written about by Al-Bilad newspaper
And by media figures from different regions of the Kingdom

Photographs

The corridor
A walk through the works of Arwa Nawawi
Every work at its real size, hung at eye level.
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Sold
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Sold
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Sold
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Sold
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Sold
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 100 cm
Sold
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 120 cm
Arwa Nawawi
Untitled
Acrylic on Canvas
100 × 120 cm