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Shurooq Amin | Artist at Mondoir

Nationality: Kuwaiti

Discipline: mixed-media

Born: 1980

Based in: Kuwait, KW

Biography

I am a Kuwaiti multidisciplinary artist, curator, writer, and cultural activist. My work moves between painting, mixed media, installation, and phygital formats, and focuses on issues of censorship, gender, power, and social contradiction. I have spent my career pushing against boundaries—cultural, political, and institutional—and I am known for being a pioneer in my field, often becoming the first Kuwaiti artist to enter spaces that had previously been inaccessible. My academic background is in literature and poetry. I hold a PhD in Creative Writing from Warnborough College, with a focus on modern poetry and ekphrasis, and a Master’s degree in Modern Literature from the University of Kent. Writing has always been a core part of my practice. Over the years, I have published several books and my poetry, short fiction, and essays have appeared in close to 100 international journals, anthologies, and publications. Writing continues to inform how I think, how I make art, and how I communicate ideas. For more than three decades, my visual work has been exhibited across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. I was the first Kuwaiti artist to participate in the Venice Biennale, where I exhibited in the 56th edition in 2015 with a large-scale installation combining sculpture and moving image. I was also the first Kuwaiti artist to have work auctioned at Christie’s, marking an important moment for Kuwaiti contemporary art on the international stage. My career has not been without resistance. In 2012, my solo exhibition It’s a Man’s World was censored and shut down just hours after opening. In 2020, another solo exhibition faced a similar fate. Rather than stopping my work, these moments clarified my position as an artist who speaks openly about censorship, women’s bodies, and freedom of expression. These experiences have become part of the narrative of my practice, not something separate from it. I have also been active in public dialogue around these issues. I was the first Kuwaiti to appear on the BBC’s HARDtalk, interviewed by Stephen Sackur, where I spoke about censorship, art, and women’s rights in the Arab world. Over the years, I have spoken at universities, museums, conferences, and cultural institutions internationally, engaging with audiences on art, power, and social responsibility. In recent years, I expanded my practice into Web3 and digital art, becoming one of the early pioneers of NFT art in the Middle East. I was among the first Kuwaiti artists to seriously adopt blockchain technology as part of a conceptual art practice. In 2022, I founded and curated Kuwait’s first in-real-life NFT exhibition, bringing together more than 100 international artists. My work in this space includes creating, curating, mentoring, and advocating for women and underrepresented voices in emerging technologies. Alongside my art practice, I work as a mentor, speaker, and consultant. I also hold certifications in Pilates, QiGong, and Feng Shui–based interior design, which reflect my belief that creativity is closely tied to the body, space, and lived experience. I am bilingual in Arabic and English, with working French, and I live and work internationally. At the heart of everything I do is a simple belief: art should say something. It should challenge, question, and reflect the world we live in—even when that makes people uncomfortable.

Artist Statement

As a multidisciplinary award-winning Artist and Curator with a PhD in Ekphrasis, over 30 years oeuvre, and a pioneer in socio-political "artivism" in the region, a published writer, a Mentor, Consultant and Speaker in my fields, the first Kuwaiti female artist to exhibit at the Venice Biennale, the first to be auctioned at Christie's, and the first to break the stereotypes of what it means to be an Arab female artist in my country, the first Kuwaiti to enter the world of Web3 & AI, pushing boundaries and exploring inherent cultural dialogues in order to instigate positive change in society, I’m always asked how I manage to “do it all” as a single mother of four. The truth is: I don’t know. I just know that it is the boring, albeit passionate, steps taken daily that amount to an aspiring future: a 10 minute yoga workout, 5 minutes of meditation, a few hours in the studio, reading 2 chapters of a book, replying to all emails in time, meeting deadlines, writing random thoughts, drinking plenty of water, giving a helping hand, cleaning as you go, picking things up, cultivating genuine connections, handling family crisis gently with love, telling my children “I love you” daily, being generous with my money (even when I’m broke)… Somehow these seemingly irrelevant habits and acts tend to cook up a delicious meal inside your DNA slowly over time, so that one day you wake up and realize you are the best version of yourself. I’m not a female artist, I’m not a woman who creates art: I was born an artist and have lived “artfully” without even realizing it, my whole life: from tying my drawings into make-shift comic books at 7 years of age, to creating an entire solo exhibition in my kitchen while carrying my baby straddled on my hip, to exposing patriarchal hypocrisy on canvas as a reaction to the abuse and injustice I received for daring to ask for a divorce, to tenderly navigating the challenging, arduous path of forging a name and a career as an outcasted mature single mother of four…I did it my way, as the glorious Sinatra said. I live in a region rampant with war and instability, where people are raised on hypocrisy and double standards; yet also wealth, luxury, entrepreneurship, warmth and hospitality. As an artist, my work reflects that socio-political dichotomy, albeit sarcastically, by holding up a mirror to society, loud and unequivocally clear, drawing people in and allowing them to open a dialogue. In 2012, when Kuwait authorities shut down my show “It’s a Man’s World”, they wanted to censor me as a woman and female artist. But I came back bolder than ever, with gallery representation, solo shows in London/Dubai, Artist of the Year award, interview on BBC’s Hard Talk, Christie’s auctions, Venice Biennale, etc, and when the authorities shut down my 15th solo art exhibition again in January 2020 on the false premises that my work “encourages immorality”, I fought back with a collection of NFTs, that can’t be censored by any Web2 entity, and established a Web3 MENA community for creators whose voices had no platform. I intend to affect social reform, to instigate positive change, and to break stereotypes of what it means to be a woman, artist and mother.

Exhibitions

• 2024 March – Exhibited with Leila Heller Gallery x Makersplace at Art Dubai Digital, presenting three phygital works from A Woman of Importance. • 2023 February – Solo phygital exhibition A Woman of Importance at ftNFT Gallery, Dubai, featuring 10 physical artworks and 10 NFTs. • 2023 February – Selected among the Top 13 artworks at NFT Paris, exhibited with Makersplace, World of Women, and The Fabricant. • 2023 January – Guest Curator with Morrow Collective for Nifty Gateway, curating To AI or Not To AI, That Is The Question. • 2022 October–December – Curated From Strike to Stroke, Ithra Museum’s first NFT collection for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 (ARAMCO), featuring 32 international artists. • 2022 – Founder and curator of WAGMI, Kuwait’s first IRL NFT exhibition, featuring over 100 international artists, Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait City. • 2022 – Exhibitor at Bahrain’s first MENA NFT exhibition. • 2022 – Exhibitor / featured artist at The Sovereign NFT Art Gallery. • 2022 June – NFT NYC exhibitions and collaborations: – Women of the World (Nowhere Gallery x Infinite Objects) – Stratosphere (Sabet x Spatial) – Soho Technique x We Dream Auction House & Gallery Crawl • 2022 May – Collaboration with Jason Balducci. • 2022 – Exhibitor at ETH Barcelona NFT Exhibition with MHouse Member’s Club, presented at the Museum of Crypto, Barcelona. • 2021–2022 – NFT exhibitions and collections including World Art Dubai, MENA NFTs (Bahrain), Namaste NFTs (India), MHouse Club Linked Collection (Amsterdam), We Are Sovereign, One Drop, and The Stolen Scream with Keevo Wallet. • 2020 – They Wanted Camels, I Gave Them Camels, exhibition of acrylic paintings and NFTs exploring moral hypocrisy in the Middle East. • 2020 January – Solo exhibition Like Russian Dolls, We Nest in Previous Selves, Kuwait (censored and shut down by authorities). • 2019 February – Artist talk and exhibition at Nasab Members’ Club, Dubai. • 2018 April – Abolish 153 group exhibition. • 2018 March – Group exhibition at Den Gallery. • 2017 – Commissioned installation Breaking the Glass Ceiling for Arab Woman Awards, installed at Bloomingdale’s 360 Mall and Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah residence. • 2017 May – Abolish 153 group exhibition, HUB Gallery, Kuwait. • 2016 September–November – Solo exhibition It’s a Mad World at Ayyam Gallery, Beirut. • 2016 April–May – Solo exhibition It’s a Mad World, collaboration between Ayyam Gallery, Dubai and Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait. • 2016 March – Art Dubai, RCA Secret Dubai. • 2016 January – Peace of Art campaign with Loyac, Kuwait. • 2015 May–November – Exhibited at the 56th International Venice Biennale in In the Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World and Asia. • 2014 November–January 2015 – Solo exhibition We’ll Build This City on Art and Love, Ayyam Gallery, London. • 2014 September–October – Solo exhibition We’ll Build This City on Art and Love, Ayyam Gallery, DIFC, Dubai. • 2014 May – Young Collectors Auction, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai. • 2013 October – Blind New World limited edition print auction, London Automobile Club (charity auction). • 2013 September – The Last Straw auctioned at Ayyam Gallery’s Young Collectors Auction, Dubai. • 2013 April – Blind New World sold at Christie’s, Dubai. • 2013 March–April – Solo exhibition Popcornographic, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, during Art Dubai. • 2012 October – Works from It’s a Man’s World sold at Ayyam Gallery’s Young Collectors Auction, Dubai. • 2012 September – Co-founded Peace One Day Global Truce Art Exhibition, Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait. • 2012 May – Work sold above estimate at Ayyam Gallery’s Young Collectors Auction, Dubai. • 2012 April – Work sold at Christie’s auction for the United Nations World Food Programme, Dubai. • 2012 March – Solo exhibition It’s a Man’s World, Al M Gallery, Kuwait (censored and shut down). • 2011 November – Exhibited at Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair with FA Gallery. • 2011 March–April – Solo exhibition SHOT: The Untold Truth of Society Girls, London. • 2011 – Multiple group exhibitions in Kuwait and Beirut, including Tilal Gallery and Contemporary Art Platform. • 2010 November – Solo exhibition Society Girlz, Tilal Gallery, Kuwait. • 2010 October – Group exhibitions in Kuwait and London, including Lahd Gallery. • 2010 – Group exhibitions in New York (CAN, Chelsea), Damascus, and Kuwait. • 2009 – Exhibitions in Sweden (Mirca Art Tour), Kuwait Creative Art Festival, Marina Hotel, and Ghadir Gallery. • 2008 March – Sixth solo exhibition The Gift, Kuwait. • 2008 – Exhibitions at Dar Al-Funoon, Kuwait Biennale, Avenues Mall, and 11th Cairo International Art Biennale. • 2007 – Exhibited at the Diplomatic Club opening and Kuwait Contemporary Art Exhibition. • 2005 – National Day and Liberation Day Exhibition, Kuwait Arts Association (award recipient). • 2004 – First Kuwaiti Al-Khorafi Biennale, Kuwait. • 2002 October – Solo exhibition Wind and Water, Kuwait Arts Association. • 1999 – Solo exhibition at The Art Shop Gallery, Kuwait. • 1997 – Solo exhibitions Faces at Boushahri Gallery and Meridien Hotel, Kuwait City. • 1994 – Solo exhibition at Ghadir Gallery, Salhiya, Kuwait. WEB3 BIO: • April 2020 - Speaker on Asterisk, Woodbury University. • 2020- NFTs Collection Drop: They Wanted Camels, I Gave Them Camels, a sarcastic dystopian exploration of moral hypocrisies in the Middle East. 11 • 2021-22 Several NFT auctions and sales on the platforms of Foundation, OpenSea, KnownOrigin, Rarible, NFTOne, Nifty Souq, Sandmilk, and Fandefi. • 2021-2022- NFT Exhibitions, Collections & Collabs: : World Art Dubai (Dubai), MENA NFTs (Bahrain), Namaste NFTs (India), MHouse Club Linked Collection (Amsterdam), We Are Sovereign Collection, One Drop NFTs Collection, The Stolen Scream Collection with Keevo Wallet, NFT NYC. • 2021 – Poetry anthologized in We Wrote in Symbols, Love and Lust by Arab Women Writers. Edited by Selma Dabbagh. Published by Saqi Books, UK. • 2021 January - Speaker at Bahrain Rotary Club. • 2021 February - Speaker at Jordan Rotary Club. • 2021 February 25 - Speaker and Panelist at Freemuse Artistic Freedom Conference in Berlin. • 2021 January - They Wanted Camels I Gave Them Camels NFT Collection minted and listed on Foundation, first NFT SOLD • 2021 February - First MENA NFT Twitter Space established: Middle east and North Africa NFT Talk every Monday & Thursday. • 2021 April – Interview on One Tribe Radio/ MSPWaves with Minnowpond. • 2021 April - Interview with Denise Jackson, Curator • 2021 December - Art Basel Miami. • 2021 December – Interview with Aljarida as Kuwait’s First NFT Artist. • 2021 Featured in Dr William Todd Schultz’s book The Mind of The Artist, Oxford Press. • 2022 February - Partner Co-Creator with Keevo wallet and Naomi Galai for the Stolen Scream project/collection collaboration. • 2022 February – Interview with Raseef22 By Nazeeha Saeed. • 2022 February - Interview with Brytehall’s Mark Lean: https://editorial.brytehall.com/the-art-of- shurooq-amin-a-voice-unsilenced/ • 2022 February – Featured in @sekkamag ‘s Womanhood issue, alongside a group of exceptional women in the Arab world. Issue 6 Volume 25 • 2022 - Kuwait News feature on being Kuwait’s First NFT Artist • 2022 - First member of MHouse Member’s Club to earn Connector Role • 2022 - Exhibitor at Bahrain’s First MENA NFT exhibition. • 2022 - Exhibitor/featured in The Sovereign NFT Art Gallery. • 2022 March – Listed as 1 of 100 female NFT Artists for Amplify’s #100womeninnfts • 2022 March – Interview by The National News with other visionary women as one of the pioneering women in Web3 and NFTs. https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art/2022/03/07/how-arab-women-are-breaking-into- 12 the-world-of-nfts-through-art-and-design/ • 2022 March – Interview with @nuqtadoc by Shaimaa Gaber as pioneering NFT artist. • 2022 March - @annaharnews and @annaharar Featured as one of the pioneering women in the NFT space by Annahar News Channel: • 2022 March – Long term partnership with Give - @give.kwt - a platform that is a gateway to registered, Kuwaiti charities, facilitating donations to those in need, and connecting the donor with the charity of their choice with ease and transparency. 50% of all my NFT sales across all my platforms will be donated to charity using Give: https://www.give.org.kw/en/ • 2022 April – Podcast Interview with Women Power Podcast womenpowerpodcast • 2022 May - Collaboration with Jason Balducci. • 2022 June - NFT NYC: - Women of the World with Nowhere Gallery X Infinite Objects - Sabet X Spatial for Stratosphere, and - Soho Technique X We Dream Auction House & Gallery Crawl. • 2022 June 22nd – Interviewed by Rudy Shoushany on Cryptotalks on @youtube , with DX Talks Events. discussing NFTs for creators & collectors in this volatile market. • 2022 July - UPYO marketplace featured verified artist. • 2022 – Interview for Women in Crypto at WealthyVerse Studios (USA), with Shayne LaMeyer. • 2022- Featured in The Standard as a role model with inspirational daily habits for success. • 2022 - Featured in Influent Online, as the first Kuwaiti artist to use NFT technology in art. • 2022 - Women-led campaign advocating women empowerment with Sheikah Intisar Al-Sabah. • 2022 - Interview with Financial Freedom Today. • 2022 - Interview with Visible Women NFT. • 2022 - Listed as 1 of the Best 8 Arab NFT Artists by @NFTsArabi • 2022 - Interviewed by Balqees For Her (balqeesforher.net) as a pioneer in NFT art in the region. • 2022 - Interviewed by Arabs Bitcoin (arabsbitcoin.com) as a pioneering Kuwaiti NFT artist. • 2022 - Exhibitor at Eth Barcelona NFT Exhibition with MHouse Member’s Club as part of the MHouse History of Crypto Art, on show at the Museum of Crypto, Barcelona. • 2022 - Listed as 1 of the Top 9 NFT Arab Female Artists in the NFT space that promote and inspire Women in Web3. • 2022 July - Listed as 1 of the Top 10 Influential Arab Women in the Crypto Space, by Cryptonaat (Suha Glal). Interview on LinkedIn. • 2022 July - Interviewed by Arab Market Cap, as one of the pioneering women in Web3 and NFTs. • 2022 Sept – Commissioned NFT artwork by DBX Talks 13 • 2022 Oct – Interviewed by Fortune Magazine for Fortune Crypto. • 2022 Oct – Infinite Objects X Studio As We Are for Women of the World. • 2022 Nov – Speaker at NFT.London convention. • 2022 Nov – Curated Drop for Makersplace; A Woman of Importance: The Knife Series, 5 digital paintings minted as NFTs with an Unlockable Content of an Ekphrastic poem. • 2022 Nov 15 to Dec 30 – Founded and Curated Kuwait’s First IRL NFT Exhibition WAGMI with over 100 international artists, in Kuwait City, at the Contemporary Art Platform in Kuwait, Sponsored by Nifty Souq (Gold Sponsor), and OasisX (Silver). • 2022 Oct – Dec – Curated From Strike To Stroke, Ithra Museum’s first NFT collection for the World Cup Qatar 2022 (ARAMCO), with 32 artists representing the 32 World Cup countries. • 2023 January – Guest Curator with Morrow Collective for Nifty Gateway, curating To AI or Not To AI, That Is The Question, with 5 artists. • 2023 February – Solo Phygital exhibition “A Woman Of Importance” at ftNFT gallery, Dubai, with 10 physical artworks & 10 NFTs. • 2023 February – Top 13 Artworks at NFT Paris, with Makersplace, World of Women & The Fabricant. • 2023 May – Panel Speaker at AI/ChatGPT Conference, Amman, Jordan. • 2023 Sept – Women in Tech Awards. • 2024 – May MENA Regional Meeting WLC.

Awards

Awards, Nominations, Partnerships, Auctions (for all interviews and media post-2022 please email): • 2022 Nov – Speaker at NFT.London convention. • 2022 Oct – Paid partnership with Cole Haan to promote the brand for one month, with photo shoot, video, and social media presence. • 2022 Sept - Commissioned by Rudy Shoushany, Host of Cryptotalks Wednesday, for NFT artwork certificate for 25 Top Women in Tech. • 2022 Sept/Oct: Collaboration with Virgin Mobile for 5 NFT artworks. • 2022 Sept/Oct – Onboarded as Hefty Art Middle East Curator. • 2022 Sept – Oct: One of four Judges on a panel of Judges for The Ammar Award, a regional Arab Talent Show for Creatives with Disabilities, that spanned 8 cities, and broadcast live in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. • 2022 - Listed as 1 of the Top 9 NFT Arab Female Artists in the NFT space that promote and inspire Women in Web3. • 2022 July - Listed as 1 of the Top 10 Influential Arab Women in the Crypto Space, by Cryptonaat (Suha Glal). Interview on LinkedIn • 2022 March – Listed as 1 of 100 female NFT Artists for Amplify’s #100womeninnfts • 2022 - Listed as 1 of the Best 8 Arab NFT Artists by @NFTsArabi • 2022 March – Interview by The National News with other visionary women as one of the pioneering women in Web3 and NFTs. • 2022 March – Interview with @nuqtadoc by Shaimaa Gaber as pioneering NFT artist. • 2022 March - Featured as one of the pioneering women in the NFT space by Annahar News Channel: • 2022 - Interview with Financial Freedom Today. • 2022 - Interview with Visible Women NFT. • 2022 - Interviewed by Balqees For Her (balqeesforher.net) as a pioneer in NFT art in the region. • 2022 - Interviewed by Arabs Bitcoin (arabsbitcoin.com) as a pioneering Kuwaiti NFT artist. • 2022 June 22nd – Interviewed by Rudy Shoushany on Cryptotalks on @youtube , with DX Talks Events. discussing NFTs for creators & collectors in this volatile market. • 2022 – Interview for Women in Crypto at WealthyVerse Studios (USA), with Shayne LaMeyer. • 2022- Featured in The Standard as a role model with inspirational daily habits for success. • 2022 - Featured in Influent Online, as the first Kuwaiti artist to use NFT technology in art. • 2022 July - Interviewed by Arab Market Cap, as one of the pioneering women in Web3 and NFTs. • 2022-Women-led campaign advocating women empowerment with Sheikah Intisar Al-Sabah. • 2022 March – Long term partnership with Give - @give.kwt - a platform that is a gateway to registered, Kuwaiti charities, facilitating donations to those in need, and connecting the donor with the charity of their choice with ease and transparency. 50% of all my NFT sales across all my platforms will be donated to charity using Give: https://www.give.org.kw/en/ • 2021 December – Interview with Aljarida as Kuwait’s First NFT Artist. • 2021 Featured in Dr William Todd Schultz’s book The Mind of The Artist, Oxford Press. • 2022 February - Partner Co-Creator with Keevo wallet and Naomi Galai for the Stolen Scream project/collection collaboration. • 2022 February – Interview with Raseef22 By Nazeeha Saeed. • 2022 February - Interview with Brytehall’s Mark Lean. • 2022 February – Featured in @sekkamag ‘s Womanhood issue, alongside a group of exceptional women in the Arab world. Issue 6 Volume 25 • 2022 - Kuwait News feature on being Kuwait’s First NFT Artist • 2021 December – Interview with Aljarida as Kuwait’s First NFT Artist. • 2021 Featured in Dr William Todd Schultz’s book The Mind of The Artist, Oxford Press. • 2022 February - Partner Co-Creator with Keevo wallet and Naomi Galai for the Stolen Scream project/collection collaboration. 3 • 2022 February – Interview with Raseef22 By Nazeeha Saeed. • 2022 February – Featured in @sekkamag ‘s Womanhood issue, alongside a group of exceptional women in the Arab world. Issue 6 Volume 25 • 2018 July - Artist-in-Residence at HANNACC Barcelona, Spain • 2018 March/April – Appeared in The Women Within film, by Bloomingdales, showcasing the “women inspiring inspirational women”. • 2018 – Sao Paolo Biennale. • 2017 June 15 to July 11 - Artist-in-residence at Art Omi International Art Residency, New York, USA. • 2016 October 5th -Top 50 GCC Women Leaders award by World Brand Congress. • 2016 October - Extraordinary Women In Leadership award, Dubai. • 2016 October- Speaker at the Global Economic Forum: Women in Leadership in October 2016, both in Dubai. • 2016 September – Nominated for the ECCO Extraordinary Women Competition, Dubai. • 2016 June to July – Artist Residency at Villa Lena, Italy. • 2016 27th April – Bonhams auction: An Arabian Tragedy, LOT 168, Mixed media on canvas mounted on wood, 2012, 130 x 180 cm. London. • 2016 March - Art Dubai. RCA Secret Dubai auction for charity. • 2016 January - February - Online auction with Loyal at www.store.loyac.org for the Loyac "Peace of Art" campaign. All proceeds to charity. Installations of 2 barrels of oil. • 2015 May to November -Exhibited at the 56th International Venice Biennale, with the pavilion In the Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World and Asia. Art installation composed of 3 projections with 3 sculptures forming one large scale installation exploring the issues of corruption, social taboos, and pollution both on a regional level and a global one. 2015- Nominated and chosen for the Contemporary Practices Pavillion for the 56th Venice Bienniale - May 9th to November 22, 2015. • 2015 February - Young Collectors Auction with Ayyam Gallery. Lot 34: I Need a Hero. Mixed media on wood panel. • 2014 October - Nominated for the 2014/2015 Sovereign Asian Art Prize by Art Radar. • 2014 May 27th - The Young Collector’s Auction, Art From the Middle East (Auction no. 20), Ayyam Gallery, Dubai. Lot 74 She Loves Me She Loves Me Not, from the series It’s a Man’s World. • 2013 October 19th - Blind New World Limited Edition print auctioned and sold at London's Automobile Club in collaboration between Jusoor and Ayyam Gallery and all proceeds went to charity, to benefit the children of Syria. • 2013 September 16th - LOT 44, The Last Straw (50 x 300 cm C-Print Plexiframe, edition 1/3, 2013) sold at Ayyam Gallery's The Young Collector's Auction No. 15. • 2013 April 17th - Awarded title of Artist of the Year by the Arab Woman Awards, Kuwait, ITP. • 2013 April 17th - Blind New World from the series Popcornographic auctioned and sold at Christies Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art, Part II. Dubai. • 2012 October 22: - The Big Bling (part of the censored It's a Man's World series) sold at Ayyam Gallery's The Young Collector's Auction in Dubai, and print of I Like Him, I Like Her (from It's a Man's World) also auctioned. Edition 1/25. • 2012 May 15th: Shurooq's painting My Harem in Heaven (part of the censored It's a Man's World series) was sold at Ayyam Gallery's The Young Collector's Auction in Dubai. • 2012 April 18th: Hala Feb Baby from the Society Girls series sold at the Christie's auction for the United Nations World Food Program held in Dubai. • 2012 Nominated as one of Kuwait's 46 Inspirational People in Sheikha Intisar Al-Sabah's book The Alchemy of Wisdom. • 2011 December 2nd: Judge in Red Bull's international art competition Art of Can, Kuwait. • 2011- February 8/9: "My Louboutins", the last painting from the Society Girls series sold at the JAMM Art Auction, co-founded by Lulu Al-Sabah, held at the Avenues, Kuwait, auctioneered by Aileen Agopian. • 2010 – February 16/17: “Society Girls” from the series Society Girls came third top bid at the Inaugural Auction of Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art, held in Kuwait at Al-Corniche Club, by JAMM, co- founded by Lulu Al-Sabah; auctioneers Philips de Pury of New York. 4 • 2010 - Held the position of the Kuwait judge for the “Inspirational Woman” competition hosted/sponsored by Ahlan magazine and Philadelphia company, Dubai, which culminated in a Gala Dinner held at Raffles Hotel in Dubai to award the winners. • 2009 – Awarded the OPEC Vienna Headquarters commission for two large scale paintings to be permanently exhibited in the OPEC Vienna building, represented by Ms Fatina Al-Sayed, curator of Fine Arts. • 2009 – Awarded the Derwaza VIP Lounge at Kuwait Airport contract for one year to provide the Derwaza with customized paintings. • 2009 - Award for Grand Jury duty in the World E-Summit Award, by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. March 8th to 12th 2009. Sponsored by the Amir of Kuwait. • 2009 – Award for the Cairo International Art Biennale, Dec. 2008. • 2009, June – Winner of Best of Worldwide Artists in Mixed Media and Figurative paintings, by Kennedy Publishing , USA. • 2009 – Award from UNESCO, cultural week, Kuwait. • 2009, Nov. - Commendation from the Aesthetica Creative Works Competition in Fiction Category for “The Crescent Charm”, a short story. • 2008, Feb. - Awarded the Amir Abdulreda Creative Prize for paintings exhibited in February 2008 by the Kuwait Arts Association, Hawalli, Kuwait. • 2007 - First Kuwaiti to be nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize in December 2007 for “Framboise Fig and Bronze Nude”, poem published in the Summer 2007 issue of DMQ Review. • 2007 - Third place award for “The Other Wife” from Perigee: Publication for the Arts poetry competition. • 2007 - Honorable mention for “Mud-Roses” in the Perigee: Publication for the Arts 2007 poetry contest. • 2006 - Award for Poetry Reading at the American University of Kuwait. • 2005 - Award for paintings exhibited at the 44th National Day and 14th Liberation Day Exhibition from the Kuwait Arts Association, Kuwait. • 2004 - Award for the First Kuwaiti Al-Khorafi Biennale in December 2004 from the Kuwait Arts Association, Kuwait. • 1997, 1998 - Judge of the National Art Competition prepared by the Meridien Hotel in Kuwait.