A Kuwaiti artist, writer, and print designer, born in 1951, Thuraya Al-Baqsami is a visionary artist who has significantly contributed to the development of contemporary art in the Gulf region and the Middle East. She studied art in Moscow from 1975 to 1981, and earned a master's degree in art from Surkov College, Moscow.
Her works are influenced by personal experiences as a woman living in the Gulf region. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 had a profound impact on her work, which is characterized by the themes of identity, gender, and humanity.
Al-Baqsami has held more than 60 exhibitions worldwide. In 1993, her short story collection about the war, titled “Cellar Candles” won the Kuwaiti State Award for Literature, and her works have been praised by critics for their originality, poetic sensitivity, and commitment to social justice. She has also written literature and art criticism for Kuwaiti newspapers and magazines and has published works on the Kuwaiti art movement, including "Free Atelier" and "A Journey of 52 Years . "
Her artworks have been acquired by prestigious collections, which include the British Museum (United Kingdom), Sharjah Art Museum (United Arab Emirates), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art (Qatar), and the Museum of Modern Art (Kuwait). Al-Baqsami has received numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Award, the Salvador Dali Award, The Trebbia" Award, the Al Qurain Festival Award, the Museum of Kuwait Award, and the Kuwaiti Society for Fine Arts Award. She also earned the Arab Woman Journalist Medal, by the Sharjah Museum recognizing her as an artist who has made a significant mark in Arab art