Wael Shawky Egypt, b. 1971

Wael Shawky (b. 1971, Alexandria) is a leading contemporary artist from the Middle East, known for blending fact and fiction across diverse media including drawing, painting, performance, and installation, with a focus on film and video. Through lyrical visuals and extensive inquiry into history and mythology, he reinterprets Middle Eastern historical narratives, challenging fixed Western perspectives. His epic films explore artistic, religious, and transnational identities, offering a nuanced dialogue that bridges cultures rather than without privileging one perspective over another.

Shawky is widely recognized for works such as the Cabaret Crusades trilogy (2010–2015), which uses marionettes to reenact the history of the medieval Crusades from an Arab perspective; the Al Araba Al Madfuna trilogy (2012–2016), which reimagines myths through performances by child actors; and Drama 1882 (2024), showcased at the Egypt Pavilion of the 2024 Venice Biennale.

Based in Alexandria, Egypt, and Philadelphia, USA, Wael Shawky has held numerous major solo exhibitions, including at Daegu Art Museum (2024), the Egypt Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2024); M Leuven in Belgium (2022); the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas (2021); Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art and the Fondazione Merz in Turin (2016); MoMA PS1 in New York (2015), Serpentine Galleries in London (2013–14); and KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin (2012). His participation in significant group exhibitions includes the Sharjah Biennial (2025, 2019, 2013); Istanbul Biennial (2015, 2005); documenta in Kassel (2012); Gwangju Biennale (2012); and the Venice Biennale (2003). In addition to his artistic practice, Shawky founded MASS Alexandria in 2015, an independent art school in Alexandria that supports emerging artists in the region.

His works are part of major international museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Tate Modern in London; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha; Sharjah Art Foundation; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Korea; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; MACBA in Barcelona; and the National Gallery of Canada.

Shawky has received many awards for his work, including the Honorary Citizenship of the City of Palermo (2017); the Sharjah Biennial Award (2013); Award for the Filmic Oeuvre created by Louis Vuitton; Kino der Kunst, Munich (2013); Abraaj Capital Art Prize, Dubai, joint winner (2012); Schering Stiftung Art Award, Berlin (2011); Grand Prize, 25th Alexandria Biennale (2009). In 2011, he was an Artist in Residence at The Center for Possible Studies, Serpentine Gallery, London. He lives between Alexandria and Philadelphia.