Alaa Awad

Alaa Awad (born 1981) is an Egyptian artist and muralist based in Luxor, Egypt.

Awad is an Egyptian artist and is also known for his public murals in Cairo and Luxor, Egypt. He is well known for his murals created on Mohamed Mahmoud Street in Cairo, Egypt in 2012 during the Egyptian Revolution, which took media attention. His public murals and paintings encompass the history, dignity and charisma of the Egyptian people. He has worked internationally, in both solo exhibitions for his oil paintings and outdoor public murals.

Career Awad began his collegiate studies at South Valley University, Faculty of Fine Arts in Luxor, Egypt and graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts. Afterwards, he began his masters studies at Helwan University, College of Fine Arts in Zamalek, Egypt, while at the same time serving as an assistant lecturer for South Valley University, Faculty of Fine Arts in Luxor Egypt. During these years, Awad spent time between both universities and graduated with a Master of Arts in 2012.

Awad has a PhD degree in Fine arts and is an assistant lecturer in the Department of Mural Painting, for the Faculty of Fine Arts, at South Valley University in Luxor, Egypt. His murals and public art became well known in late 2011 and early 2012 after he took a break from teaching to paint a mural in Cairo. This was at the time that the Port Said Massacre unfolded, which changed the course of his plans and shifted his mural into a memorial mural.

Awad's PhD dissertation title is, "Artistic Vision Inspired by The Murals of War and Peace in Ancient Egyptian Art" and was released in 2019. His intricate paintings can sometimes take up to a week to complete, not only because of the materials he uses, but because of the complexity of his designs. Awad paints in a neo-pharaonic style, a style that harkens back to Ancient Egypt. His usage of the neo-pharaonic style is meant to draw attention back to the rich, old Egyptian traditions. His murals are typically multifaceted and multi-layered with each telling a different story.

Beyond the aforementioned unique style of painting, using a neo-pharaonic style aims to return the prominence of public murals in Egypt. Public murals have played a significant role in Egyptian villages in the past, when each village had their own muralist. These muralists would essentially be storytellers of the village and would depict important events or celebrations through traditional imagery and symbolism. The paintings along Mohamed Mahmoud Street reflect the juxtaposition between the ruling power and how their style of leadership has fueled the resistance. 2019: The West Bank, Solo Exhibition – Egyptian Cultural Center in Paris, France. 2018: EL TAHTIB, Solo Exhibition – Haras National de Lamballe, France. 2018: The West Bank, Solo Exhibition – Al-Shomou3 Gallery, Cairo, Egypt. 2017: The 3rd Annual Borollus Symposium for Drawing on Walls and Boats, Palace of Arts, Cairo Opera House, Cairo / Egypt. 2017: Insight of China International Exhibition Tour – Jordan CAB Art Gallery, Amman / Jordan. Curated by Mohammad Aljaloos. 2017: Tour World Of Art, Exhibition at the China Art Museum, Exhibition organized by the Chinese Ministry of Culture, Shanghai / China. 2016: Lebanon by Egyptian Eyes, Gallery of Association of Lebanese Artists, Beirut / Lebanon. 2016: Summer Collection, Nout Art Gallery, Zamalek / Egypt. 2016: CAM Gala Auction, The Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis / USA. 2015: The 8th Luxor International Painting Symposium, Luxor / Egypt. 2015: The 2nd Burullus Symposium for Mural Paintings, Cairo / Egypt. 2015: Urban art biennial, at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Völklingen / Germany. 2014: Beirut Art Fair, Beirut / Lebanon. 2014: Art of the Urban Pharaohs, Queens Hall Parliament House, Melbourne / Australia. 2014: Thebes: Peace and Conflict, MCLA Gallery 51, Mural and Solo Exhibition, North Adams / USA. 2013: Power of the Powerless, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden / Germany. 2013: Torino Lecee Exhibition, The Egyptian Public Library, Luxor / Egypt. 2013: How Far Away is the Horizon?, Open-Air Group Exhibition, Holbaek / Denmark. 2013: Walls of Resistance, An Exhibition on Street Art and Human Rights in Egypt by Amnesty International, Karlsruhe / Germany. 2012: Public Mural, Mohammed Mahmoud Street, Cairo /Egypt. 2009: The Egyptian German Friendship Collective Exhibition, SVU-Faculty of Fine Arts and the Library of Alexandria, Luxor / Egypt. 2008: Destroying Qurna Village, Marsam Hotel, West Bank – Luxor / Egypt. 2007: Qurna Village, Yesterday and Today, Brussels University / Belgium. 2017: Egyptian-German Exhibition, South Valley University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Luxor / Egypt

Mural paintings 2019: Daughter of the Nile, Egyptian Cultural Center, PARIS / France. 2018: Noot – Room 039, street art City de Lurcy-Lévis / France. 2017: The 3rd Annual Borollus Symposium for Drawing on Walls and Boats, Mural painting, street art, participating in symposium for mural paintings & paintings on boat 2016 Cairo / Egypt. Awad painted this piece to represent the role of women and stated the influence of the battle of Kadesh in which it is located. In this court are well preserved scenes from the battle of Kadesh. Ramesses II dashes into battle (lower row). He is depicted larger than his men, and the enemy, mostly dead and wounded, lie in heaps on the ground. The fortress of Kadesh, surrounded by a moat, divides a group of the enemy from the battlefield. These men, far from preparing themselves for battle, are lending a hand to their drowning companions. Though this mural has been considered by some as a pretentious interpretation, there is no doubt that the complexity of the composition shows development and sophistication. The individual figures, however, indicate marked deterioration from the expressive detail of the murals of Seti I's mortuary temple. Egypt has a long history and its own traditions.

Soft Force: Women in Egypt's Islamic Awakening by Ellen Anne McLarney , 9780691158495, 9781400866441, 2015

Daughters of the Nile: Egyptian Women Changing Their World by Samia I. Spencer , 9781443894579 12 December 2016