Munira Al-Kazi

(1939–2023) was a Saudi-Kuwaiti printmaker, drawer, and painter. Her work has been included in the collections of international art museums, including Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Victoria and Albert Museum, Sharjah Art Museum, and The Sultan Gallery.

Biography

Born in Puna, India, Al-Kazi was one of six siblings. As a result of the Partition of India, Al-Kazi, at age 8, and her family moved to Karachi, Pakistan.

Al-Kazi's brother, Ebrahim Alkazi, was an acclaimed theatre and film director. Faiza Alkazi was a jewellery designer and Lulwa Alkazi was an embroidery artist.

As a young adult, Al-Kazi and her family moved to London. She completed her education at London Central School of Art and Design. She would continue to live in London after graduating.

Al-Kazi briefly moved to Ibiza in the early 1970s.

In 1969, Al-Kazi and Issam Al-Said held the inaugural exhibition at The Sultan Gallery, with her becoming the first female artist to have an exhibition in a Kuwaiti gallery.

In the 1970s, after moving to Ibiza, Al-Kazi began painting landscapes and pigeon motifs. Al-Kazi also had exhibitions at the Art Heritage Gallery in New Delhi, co-founded by her brother Ebrahim Alkazi, and his wife Roshan Alkazi.

After moving to Beirut, according to Kuwaiti artist Aseel AlYaqoub, Al-Kazi's art style developed "eclectic mix of influences, including her fascination with Sufi dervishes" and used a "delicate interplay of semi-impressionistic nuances and subtle surrealism." and her oil painting Conception is at MOMA.

Selected exhibitions and projects 2025: Crafting Serpents in History, Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre 2018: A Century in Flux: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah Art Museum 2017: Arab Print: Volume III, Meem Gallery 2016: The Short Century, Sharjah Art Museum 1969: Inaugural Exhibition, The Sultan Gallery