The old man and his young grand gaughter stood watching as the selling sun silhoueted the cupola of the church .the man narrated how,in days gone by he had been called in to help erect the church’s cupola .pointing in an arc,the man continued to recall how he had been instrumental in the construction of most of the landmarks , now barely discemible in the fading light.his fingers traced the american hospital, past the many old mosques , to the dixon house and the distant out lines of the british council and the museum,he had a hand in all of their constructions,”ahmed albanna ,or ustas ahmed as he was popularly known ,was my grandfather”, said thuraya baqsami. There was a justifiable pride in her voice as she recounted the story to me,while we sat sipping coffee in her diwaniya.

Continuing in ustas ahmed’s ingenious footsteps, today various members of thuraya’s close-knit family are involved in diverse creative endeavors .thuraya’s twin sister,farida albaqsami, aleading artist in her own right , has held her own successful exhibitions, several aunts and cousins are involved in different artistic production and two of her daughters have taken up the brush and easel in places as for apart as Tokyo and newyork.coming from a family with a rich lineage of artist and artisans, it is no surprise that thuraya grew up to become who she is today – one of kuwait’s leading formative artists.the walls of her diwaniya attest her amazing ability to combine the different elements of line,shape,space,color,and texture to create exquisite works of art.

Growing up in an artistic environment meant that even as a child she was fascinated with colors and their combinations,she recalls how all she ever wanted to do as child was draw and paint.After her early schooling in Kuwait,Thuraya left for Eqypt,under a government scholarship,to ontinue her academic training of the college of fine Arts in Cairo.It was while in Cairo,that Fate took a hand in her life - she met and married career diplomat Mohammad Al Ghadiri.Soon,Thuraya joined her husband at his new posting in Russia,and it was there in Moscow,That a turning point in her artisctic career occured.Under the inistence of her husband,she enrolled at the prestigious Art college of Surikov.Here,for seven years,she studied the various facets of visual arts before taking her Masters Degree in Graphic Book illustrationand Design in 1981.For her Master's thesis her work was 'Aladdin and his magic lamp'; A theme that not only reflected a strong sence of identity  and belonging ,that also expressed her hopes and desires to bring about changes in the lives of others. 

Her teachers, fellow students and the over all academic environment of the Surikov College had a profound 'influence on Thuraya's artistic development. She attributes her strong sense ofself-disipline,
and adherence to a meticulous work regimen, to her years of training in Russia.

It was during her studies at the SuriKov that that the very concept of art took on a whole new meaning of her. She began to see art not just as a medium to express artistic talents, but also as one that could speak an international language and bring about a better understanding between people and cultures. Human beings generally have the same reactions to certain emotional stimuli; a portrait of a crying or smiling face, a picture of suffering or of happiness, invokes the same reaction any where In the world. This gives artunique and significantinfluence on the emotional framework  of the viewing public.

Human beings generally have the same reactions to certain emotional stimuli;a portrait of a crying or smiling face,a picture of suffering or happiness, invokes the same reaction  anywhere in the world.

Being a diplomat's wife, frequent shifting of residence to differnet countries was inevitaable, but Thuraya made it a point to always imbibe some of the local art forms of the countries she stayed in. this ability to assimilate a little of the local culture is echoed imaginatively in many of her works. An african trible portrait, a dancer  from india the people and life styles of defferent cultures, and various other intercultural symbols, all make their way in to her paintings and help reveal her humanistic attitude to live Elaborating on this, Thuraya said, "Having been lucky enough to travel widely, I have had the oppurtunity to paint topical scenes from all over the world, from china, India, Eritrea, Yemen, Vrious African and European countries; Countries and cultures so diverse from each other in many  aspects,yet all of  them

Sharing the commonality of being of human being having similar pains,fears,sorrows and happiness. 

 Once back in Kuwait ,thuraya worked for several with local Arabic news papers and magazines,drawing social and political caricatures for their pages . However,it was at the ministry of information thatthuraya spent a large part of her journalistic career , before eventually deciding to hang up her journalist’s cape and concentrate full-time on developing her arts .”workingfor others, kills the artistic individuality in you; it leaves you with no time and freedom to develop on your own. In order to freely express your emotion and concerns, un fettered by social restraints and commercial pressure, you need to be independent, both financially and artistically“, Thuraya continued on the issue of artistic independence,”I remember in 1996 . I had an exhibition where several of my paintings depicted angels , immediately there was a hue and cry from some quarters .some even questioning my religious affiliations. If you keep dancing to other peoples tune you will end up constantly changing your steps to suit their music and that would be the demise of any artists individuality and creativity.”

 An artist's work should be free of letters; it should evolve with times and respond to the changes around them. At the same time,an artist should not be some one who lives in an ivory tower looking down on the world from a high moral pedestal .Ideally an artists should be able to feel the pulse of the people and be able to record the emotions and situations surroundings them in a way that reflects their own deep inner feelings." I attempt through my paintings to speak tha language of the age and the circumtences that society is passing through.They often reflect my feelings, a pictorial representation of my emotions and the day to day scenes that I see around me and record in my memory.

Sometimes I find solace from some of the horrible things that keep happening in the world by seeking refuge in my studio and painting; it is a sort of sanctuary from the realities of daily life. during the Iraqi invasions when my husband was taken away as a prisoner of war I used to sit at hime and paint, just to lessen the pain and sadness from my mind. I ended up with over 85 paintings during that period . I painted a family portrait when my husband returned after the war; it tries to capture the happiness and joy we felt at our reunion," thuraya said, as she painted to alarge painting.

I rember in 1996,I had an exhibition where several of my paintings depicted angles,immediately there was a hue and cry from some qyarters,some even questioning my religious affiliations.

Speaking on her favourite projects,thuraya elaborated ,”some of my most interesting and fulfilling work have been done for charities and children. Iam a member of the ‘very special art organization’ in Washington and the international human rights organization
Equality Now’ in Newyork that conducts art exhibitions all over the world for various causes. Members of the organizations travel and work disabled children, teaching them to express their emotion through art.” I have also participated in the international

Buddy Bear project in berlin , the painted cow exhibition in luxemberg and the butterfly project in slovakia . In the these projects life size figures of bears , cows and butterflies are artistically painted by hundereds of renowned international artists and exhibited both locally and globally through traveling exhibitions . the proceeds from these exhibition are denoted to unicef and other charities to help needy children all over the world.”

“ Another interesting project I remember doing, this time in Kuwait, was when I made wall drawings in the childrens word of various hospitals in Kuwait .it is always very emotionally fulfilling to do work like that .  art should not be just a means to profit for the artists ; it should also help and make others happy. Recently in Afghanistan , I spent five days with art teachers at the Kabul university of art teaching them new techniques in art .these teachers had only rudimnetry art tools, a few pncils ,paper,ink and yet, their grasp of art, their inborn talents and their eagerness.

To learn new technics was amazing . it just goes to show , that authorities may be able to suppress the display of art for a while but they will never be able to destroy the emotions or the artistic creativity in people.” Asserted thuraya.

Having held 45 successful personal exhibitions and numerous collective shows , both Kuwait and internationally and in the process having won several awards and citations including the Salvador dali award,thuraya baqsami has managed to carve a name for herself as well as her 

“I strong believe that before you should first start

Country in the world of international art .Today , her exhibits and donated works line the walls pf prestigious art galleries all over the world . one of her donated works to the museum of human rights in Geneva won her a letter of appreciation from UN Secretary General ,Kofi Annan,recently, another painting at the New York art exhibition sponserd by ‘Equality Now’ was sold to and redonated by one of its directors.

you speak of democracy outside,practicing it in your homes.

" I strongly believe that before you speak of democracy outside,you should first start practicing it in your own homes."

 

 In Kuwait , the response of people to art has been steadly increasing ; today you se more people willing to sponsor art exhibitions and attend art gallery openings . “the art, at artist and the public who appreciate art , are three inseparable parts that represent a community culture .you cannot hope ti have one without the other .however, art is also a symbol as well as yardstick of civilization ; it develops only to the extent to which the community it self develop. I strongly belive that before you speak of democracy outside, you should first start practicing it in your own homes. If you constrain your children from developing to their maximum potential , if you restrict them from expressing their feelings and thoughts independently, you are not only negating the very things that you are trying to advocate , you are also nipping the buds of creativity in children, and that is a very dangerous thing for the community ,”Thuraya concluded.