Creative Mind: Wael Shawky

Egyptian artist Wael Shawky has always looked at the world with a unique point of view. Heralded for his rich, multidisciplinary practice that spans drawing, film, and performance—often incorporating whimsical puppetry—his work tackles challenging themes of national and religious identity with an almost childlike sense of exploration.

In early February, Shawky brought that singular artistic lens to the first edition of Art Basel Qatar, where he acted as the fair’s artistic director. Tapped for his deep understanding of the region and his passion for storytelling, research, and experimentation, Shawky did away with traditional booths, instead presenting a thematic framework of “Becoming.” “Visitors were invited to encounter the art in a more open, immersive environment that encouraged slower looking, deeper engagement, and a sense of discovery,” he says. “I wanted the fair to feel like entering a story rather than a marketplace, and that shift is thrilling to me.”

Balancing act: Shawky has also served as artistic director of the Doha Fire Station, an artist-led research space, since 2024. “As an artist, my goal is not to collapse the distinction between these roles but to allow the two processes to inform one another in meaningful ways.”

Standout work: For the Egyptian pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024, Shawky received critical acclaim for directing, choreographing, and composing Drama 1882, a film rendition of an original musical exploring Egypt’s 19th-century, nationalist Urabi revolution.

Up next: Shawky is making a film that looks at the Gulf region through a historical and cultural lens to investigate how the past continues to inform the present.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Spring Issue in the section “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.