Alaa Minawi Explained

Birth Date:1982
Birth Place:Beirut, Lebanon
Alma Mater:Lebanese American University, Beirut
Known For:Luminal art, theater
Notable Works:My Light is Your Light... (2014)

Alaa Minawi (born 1982, in Beirut) is a Palestinian and Dutch interdisciplinary artist and lecturer based in Amsterdam. His work spans across performing arts and installations, with a focus on using light as medium. His themes explore belonging, conflict, healing, and Arab-futurism.

Education and career

Minawi graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the Lebanese American University in 2008, and earned a MA in Fine Arts from Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht in 2018. He went on to study lighting design lighting design at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Minawi began his career in 2006 as a lighting designer and scenographer, collaborating with various theater and dance companies in Lebanon and the Arab region. In 2010, he expanded his practice to include the creation of his own installations, which have frequently been exhibited in public spaces. Some of his notable installations include Beyond Myself... (2013), My Light is Your Light... (2014), The Bride (2016), and Waiting for It to End... (2020). In 2016, Minawi began an artistic research project focused on the concept of belonging and its connection to physical space. This research culminated in a series of performances collectively titled 2048. In this work, Minawi aimed to integrate installation and performance art, involving the audience as an essential part of his performance.

Minawi is a teacher at the Amsterdam University of the Arts (AHK) and the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU), and is a lecturer at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. He is the founder and program director of the Beirut Summer School for Theater and Performance.

Recognition and awards

Minawi's installation My Light is Your Light... was selected for UNESCO's International Year of Light 2015 and was nominated for the Best Light Art Award at the D’Arc Awards, London, UK in 2016.

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