up close & personal
HALA AL-AWADHI The intersection of cultures, identity and art By bazaar staff
When people first meet Hala Al-Awadhi, they are always curious about her origins and sense an incoming plottwist. Born to a Kuwaiti father and a Ukrainian mother, she is proud of both of her identities. The mix always sparks conversation and has given her a unique perspective on life that she welcomes and enjoys engaging in. Her mixed heritage fuels her insatiable desire to explore the world in different ways from art to journalism.
“Being of mixed heritage has shaped me tremendously and makes up a huge part of who I am. I live with two cultures. It has shaped my thinking, and opened me up to various perspectives. Kuwait and Ukraine are obviously two very contrasting sides. Being bicultural is a dichotomy,” Hala says. She goes on to explain that “It’s Ukraine at home, and when we step out beyond our fence it’s Kuwait.” I’m living in two worlds whereby I speak both languages, and eat Kuwaiti food and Ukrainian dishes my mother makes, and all in all I’m upholding both traditions. It’s an intersection of both cultures at home, where we speak English, Russian, and Arabic within the family. Even though I never lived in Ukraine, I spent all my childhood summers there up until my grandparents
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passed away. And still, I feel well-connected culturally and emotionally to the place even having lived in Kuwait my entire life. I always am alternating between both sides and in Kuwaiti society, it can get pretty confusing too!” Hala had always wanted to start drawing or dabbling in some sort of art form. She had been talented in art class at school but hadn’t picked up a pen until very recently. During Kuwait’s first lock down she picked up a black pen in the middle of the night, a journal that was lying in front of her, turned to a blank page and just started drawing a plant pot at home. The connection to art is much older than that, her father is an abstract artist and she has always been exposed to art and surrounded and inspired by it. She