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Zahra Marwan

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Zahra Marwan
Born
Kuwait
CitizenshipUnited States
Occupation(s)Artist, illustrator, writer
Years active2015–present

Zahra Marwan is an American artist and writer. Her work mainly focuses on her early life as a stateless person in Kuwait and an immigrant in New Mexico. She has won various international awards and fellowships.[1] Her debut book received critical acclaim.

Early life

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Marwan was born in Kuwait to a stateless Shia family from the Ajam ethnic group.[2][3][4][5] In the 1950s, her family name was lost in translation during census registration.[6] Her mother has Kuwaiti citizenship. Her father was born stateless despite having Kuwaiti family members.[7][8][9] She immigrated to New Mexico as a child and eventually became an American citizen at the age of 16.[10] She graduated from Rio Rancho High School.[10] She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Mexico in Languages and Literature, with a minor in Flamenco Dance and History as well as a minor in Philosophy.[11] She also studied the visual arts in France.[12][13][14][1]

Career

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Her debut picture book, Where Butterflies Fill the Sky, was published by Bloomsbury Books in March 2022 and named one of The New York Times / New York Public Library's 10 Best Illustrated Books as well as NPR's Best Books of 2022.[15][11] She also won the Ezra Jack Keats Honor for Illustration and a Dilys Evans Founders Award from the Society of Illustrators.[16]

She was honored with an award by the UN Human Rights Commission for creating art that brings visibility to statelessness, indigenous groups, and minority rights.[11]

Works

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Author and illustrator

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  • Where Butterflies Fill the Sky, 2022
  • The Sunflowers, 2024
  • Fishermans New Year, 2025
  • Sakina and the Uninvited Guests, 2025
  • Soft Sea Rain and Spirits, 2025

Illustrator

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  • The Goldfish written by Katherine Arden, 2024
  • My Sister the Apple Tree written by Jamal Saeed and Jordan Scott, 2025
  • Haniya's Ramadan Garden written by Zeshan Akhter, 2025

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Zahra Marwan".
  2. ^ Hyperallergic (27 March 2022). "Like Orcas and Tangerines".
  3. ^ Ajam Media Collective (2018). "Between Two Deserts: Visual Vignettes from an Iranian-Kuwaiti Bidoon in New Mexico". Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  4. ^ "Stateless at Home: The Kuwaiti-American Artist Zahra Marwan". October 2021.
  5. ^ Minority Rights Group International (23 November 2023). "EVENT: Statelessness, watercolours & ink – Zahra Marwan – An MRG Sofa Talk".
  6. ^ Zahra Marwan (24 June 2020). "Circumstantially Free". Lost in translation between Levant Arabs in the Gulf who registered Iranian families in the 1950s, our family name was Arabisized to Marwan, which is typically Lebanese or Syrian, and a very Sunni name. It makes me feel even more stigmatized in Kuwait. It feels so far from my family history, in a place where people often earn respect, class, mobility, and social status from family kin.
  7. ^ "Watercolors in the Desert: Artist Zahra Marwan on painting her own story". 26 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Always Leaving: A Photo Essay by Zahra Marwan". 15 March 2022.
  9. ^ New Mexico Magazine (1 February 2023). "Zahra Marwan Shares Her Story".
  10. ^ a b Albuquerque Journal (11 June 2022). "Zahra Marwan brings watercolors, whimsy to her art".
  11. ^ a b c Bright Agency (2022). "Zahra Marwan".
  12. ^ Tamarind Institute. "Zahra Marwan".
  13. ^ Harwood Art Center. "Art at a Distance: Stories with Zahra Marwan".
  14. ^ Debbie Ridpath Ohi (29 March 2022). "Immigration, Family and Finding Home: Interview with debut picture book author/illustrator Zahra Marwan".
  15. ^ The New York Times (2022). "The 2022 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books".
  16. ^ Macmillan Publishers. "Zahra Marwan".
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