Hayfa Algwaiz explores domestic interiors and cultural identity through architectural lens

Saudi-born artist Hayfa Algwaiz discusses how her architectural background shapes her artistic practice focused on domestic spaces and cultural identity. Having practiced architecture for eight years in San Francisco, she participated in global biennials with academic architectural installations before shifting to visual storytelling. Her work examines underrepresented Khaliji architectures and the tension between traditional and modern elements, interior and exterior spaces. Specific works include Waiting Room (2025), Al Balad Residences series (2024), A piece of meat or a woman's body (2024) set in a Chinese restaurant in Oakland, California, and The Living Room (2022). Algwaiz explores themes of access, visibility, and ornamentation, noting how ornament in Western contexts can be viewed negatively while in her culture it symbolizes safety. Her Abaya series depicts intimate moments of removing the garment, which she describes as intrinsically tied to the home. She recently showed a video project at the Saudi Pavilion at Expo Osaka about memory of childhood spaces, transforming hand sketches into 3D models with incorporated mistakes. Currently in a residency in Accra, she's working on larger-scale pieces while considering abstracting human figures in future work. The interview originally appeared in Canvas 121: If Walls Could Talk.