Kuwait Times: Tell us more about yourself.

Zahra Marwan: I’m 35 years old, should-have-been Kuwaiti yet American. I live in an apartment that overlooks cottonwood trees near the Rio Grande River and work out of a studio at the Harwood Art Center nearby. I sleep, burn bukhoor when I need to, dream a lot and embody the Kuwaitiness I’m able to keep in everything I do.

KT: When did you start writing/drawing, and who or what encouraged you?

Marwan: My sister-in-law Yoko gave me a notebook when I graduated from high school at 17. I wrote quotes from books, noted my thoughts, defined words, made little drawings and was never afraid to express myself honestly. My older brother encouraged me to draw as a child and to take art classes in high school. He was inspired by our uncle, prominent painter AbdulReda Baqer, and his son, our cousin Ali Baqer, the artistic pride of the family.

My older brothers invested deeply in my alternative education, sharing their love of Russian literature, French cinema, our father’s poetry, theater and photography, their loud witty stories and my mom recounting dreams and memories with me each morning. I have such a beautiful family!