Qatari artist, Bouthayna Al Muftah received her Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, in Doha, Qatar. Upon her graduation, Al Muftah focused her artistic practice in printmaking, typography, documentation and artists’ books, which evolved into multiple installations. In her practice Al Muftah interrogates stories and practices from Qatari cultural heritage by archiving collective memories and personal encounters and interprets them using various artistic media, including drawing, printmaking and installation. She draws inspiration from cultural heritage, borrowing elements from the people of Qatar’s oral history and folklore.

Al Muftah’s fascination with her surrounding context has led her to develop strong interest in the life of the old neighbourhoods of Qatar and its people. As an approach to reconstruct past experiences into contemporary settings, she often finds characters and stories to transform into her own universe. She gradually turned to book binding as a way to express her inspirations and themes through conceptual documentation of the past, whilst simultaneously deconstructing and rediscovering elements in an abstract style.