In Shahad Alqufaydi's work, Saudi life unfolds in layered, expressive moments. the quiet warmth of a café morning, the electricity of match day, the nostalgia of old radios and rooftops set against modern skylines. Her characters occupy these spaces with ease and personality, captured mid-thought or mid-laugh. Rather than documenting life, Shahad places us inside it, offering a perspective that feels intimate, lived-in and unmistakably contemporary.

From Printmaking Studio to Brand Storyteller

Shahad Alqufaydi's visual fluency did not arrive fully formed. It grew out of a disciplined training in visual arts and printmaking at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, where she explored how comics and sequential art could preserve and reframe Saudi heritage. That academic curiosity led to a research project on using comic style and digital printing to highlight local traditions. In retrospect, it reads like an early manifesto for the artist she would become.

Shaping Her Voice Within Creative Institutions

Her professional path moved quickly from studio practice to cultural platforms. At Atrum Art in Riyadh, she supported exhibitions and events while crafting visual materials that stitched each project into a cohesive identity. Later, at the Amman based creative hub ZAMAKAN, she contributed to regional projects that demanded agility across mediums, sharpening her ability to adapt her visual language for different audiences and contexts.

Today, Shahad works as a freelance visual artist, multimedia creator, and art specialist, moving fluidly between gallery work, commissions and brand collaborations. What remains constant is her storytelling instinct. Whether she is designing for a financial institution or an independent café, she approaches each commission as a narrative: Who are the characters? What is the mood? What small moment can stand for something bigger?

Riyadh Art Week and Misk Art Week 2025

Shahad Alqufaydi's narrative approach reached a new milestone with her participation in Riyadh Art Week 2025, where she showcased her series Inherited Traditions at JAX District with Collect Studio by Atrum. The three works form a vibrant reflection on Saudi cultural identity, capturing the rhythm of shared spaces and the values carried quietly across generations. Rather than presenting tradition as something fixed, the series reveals it as something lived, shaped by daily interactions, social warmth and the evolving textures of contemporary Saudi life.

Her momentum continued shortly after, when she was selected to present her work at Misk Art Week 2025 during the Art & Design Market. The recognition positions her among the emerging creative voices defining the Kingdom’s visual narrative, and underscores her ability to translate everyday scenes into art that resonates across audiences and settings.

Collaborations with Leading Brands

Shahad’s storytelling-driven style has made her a sought-after collaborator across some of the Kingdom’s most recognized brands. Her work carries the same visual warmth and cultural grounding whether it appears on a gallery wall, a coffee cup, a product line or a corporate commission.

Her collaborations include lifestyle and cultural partners such as Bisat Coffee, Nasj, and independent authors and publishers. Through packaging, branded illustrations and book-cover designs, she extends her visual language into everyday objects, transforming familiar items into scenes that celebrate contemporary Saudi life.

Creative Narratives Across Corporate Platforms

Shahad has also carved out a unique space within the corporate landscape, bringing humanity and cultural resonance to sectors not typically associated with visual storytelling. She has worked with SNB Capital, creating an artwork commemorating the completion of 100 strategic investment banking deals. For Derayah Financial, she produced the special-edition artwork Imtidad Al Mawjah, gifted to Thmanyah to mark their acquisition of Saudi League broadcast rights. In partnership with Saudi Tadawul Group and Atrum Art, Shahad designed limited-edition artistic mugs for the Financial Market Forum, wrapping each one in a bustling cityscape of figures and symbols.

These collaborations represent only part of her expanding portfolio. Across sectors and formats, Shahad’s ability to weave narrative, culture and character into every project makes her one of the most versatile young illustrators shaping Saudi visual identity today.

Process, Palette and Personal Vision

Shahad’s illustrations may appear effortless, but they are built on a structured process shaped by her printmaking and comics background. She begins with loose sketches to map composition and character relationships, then refines them into confident, intentional outlines that hold each busy scene together. Her palette is bold and immediately recognizable: flat, saturated colors like mint, mustard, coral and deep blue, used in contrast rather than shading to create depth. Crisp linework, simplified forms and selective textures further define her style, giving her digital work a contemporary, tactile feel.

At the center of her practice is an accessible visual language. Shahad draws everyday Saudi moments with warmth and familiarity, inviting viewers to step into her scenes rather than observe them from a distance. Whether she is illustrating for a brand, a cultural space or a corporate commission, her focus remains consistent: to create work that feels human, relatable and unmistakably connected to the rhythms of contemporary Saudi life.

Why Shahad Alqufaydi's Voice Resonates Now

Saudi Arabia is rewriting its visual archive in real time, and artists like Shahad Alqufaydi play a vital part in that transformation. Moving effortlessly between galleries, design markets, cafés and corporate platforms, she shows how illustration can live across every layer of public life. Her work quietly documents how people in the Kingdom sit, talk, gather and imagine their future.

Above all, Shahad reminds us that culture is shaped not only by major landmarks, but by the stories held in everyday scenes. In her hands, those moments come alive with color, warmth and unmistakable Saudi identity.

Inspired by Shahad Alqufaydi?

Explore more artist stories that shape Saudi culture at KSA Art.

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