Alaa Awad

Awad's PhD dissertation working title is, "Artistic Vision Inspired by The Murals of War and Peace in Ancient Egyptian Art" and is expected to be released in 2019.

The Victory Mosaic was designed by Awad in Luxor, Egypt and was constructed with a team under the direction of Awad. The team consisted of students and instructors from South Valley University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Mural Painting. It was inspired from the battle scenes found in Ancient Egyptian site Habu Temple. The material used to construct the mosaic was mosaic and glass. The approximate size is 6 x 4.8 meters. It was installed in late November 2017 on the sports hall building of South Valley University campus in Qena, Egypt. The mosaic took one year to complete.

Daughters of the Nile: Egyptian Women Changing Their World by Samia I. Spencer ISBN 1443894575, 9781443894579 12 December 2016

"Marching Women" is a mural which consists of two main components, "women in the funeral march" and "women climb the ladder". This work is based on an original image in the Ramesseum temple in West Bank of Luxor, a photo of engraved battle scenes on the Ramesseum's First Pylon, Thebes. The Ramesseum has some of the Egyptian world's oldest surviving pylons. A pylon, or monumental portal to an ancient Egyptian temple, usually consists of two massive upward tapering walls flanking and perpendicular to the temples entrance. Awad changed it, his painting made women instead of men apparent to the viewer. This work shows the strong role that women played in society in the past of Egypt and today. And we can see his meaning in the women's hands—they have papyrus in their hands, this communicates the meaning of knowledge .

All Night It Is Morning by Andy Young, November 2014

Awad is an Egyptian artist and is also known for his public murals in Cairo and Luxor, Egypt. He is well known for his murals created on Mohamed Mahmoud Street in Cairo, Egypt in 2012 during the Egyptian Revolution, which took media attention. His public murals and paintings encompass the history, dignity and charisma of the Egyptian people. He has worked internationally, in both solo exhibitions for his oil paintings and outdoor public murals.

On Mohamed Mahmoud street is an extensive image of mural paintings inspired by ancient Egyptian history, painted by Awad in 2012. "The myth of human destruction in ancient egypt" with hieroglyphic written by Amir Fouad. In fact, however, history as cultural and social memory could not be more alive in the Egyptian Revolution and its aftermath. The Egyptian Revolution has reinvigorated history on the street in a way that has the capacity to produce change in society. The most intangible evidence of this is in the street murals of Mohammad Mahmoud Street, which incorporated Egyptian art in a way that endows both ancient and modern history with positive meanings. This image was expanded upon by Awad by painting a series of hostesses, or "ladies-in-waiting," which was meant to "portray a centuries" old feminine wisdom with a welcoming smile. This image shows the kindness of the hostess, representing the people, juxtaposed. The position of this figures inspire by the position of the figures unfinished in Tomb of Ramose.

Currently, he is a PhD candidate and serves as an assistant lecturer in the Department of Mural Painting, for the Faculty of Fine Arts, at South Valley University in Luxor, Egypt. His murals and public art became well known in late 2011 and early 2012 after he took a break from teaching to paint a mural in Cairo, in this moment the Port Said Massacre unfolded which changed the course of his plans and shifted his mural into a memorial mural. What was meant to only be a short period of time in Cairo became a much longer time for Awad as he continued to paint new murals on Mohamed Mahmoud Street in Cairo.

Awad began his collegiate studies at South Valley University, Faculty of Fine Arts in Luxor, Egypt and graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts. Afterwards, he began his masters studies at Helwan University, College of Fine Arts in Zamalek, Egypt, while at the same time serving as an assistant lecturer for South Valley University, Faculty of Fine Arts in Luxor Egypt. During these years, Awad spent time between both universities and graduated with a Master of Arts in 2012.