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T here's something about Amal Kenawy. Intriguing, warm but with a hint of coolness, open yet reserved, Amal Kenawy is like her living room which inspires wonder the moment one enters. It's a clearly unique space, with her multi-faceted personality asserting its identity. It's colorful and playful, a room which draws you in, and encourages you to touch, imbibe the sensory experience, feel.
Born in 1974, this award-winning Egyptian artist says that since she was a child, she knew what path her life would take. She studied Fashion Design and Fine Arts, but was not impressed by the mediocrity of the classes. "I was inspired by my older brother, an artist, who taught me what to learn and what to leave," she explains.
Inspiration is the core of what Kenawy believes it takes to be an artist. "If you can inspire others through what you do, be it cooking or writing, and if you do it with love, then you are an artist," she exhorts.
"Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?" is the oft-asked question. For Kenawy, art is life. She rejects the clichéd portrayal of misunderstood artists filled with angst, wanting to live in creative isolation. "The media has created a kitsch,...