We didn’t know about Reem Al Faisal and Lulwah Al Homoud before we read an article posted on CNN. Rima Maktabi, the author of the article titled: Don’t pigeonhole us, say Saudi women artists, writes:

As Saudi women artists, Reem Al Faisal and Lulwah Al Homoud, feel they are fighting against multiple stereotypes. They are caught between conservative attitudes at home and western critics who expect them to address women’s rights in their work (…) Al Faisal, a photographer, has another reason for being wary of people’s expectations: She is a princess, a granddaughter of the first king of Saudi Arabia. She avoids being photographed or showing her face in interviews to allow her to travel the world anonymously without bodyguards (…) Al Homoud, a single mother who brought up her two sons in London, creates abstract art, often geometric black-and-white drawings…

Back in September, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia granted women the right to vote and run in future municipal elections. Let’s hope more and more Saudi women artists will be able to freely express their art in Saudi Arabia.

Illustrating this post: Reem Al Faisal’s photography focuses on people and landscapes
Below: An installation of lights by Lulwah Al-Homoud