Bahrain Says Farewell to Art Pioneer Balqees Fakhro
Pioneer of Bahrain’s modern visual arts leaves behind nearly five decades of painting, writing and artistic scholarship.
Balqees Fakhro, born in 1950, passed away on October 3, 2026, after a career spanning nearly five decades.
She studied fine arts and art history in the United States before returning to Bahrain to join the country’s developing visual arts movement.
Her abstract works, which she described as “visual music,” were exhibited locally and internationally and earned several major awards.
Bahraini artist Balqees Fakhro, a pioneering figure in the Kingdom’s modern visual arts movement, passed away on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at the age of 76.
Fakhro leaves behind a career spanning nearly five decades, during which she combined painting with art writing, criticism, teaching and research into the history and development of visual art.
Born in 1950, Fakhro developed her early artistic awareness in a family environment surrounded by books and intellectual influences. She studied philosophy and psychology in Lebanon before moving to the United States, where she pursued her passion for art and graduated in 1975 with studies in painting and art history in San Francisco.
She returned to Bahrain in 1975 at a time when the country’s visual arts scene was beginning to expand and embrace new artistic approaches.
Her first major participation came in 1976, when she took part in the Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition with an impressionist painting that earned an honorary award. After a period away from the art scene, she returned in the 1980s as Bahrain’s artistic movement was gaining momentum through artists returning from studies abroad and exposure to different schools of art.
Throughout her career, Fakhro participated in exhibitions in Bahrain and abroad. Her work was displayed in cities including Damascus, Amman, Cairo, Tunis, Madrid, Bonn, Istanbul and New York. Her painting “City” was also selected for the poster of an annual symposium at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies in Washington.
She received several awards during her career, including the Golden Palm Award at the Kuwait Biennale and the Al-Danah Award at the 27th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition. She also worked as a professor of fine arts at the University of Bahrain.
An Abstract Visual Language
Sadiq Mohsen
NOB Reporter
Sadiq Mohsen is a journalist and reporter with The Daily Tribune in Bahrain, covering a wide range of local, regional and international news. His work includes reporting on Bahrain’s public affairs, community developments, culture, education, technology, sports and major international events. He regularly researches and writes news reports, interviews and human-interest stories, presenting complex developments in a clear and accessible newspaper style. His reporting also involves following breaking news, verifying information from multiple sources and developing timely story angles for print and digital audiences.