Rashed AlAraifi Bahrain, b. 1992

Overview
Rashed AlAraifi

Rashed AlAraifi is an architect, designer, and artist whose practice navigates the boundaries between built form, visual culture, and collective memory. Grounded in the landscape of the Arabian Peninsula, AlAraifi’s work draws from fleeting narratives, regional traditions, and spatial histories—translated into a visual language that merges architecture, drawing, and object design. Rather than adhering to a single medium, AlAraifi constructs layered expressions that engage with the social, cultural, and environmental fabrics of the wider Arab region. His pieces often take the shape of paintings, sculptural installations or abstracted architectural forms, reflecting on identity, transience, and the storytelling capacity of space itself.

Works
Biography
Rashed AlAraifi

Rashed AlAraifi (b. 1992, Bahrain) is an architect, designer, and artist. He holds a Master of Architecture (MArch) from the University for the Creative Arts, UK (2016), and a Bachelor of Arts in Spatial Design from the University of the Arts London, UK (2014).

 

AlAraifi’s solo exhibitions include Visual Memoirs: Between Figuration & Abstraction, Bahrain (2022), and State of Mind at the Bahrain Embassy in London, UK (2012). He has participated in a range of regional and international group exhibitions, including Unofficial Histories, curated by Iris Projects for Art of Living, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2024); London Design Festival: Free Range, London, UK (2014); Jumble, Al Riwaq Art Space, Bahrain (2010); and Super Size Me, Bahrain Bayan School (2010).

 

In parallel to his individual practice, AlAraifi is the cofounder of Shepherd Studio, focused on contemporary design rooted in the local context. Through Shepherd Studio, he has contributed to several notable international design exhibitions, including the Doha Design Biennial, Qatar (2024); Collectible: 7th Edition, Brussels, Belgium (2024); Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, Netherlands (2024); and the 46th and 47th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibitions (2018, 2020).

 

Through Shepherd Studio, AlAraifi’s work has garnered numerous awards and recognitions, including finalist for the AlUla Design Award (2023), presented by the Royal Commission of AlUla; the Wallpaper Design of the Year Award for the Tila Chair (2022); the Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship – Start-Up of the Year (2019); the Charter of Gold Award under the patronage of HM King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa (2019); and, runner-up at both the 46th and 47th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibitions (2018, 2020).

 

His works are held in a number of prominent public and private collections, including the National Bank of Bahrain, GFH Financial Group, The Royal Court of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Private collection of HM King Hamad Bin Isa AlKhalifa, Private collection of HRH Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad AlKhalifa, Bahrain Ministry of Foreign affairs and other private notable collectors across the GCC.

 

AlAraifi currently lives and works in Bahrain.

Exhibitions