Bahrain: Noura Al Sayeh-Holtrop

Noura Al Sayeh-Holtrop is a Palestinian architect and curator who has worked for the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) as Advisor for Heritage Projects and Head of Architecture Affairs (2009–). She holds a master’s degree in architecture from L’École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Switzerland. Along with Dr. Fuad Al Ansari, she co-curated the exhibition “Reclaim” at the 12th Venice Biennale; the exhibit marked Bahrain’s first participation in a Venice Biennale and earned a Golden Lion award (2010).

Al Sayeh-Holtrop headed the “Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy” UNESCO World Heritage Project in Muharraq, Bahrain (2015–), which received an Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2019). Within the same time frame, she curated the Hangar exhibition for Amman Design Week (2019). At the 2015 Expo Milan she served as Deputy Commissioner General for Bahrain Pavilion’s “Archaeologies of Green,” which earned a Silver Medal for Best Architecture and Landscape Architecture. She serves as a board member of the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, Palestine, has served as a jury member for the AR Emerging Awards hosted by The Architectural Review magazine (2024), and has been an on-site reviewer for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2022). Al Sayeh-Holtrop was named one of “11 Women Architects From the Global South That Are Changing the World” by AD Middle East (2024).