Wael Qadriyeh

Wael Quadriyeh is a Rotterdam based scenographer. For Welcome to Our Guesthouse he was invited to design the route that guides the audience from space to space, in between the encounters with the makers. He uses contrast and connection to enhance the audience’s experience.

Wael graduated as a scenographer from the AHK. His graduation projects are Unspecified and Yorkafowru. Wael also studied interior design in Syria and scenography at The Higher Institute for Theater Arts in Damascus.

As a scenographer his focus is on humanitarian issues such as powerlessness, experience, trauma, loneliness, memory, politics, religion, freedom, identity and sexuality. Existentialism and absurdity form the basis of his work.

The power of materials fascinates Wael enormously. They tell stories and have a great influence on us as people. Materials also help create a connection with the space around us. With every new project he looks for the material that best suits the desired expression.

When Wael was twenty, a war experience changed his perspective on life. He realized that connection is always sought: with a place where we feel comfortable, with people, with ourselves. As a scenographer, he believes that every experience reveals new aspects of ourselves. As time passes and experiences accumulate, we see ourselves more and more clearly.

Our personal experience determines the impression and feelings towards a place. The same place can evoke completely different experiences, changing our impressions and feelings. This is where Wael's love for scenography comes from. He consciously creates different spaces to give the audience specific experiences and make them aware of their presence in the space with all their senses.