Born 1960 in the Egyptian town of Tantra, Mohamed Abouelnaga graduated with honours from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria (Egypt). Later he received a Masters Degree in Fine Art and a PhD in Philosophy of Art from Alexandria University.He is the first Middle Eastern artist to receive a grant from the Japan Foundation to study the art of paper making in Japan. Abouelnaga`s works have been showcased on many international exhibitions. In 2001 he won the first prize of the Alexandria Biennale. In 2002 he represented Egypt at the Venice Biennale. He is founder of Elnafeza - Foundation for Contemporary Art & Development.