Azza Abo Rebieh

Born in Hama, Syria, and currently based in Beirut, Azza Abo Rebieh is a printmaker and multimedia artist whose artistry extends to animation and illustration, with 25 published books and two of her animated films selected for the BBC Arabic Film Festival. 

Her activism and commitment to social justice are central to her career, with her art often serving as a voice for the voiceless and a means of resistance.

Abo Rebieh graduated in 2002 from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University, specialising in printmaking. Her graduation project, recognised at the Ostrobothnian Museum’s Youth Engravers Competition in Finland, marked the beginning of an illustrious career. She was later awarded third prize in the Colour of Damascus Exhibition, Rome (2005) and first prize in the Annual Youth Exhibition, Damascus (2006). 

Her activism in the Syrian revolution began in 2011, and in 2015 she was detained in the Adra prison in Damascus, where she shared a cell with 30 other women. During this time, she created sketches to offer her fellow inmates a sense of visibility and humanity in a place devoid of mirrors. “It’s important that we write the history that we live from our memory so that the art can be a document... because art never dies,” Abo Rebieh once said. This ethos of art as a historical and emotional record underpins her practice.

Expelled from Syria in 2017, Abo Rebieh’s work reflects a profound sense of displacement and a desire to document her experiences, leaving indelible traces of her journey. This ethos resonates deeply with her chosen medium, printmaking, which she sees as a way to preserve those traces that are integral to her art. 

Her monochromatic prints, combining striking visual elements with emotional depth, have drawn comparisons to the works of Francisco Goya, whose influence can be seen in her exploration of human suffering and resilience. While rooted in traditional etching techniques, she continuously experiments with mediums in printmaking, pushing boundaries to convey her layered narratives of memory and identity.

Abo Rebieh’s solo exhibitions include: ‘Yearning’, Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut (2022); ‘On A Thread’, 392Rmeil393 Gallery, Beirut (2019); and ‘Traces’, 392Rmeil393 Gallery, Beirut (2018). As well as participating in international art fairs, such as Art Paris and Mena Art Fair, and biennials in Bulgaria, Serbia and Syria, she has exhibited at: 111 Exhibition and Performance, Majaz Gallery, Beirut (2024); La Résidence des Pins, French Embassy, Beirut (2023); ‘Jiwar Vecindades Creativas’, Madrid (2022); ‘Repairs and Stitches’, Paris (2021); ‘In This Moonless Black Night’, Washington DC (2021); ‘Cinque Mostre Convergence’, Rome (2020); ‘Seven Spices’, Beirut (2019); ‘The Pencil Is a Key: Drawings by Incarcerated Artists’, The Drawing Center, New York (2019); ‘Art into the Night’, Faqra Club (2018); ‘Three and a Half Collective Exhibition’, Beirut (2018); ‘Cultures and Stereotypes Exhibition’, Beirut (2018); ‘Amnesty Event about 10,000 Detained and Kidnapped from Syria’, Beirut (2017); ‘Creative Memory of the Syrian Revolution’, Paris (2017); ‘Syrian Anonymous Exhibition’, Paris, Italy and Istanbul (2012-2014); ‘Syrian Art Relief Exhibit’, London (2012); ‘Morpho Gallery Exhibit’, Chicago (2011); ‘Triennial De Chamarel’, Paris (2010); ‘Miniprint De Cadacues’, Barcelona (2010); ‘Women’s Day Exhibit’, Damascus (2009); ‘Triennial De Chamarel’, Paris (2006); ‘Graphic Shab Exhibit’, Damascus (2006); and ‘Colour of Damascus Exhibit’, Damascus and Rome (2005). 

Abo Rebieh’s works are held in prominent collections, including The British Museum (London), the Atassi Foundation and private collections globally.