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Malak Mattar

Malak Mattar (b. 1999): A Palestinian Painter from Gaza

Malak Mattar is a Palestinian painter, illustrator, author of children’s books and lecturer who was born in Gaza. She was awarded a scholarship to study Political Science at Istanbul Aydin University, graduating in 2022. The following year, Mattar moved to the UK to study for a Master’s in Fine Art at Central Saint Martin’s, London, having received a further scholarship.

Mattar’s talent was evident early on in her life, when she began creating art as a teenager. Before long she began selling it online and exhibiting internationally.

Art Rooted in Conflict and Palestinian Identity

Mattar’s practice is rooted in the conflict and violence she experienced in her homeland as a teenager and her passion for the Palestinian cause. Mattar’s figurative artworks vary from paintings completed in vibrant colours, celebrating the rich cultural legacy of her birthplace, to others in a more muted palette depicting the horrors of conflict and occupation in graphic detail.

‘No Words’ Mural and Depiction of Gaza’s Realities

Marking a professional milestone, Mattar created a huge mural work from artworks that she completed during a two-month residency in London at ‘An Effort’, between 2023 and 2024, depicting the harsh realities of the Gaza conflict. Titled ‘No Words’, the largely monochrome/greyscale works were combined into a 7x15-foot mural work that has been shown at several events, including in parallel to the Venice Biennale.

While working on the opus, she said: “It needs to be completely horrific otherwise it will not accurately reflect the genocide.”

Solo Exhibitions Showcasing Malak Mattar’s Work

Mattar’s work has been exhibited widely in the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

Her solo exhibitions include:

‘The Horse fell of the Poem’, Ferruzzi Gallery, Venice (2024)
Garden Court Chambers, London, UK (2023)
Museo della Città (City Museum), Rimini (2023)
Casa Internazionale delle Donne, Rome (2023)
Omar Suleiman Cultural Center, Naples (2022)
Teatri di Vita, Bologna (2022)
Artemisia Gallery, Padua (2022)
Barchessa di Villa Concina (Dolo), Venice (2022)
Barchessa di Villa Belvedere (Mirano), Venice (2022)
Museum of the Palestinian People, Washington, DC [virtual], (2021)
American University of Beirut, Beirut [virtual], (2021)
‘The Eyes of Women’, Cultural House, Freiburg (2020)
Palestine Museum, CT (2019)
Jerusalem Fund Gallery, Washington DC, (2019)
The Cultural Center, New York City (2019)
Greenbelt Annual Festival, London (2018)
Embassy of Palestine, Stockholm, Sweden (2018)
Palestine Museum for Culture and Art, Bristol (2018)
Palestine Museum for Culture and Art, Bristol (2017)
Museum of Extremadura, Extremadura (2016)
UNED Center, Costa Rica (2016)
‘Boats in Journalists House’, Gaza (2015)
European Representative Organization for Culture, Gaza (2015)
University of Costa Rica, San Pedro (2015)

Participation in Group Exhibitions Worldwide

Mattar has also taken part in numerous group exhibitions, including events at:

The Capital, New York (2023)
Aupuni Space Gallery, Hawai’i (2023)
Millon, Paris (2023)
the Museum of Modern Art, Museu das Artes de Sintra (MU.SA), Portugal (2022)
‘Through a Palestinian Lens’, commissioned by Bristol Palestine Film, Boughton House, Greenbelt Festival (2022)
ArtPrize USA, Grand Rapids, Michigan (2021)
P21 Gallery, London (2021)
AlBahie Auction House, Doha, Qatar (2021)
Museum of the Palestinian People, Washington DC (2020)
Palestine Museum US, Woodbridge, CT (2020)
‘Post Colonization’, Eindhoven, Netherlands (2020)
TAC Gallery, Eindhoven, Netherlands (2019)
Red Rock Chateau, Silverado, CA (2019)
‘We Are Not Numbers’, exhibition and reading tour of nine cities in Switzerland and Germany (2019)
The Palestine Expo, London, UK (2019)
OXO Design Centre, Southbank, London (2018)
The Green Room, London (2018)
‘Women in War’, Fontenay sous-Bois Museum, France (2018)
Médiathèque de Malakoff, France (2018)
Town Hall of Paris, France (2018)
Guray Museum, Cappadocia, Turkey (2018)
Inegol Kent Museum, Bursa, Turkey [with Turkish artist] (2018)
Palestine Expo Annual Festival, London (2018)
University of California, San Diego (2018)
Cultural Center of California (2018)
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, (2018)
Resource Center for Nonviolence, Santa Cruz, CA (2018)
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Yerba Buena, CA (2018)
Santa Monica Pier Art Festival, Santa Monica, CA (2018)
The Palestine Expo, London (2018)
ArtPrize USA, Grand Rapids, Michigan (2018)
Four exhibitions in Sacramento, CA (2018)
Rebuilding Alliance, US Capitol Building in Washington, DC (2018)
Gaza and Art in Palestine conference, University of North Carolina, Durham, NC (2018)
American Consulate, Ambassador Hotel, Jerusalem (2016)
‘GAZA51’, Hyderabad, Lamakaan, Chena, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi, India (2016); and
Institution of Palestinian Women, Adam Hotel, Gaza, Palestine (2015).

Lectures, Workshops, and Published Works

Mattar has given lectures, workshops and speaking tours at universities and other institutions worldwide. She is the author and illustrator of ‘Sitti’s Bird’, a highly regarded children’s picture book focused on her personal experiences as a child living in a conflict zone.