Helen Zughaib

Helen Zughaib (b. 1959) is a Lebanese-American painter and multimedia artist born in Beirut who lives and works in Washington, DC. She moved as a teenager with her family to Europe in 1975 at the outbreak of Lebanon’s civil war, and then to the US as a student, where she gained her BFA from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University, New York.

Zughaib’s art reflects her commitment to highlighting the causes that she feels strongly about, especially the plight and perception of Arabs and Arab women in particular. She believes that art has the ability to help shape and foster both peaceful, constructive dialogue and positive ideas about the Middle East and, as both an artist and an Arab-American woman with experience in both cultures, is keen to contribute to these crucial conversations.

Zughaib’s compositions span scenes dating back to her own childhood in the Middle East, including some inspired by stories narrated to her by her father, to the many challenges that refugees from the region face today, brought to life in gouache and ink on board and canvas. Her figures are often veiled silhouettes in bold, bright colours and patterns, depicted in crowds or queues, reminding us of the difficult and often dangerous journeys they are undertaking fleeing their homeland. 

“My work is ultimately about creating empathy and a shared space for introspection and dialogue. I ask the viewer to see through someone else’s eyes, to walk in another’s shoes. To accept the ‘other.’ To reject divisiveness,” Zughaib has said. 

Zughaib’s work has been widely exhibited across the world and can be found in several prestigious institutions, including: the White House; the World Bank; the Library of Congress; the American Embassy in Baghdad; and the Barjeel Collection in Sharjah, among others. Her paintings have also been presented as gifts to heads of state by former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.

Zughaib’s art has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions, including, most recently, shows at: Hillyer Gallery, Washington, DC (2024); ArtRage Gallery, Syracuse, NY (2023); Hall of Nations/Kennedy Center, Washington, DC (2023); ArtHub609 Washington, DC (2023); Hall of Nations/Kennedy Center, Washington, DC (2022); Welcome Pavillion/REACH/Kennedy Center, Washington, DC (2022); Brentwood Arts Center, Brentwood, MD (2022); Inova Schar Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery, Fairfax, VA (2021); Gallery Al-Quds, Washington, DC (2021); Watergate Gallery, Washington, DC (2021); Cosmos Club, Washington, DC (2020); Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD (2020); Baum Gallery, Conway, AR (2019); Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO (2019); Woodrow Wilson House Museum, Washington, DC (2019); Gallery Al-Quds, Washington, DC (2019); World Bank, Washington, DC (2018); Allegheny College, Pittsburgh, PA (2017); Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (2017); York College of Pennsylvania, York, PA (2016); Mamia Bretesche Gallery, Paris, France (2015); University of Maryland University Collee, Adelphi, MD (2015); Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, MI (2014); Gallery Al-Quds, Palestine Center, Washington, DC (2014); Sharjah Expo Centre, Sharjah, UAE (2014); University of Maryland, Baltimore, Baltimore, MD (2014); Syra Arts Gallery, Washington, DC (2013); Protea Gallery, San Diego, CA (2013); Covington and Burling, Washington, DC (2012); Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, DC (2012); Stimson Center, Washington, DC (2012); Palestine Center, Gallery Al-Quds, Washington, DC (2012); and Agial Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon (2010).

The many group exhibitions Zughaib has taken part in include shows at: Brunei Gallery, London (2024); De La Cruz Gallery at Georgetown University, Washington, DC (2024); International Art and Artists@ Hillyer, Washington, DC (2024); Subliminal Projects @ Shepard Fairey's Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2024); Watergate Gallery, DC (2024) Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta, Malta (2023); Addison Ripley Gallery, Washington, DC (2023); The Art Loft, Alexandria, VA (2023); Katzen Museum, Washington, DC (2022); Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA (2022); University of North Texas, Texas (2022); Catherine G. Murphy Gallery, St. Paul, MN (2022); Paula Estey Gallery, Newburyport, MA (2022); Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA (2022); Art in Embassies, Stockholm, Sweden (2022); CCBC Gallery, Baltimore, MD (2022); VisArts, Rockville, MD (2022); Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minn., MN (2022); Emergeast Dubai, online (2022); Women of FAME, Artsy.net (2022); Michelene Klagsburn Studio, Washington, DC (2021); Middle East Institute, Washington, DC (2021); Addison Ripley Gallery, Washington, DC (2021); Joan Hisaoka Center for Healing, Washington, DC (2021); Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ (2021); Art Bank Collection-Women’s Suffrage, Online Exhibit, Washington, DC (2020); Middle East Institute Gallery, Washington, DC (2020/2021); San Francisco Center for Book Arts, San Francisco, CA (2020); Gallery Al-Quds, Washington, DC (2020); Watergate Gallery, Washington, DC (2020);  Tsichritis Arts Foundation, Athens, Greece (2019); Baltimore College, Baltimore, MD (2019); Stand4 Gallery, New York, NY (2019); Library of Congress, Washington, DC (2019); Center for Book Arts, New York, NY (2019); Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, MI (2019); Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, WI (2019); Sordoni Gallery, Wilkes Barre University, PA (2018); Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, MI (2018); Brown University, Providence, RI (2018); Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery, Nashville, TN (2018); Gallery 102, Washington, DC (2018); Martie McMane Gallery, Boulder, CO (2018); Dadian Gallery, Washington, DC (2018); Watergate Gallery, Washington, DC (2018); KYO Gallery, Alexandria, VA (2018); St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle, WA (2018); The World Bank, Washington, DC (2018); Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, Washington, DC (2018); Kerlin Gallery, York, PA (2018); Cosmos Club, Washington, DC (2018); The Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, Jackson, WY (2018); Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA (2018); Studio Gallery, Washington, DC2018 DCAC, Washington, DC (2018); Gallery 102, Washington, DC (2017); Irving Center for the Arts, Dallas, TX (2017); Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC (2017); National Gallery of Art, Islamabad, Pakistan (2017); Irving Arts Center, Dallas, TX (2017); Katzen Museum, Washington, DC (2017); Black and White Building, London, UK (2017); Watergate Gallery, Washington, DC (2017); Washington Printmakers Gallery, Washington, DC (2017); St. Martin in the Fields, London, UK (2017); New York University, Washington, DC (2017); Eye St. Gallery, Washington, DC (2017); National Gallery of Art, Amman, Jordan 2017 Smith Center for the Arts, Washington, DC (2017); Eisemann Center of Performing and Visual Arts, Richardson, TX (2017); US Ambassador’s Residence, The Quincy House, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2016); and United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC (2016).

Zughaib has served as Cultural Envoy to Palestine, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. She was also selected as a member of the 2021-24 Inaugural Social Practice Residency by the John F. Kennedy Center/REACH.