B. 1983 (Majdal Shams, occupied Syrian Golan Heights)
Randa Maddah is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, drawing, sculpture, video, and installation. A graduate of the Adham Ismail Center in Damascus, Maddah furthered her education at the Damascus University’s Faculty of Fine Arts (2005) and the Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. She holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the National School of Fine Arts in Paris (2020).
Maddah’s work is deeply influenced by the political and social complexities of her homeland. Growing up in the Golan Heights, her art reflects the chaos and instability imposed by occupation. She critically engages with memory, displacement, and identity, often reflecting the shared sense of lost identity and damaged memory among the residents on both sides of the border. Maddah’s art invites viewers to question and reflect on complex emotions and trauma, using visual documentation to process and reframe lived experiences. Her work remains a poignant commentary on the intersection of personal and collective histories, urging a deeper understanding of the human condition amidst political strife.
Her multidisciplinary output features elements of nature, floating objects, and circular motifs, symbolising the cyclical nature of existence and the return to origins. Recently, her works on canvas have evolved to express themes of sanctuary and liberation, inspired by the belief in reincarnation and the transformative power of nature.
A founding member of Fatiha Madrasa for Arts and Culture in the Golan Heights and l'association Portes ouvertes sur l'art in Paris, Maddah is committed to advancing intercultural dialogue and artistic exchange.
SELECTED RESIDENCIES & AWARDS
2023, Participation in the ACC West Asia Cultural and Art Exchange Project, Gwangju, Korea.
2020, Art residency “Cité internationale des Arts”, Paris.
2019, Art residency “International Art Colony”, Csókakő, Hungary.
2015, Art residency “Cité internationale des Arts”, Paris.
2013, part of the workshop (UmeaGolan), Sweden.
2012, Open Studio Group workshop (politics and arts), Al Sakakeni Cultural Center, Birziet.
2011, Open Studio Group workshop, Al Sakakeni Cultural Center, Birziet.
2010, Part of the third sculpture festival in Golan, Ein Qenia.
2010, Open Studio Group workshop (try and retry), Al Sakakeni Cultural Center, Birziet.
2009, Part of the second sculpture festival in Golan, Masada.
2007, The first sculpture festival in the Golan, Majdal Shams.
2005, Colors from Damascus workshop, Mustafa Ali art gallery, Damascus.
Awards
2020, Prize of “les amis des Beaux-Art de Paris”, Le prix agnès b.
2018, Prize for Excellence / International Grand Prize, The TAKIFUJI Art Award, Tokyo, Japan.
2014, Award the journalist specialized in cinema/ Aflam festival/ Marseille, France.
2008, The young Artist of the Year Award, A.M. Qattan foundation, Ramallah.
2005, Albasel Award of Excellence graduate, Honor Prize, University of Damascus.
2004, Albasel Award of Excellence, First Place, University of Damascus.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016, A hair tie – Gallery One, Ramallah, Palestine
2015, Pencil on Pepper, Europia gallery, Paris, France
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024, Dislocations, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
2023, Elsewhere, Al Markhiya Gallery, Doha
FORMES DE LA RUINE, musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France
2022, Auto-mémoire(s), Galerie Nouchine Pahlevan, Paris
2021, Féminin Pluriel, Espace Commines, Paris-France
FRAGMENTS, Centre d’art contemporain de Noisy-Le-Sec, France
Exposition des 10 lauréats des prix et bourses des Amis des Beaux-Arts de Paris, Chapelle des Petits-Augustins des Beaux-Arts, Paris-France
Répare, Reprise, Cité internationale des arts, Paris-France
2020, La Pièce manquante, galerie Analix Forever, Geneva-Suisse
Espaces identitaires, Galerie d’art Desjardins, Drummondville, Canada
Mémoires partagées, Institut du monde arabe, Paris, France
Weed Control, A.M. Qattan Foundtion, Ramallah, Palestine
2019, Heartbreak, RUYA MAPS, the 58th Venice Biennale, Italy
Mediterraneo sensibile, AlbumArte, Rome, Italy
La création syrienne contemporaine, Cloitre des récollets - Ville de metz, France
SEUILS, Makan-Hafez Gallery, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2018, Où est la maison de mon ami?, maison des arts centre d'art contemporain de Malakoff, Paris, France.
Sans tambour, ni trompette - Cent ans de guerres commissariat,Faux Mouvement Centre d’Art Contemporain, Metz, France.
LAUTRE, Exposition de lassociation Florence, ESPACE COMMINES, Paris, France.
Qalandiya International IV, Ramallah.
2017, In view, Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture, Beirut, Lebanon.
Diaspora Now! – Contemporary Arts around the Homeland ( وﻭطﻁنﻥ†), the Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan
Light Horizon, Palest’in & out festival, Casablanca, Morocco
Syria: Into the Light, Atassi Foundation, Dubai
2014, The 2nd International Encounters of Arab cinema, Marseille
Mediterranea 16 at Fabbrica del Vapore, Milano Italy.
2013, “This Place has no mirrors but only your thoughts in the water and they will spread all around with the waves”, Umea, Sweden
Light Horizon Festival del film, Locarno, Switzerland
Light Horizon Mediterranea Biennial 16, Ancona, Italy
2012, Three senses from Homs, M3 Kunsthalle Galerie, Berlin
2010, Space, The Ethnographic Art Museum, Birzeit University
2009, Puppet Theatre, Ramallah cultural palace, Ramallah
2008, Puppet Theatre, Al Mahattah Gallery, Ramallah