Samah Shihadi

B. 1987
 

Samah Shihadi draws inspiration from her family's experiences, navigating the traumatic history of the Palestinian people and their traditions. Using hyperrealism as her chosen medium, she delves into issues surrounding identity, her society, and the political realities that shape her world. 


Shihadi's delicate drawings, made with great precision touch on topics central to contemporary art and offer a pronouncement and visual report that fluctuates between the internal, personal, social and cultural. Her drawings, created in a slow, meticulous, and prolonged work process, also evoke a sense of urgency and immediacy regarding subjects in the here and now: the status of women in society, tradition and religious belief versus social and political reality, and local landscapes charged with history.


Shihadi holds an M.F.A. from the University of Haifa and a B.Ed. in art from Oranim Academic College of Education. A recipient of multiple awards, Shihadi has showcased her work extensively, internationally. Her work has been collected by institutions including LACMA.

 

EDUCATION
2013-2015 M.F.A. The Art Department, Haifa University
2008-2012 B.ED. Art & Education, Oranim College

 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024, Back to Berlin, Livingstone Gallery, The Hague, The Netherlands 
2023-24, Berlin Diary, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
2023, MORE Museum, Netherlands

2020, Terra (Un)firma, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2019, Spellbound, Tel Aviv Museum of Art 

2019, The way home, Wilfrid Israel museum, hazorea
2018, Hungry for Home, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2015, Machanaim, Machanaim Art Gallery, 

2015 Wanted, Umm el fahem Gallery, Umm el fahem

 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024, Fabric, sweat, and tears, Gordon-London House Municipal Art Gallery, Rishon lezion, Israel

2024, Hold everything dear, Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel

2023, Palestinian art stands cultural resistance, CAP Kuwait

2023, Ghost Trees, Mishkenot Shaanaim, Jerusalem, Israel

2023, Women defining women in contemporary art of the Middle East and beyond, LACMA, Los Angeles, USA

2022- Roma Arte, Nuvola, Italy

2022, Volta Art Fair, Basel
2022, Ecmnesia, Cosmo Gallery, Rome
2022, Food Weave, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv
2021, The Haifa Way, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa
2021, 1+1, Payramida Gallery, Haifa
2021, Breathing, Mishkenot Shaanaim, Jeruselem
2021, Inside/Out, CAP Kuwait
2020, Abu Dhabi Art (Fair)
2020, Bodyscapes, Isreal Museum, Jerusalem
2019, Objects of imagination, Jordan national gallery, Jordan

2019, Family stories, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Bochum, Germany

2019, Beyond the veil, Memoire de L'avenir gallery, Paris, France

2019, Our permanent guardian, Yasser Arafat museum, Ramallah

2019, Belonging, Dubai design district, Dubai

2019, “1948”, Haifa city museum, Haifa

2019, Limit less, The gallery at the walled off hotel, Bethlehem

2018, Khamsa, Islamic museum, Jerusalem

2018, Art Dubai 2018, Dubai

2018, House…..Houses, The gallery at the walled off hotel, Bethlehem

2018, Motion trap, Idris gallery, Tel Aviv 

2017, A sight of disjunction, Mangm, Haifa 

2017, A sight of disjunction, Beit saa, Ramallah 

2017, Hamsin, the collaborative art center, Givat Haviva

2017, Third Identity, CAP Kuwait, Kuwait

2016, Head & tails, Binyamin gallery, Tel Aviv

2016, Roots of identity, art on 56th gallery, Beirut, Lebanon

2016, Paper Biennale 6, Artists' House, Jerusalem

2016, The winners: Ministry of Culture and Sport Prizes for Art and Design, Herzliya Museum, Herzliya 

2016, Zoom 2016, ticho house, Jerusalem

2016, Palestine format actuel, mac.a expo2, Asilah, morocco

2016, The identity of the Palestinian artist, Umm El Fahem Gallery, Umm El Fahem 

2016, Fresh Paint 8, Tel Aviv Port, Tel Aviv 

2016, Durability, Dar Al-Kalima University College of Art and Culture, Bethlehem

2016, Crossroads, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah

2015, Spots and Signatures, Sister House, Tel Aviv 

2015, Spots and Signatures, The House of Culture & Art, Nazareth

2015, Bread and Roses 10, Shenkar College, Ramat Gan

2015, We will see the Other Days, Gabirol Gallery, Tel Aviv

2015, Personal to the Bone, The House of Culture & Art, Nazareth

2015, Graduate Exhibition (MFA), Haifa University, Haifa

2015, Palestinian Artists Exhibition, HerzLilienblum Museum, Tel Aviv " Similarity", Hecht Museum, Haifa

2014, Bread and Roses 9, Kastiel as is, Tel Aviv

2014, Galilee Paint 2, Ort School, Tiberias

2014, Combination, The House of Culture & Art, Nazareth

2014, Contact, Hecht Museum, Haifa Paper Work, Mofet Institute, Tel Aviv

2012, Low Tech, Wadi Gallery, Haifa

2012, Log in log out, Beit Hagefen Gallery, Haifa

2012, Bread and Roses 7, Minshar School of Art, Tel Aviv

2012, Graduate Exhibition (B.ED), Oranim College, Tivon

 ART FAIRS

2024, Abu Dhabi Art
2024, Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE
2024, Art Rotterdam

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

2022, Excellency Award, Association for Women's Art and Gender Research in Israel

2018, Haim Shiff Prize for Figurative- Realistic Art

2018, Pais Culture Council Support in Exhibition and Catalog
2016, Ismail Shammout Award in Fine Art 

2015, Young Award, Ministry of Culture & Sport 

2015, Excellency Award, Haifa University 

2014, Promising Artists, Galilee Paint Art Fair 

2013, Pais Culture Council Support in Exhibition and Catalog 

2012, Excellency Award, Oranim College

 

SELECTED PRESS

2020, Artsy, Body Issues: Artists’ Maps of the Human Body Reveal Our Desire for Immortality

2018, Positive Magazine, Hungry For Home: Interview

2018, Islamic Arts Magazine, Hungry for Home by the Palestinian Artist Samah Shihadi