Samah Shihadi
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Biography
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 unearths 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 MFA 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 MFA The Art Department, Haifa University
2008-2012 B.Ed. Art & Education, Oranim CollegeSOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026, The Eye of the Future, Livingstone Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
2025, In Between, Kulturhaus Villa Strauli, Winterthur, Switzerland2024, Back to Berlin, Livingstone Gallery, The Hague, The Netherlands
2023-24, Berlin Diary, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
2023, MORE Museum, Netherlands2020, Terra (Un)firma, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2019, Spellbound; The way home, Wilfrid Israel Museum, Hazorea2018, Hungry for Home, Tabari Artspace, Dubai, UAE
2015, Machanaim, Machanaim Art Gallery,2015, Wanted, Umm el fahem Gallery, Umm el fahem
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026, As Necessary As Bread, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Schiedam, Netherlands
2026, Crossing Lines, Haifa Museum, Haifa
2026, The Lost Paintings, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, UK
2026, Under Our Feet, Drawing Centre Diepenheim, Diepenheim, Netherlands
2026, So Let Us Now Begin at the Beginning, Magazine III, Jaffa
2026, The Lost Paintings, P21 Gallery, London, UK
2026, The Lost Paintings, Unbound Visual Arts, Boston, USA
2025, The Lost Paintings, Article Gallery, Montreal, Canada
2025, All Directions, Fenix Museum, Rotterdam, Netherlands2024, Lucid Dreams, Jerusalem
2024, Fabric, Sweat, and Tears, Gordon–London House Municipal Art Gallery, Rishon LeZion
2024, Hold Everything Dear, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv2023, Palestinian Art Stands in Cultural Resistance, CAP Kuwait, Kuwait
2023, Ghost Trees, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Jerusalem
2023, Women Defining Women in Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond, LACMA, Los Angeles, USA2022, Roma Arte, Nuvola, Rome, Italy
2022, Volta Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
2022, Ecmnesia, Cosmo Gallery, Rome, Italy
2022, Food Weave, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv2021, Terra (Un)Firma: The Haifa Way, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa
2021, 1+1, Payramida Gallery, Haifa
2021, Breathing, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Jerusalem
2021, Inside/Out, CAP Kuwait, Kuwait2020, Abu Dhabi Art, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2020, Bodyscapes, Jerusalem2019, Objects of Imagination, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan
2019, Family Stories, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Bochum, Germany
2019, Beyond the Veil, Mémoire de l’Avenir Gallery, Paris, France
2019, Our Permanent Guardian, Yasser Arafat Museum, Ramallah
2019, Belonging, Dubai, UAE
2019, 1948, Haifa City Museum, Haifa
2019, Limitless, The Gallery at the Walled Off Hotel, Bethlehem2018, Khamsa, Islamic Museum, Jerusalem
2018, Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE
2018, House… Houses, The Gallery at the Walled Off Hotel, Bethlehem
2018, Motion Trap, Idris Gallery, Tel Aviv2017, A Sight of Disjunction, MANGM, Haifa
2017, A Sight of Disjunction, Beit Saa, Ramallah
2017, Hamsin, The Collaborative Art Centre, Givat Haviva
2017, Third Identity, CAP Kuwait, Kuwait2016, 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 of Contemporary Art, Herzliya
2016, Ticho House, Jerusalem
2016, Palestine: Format Actuel, MAC.A Expo 2, 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, Ramallah2015, 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), University of Haifa, Haifa
2015, Similarly: Palestinian Artists Exhibition, Herzl–Lilienblum Museum, Tel Aviv; Hecht Museum, Haifa2014, 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
2014, Paper Work, Mofet Institute, Tel Aviv2012, 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, TivonART FAIRS
2026, Art on Paper, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2024, Abu Dhabi Art, UAE
2024, Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE
2024, Art RotterdamAWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
2026, Residency, Al Maqam, Marrakech, Morocco
2025, Residency scholarship in Berlin, Livingstone Project Berlin2025, Residency Kulturhaus Villa Strauli, Winterthur, Switzerland
2023, Residency scholarship in Berlin, Livingstone Project Berlin
2022, Excellency Award, Association for Women's Art and Gender Research
2019, Contemporary Arab Ceramics Symposium, Amman, Jordan
2019, Fundação Arte e Cultura Symposium, Luanda, Angola
2018, CAB International Art Symposium, Amman, Jordan
2016, Symposium, MAC.A Expo 2, Asilah, Morocco2018, Haim Shiff Prize for Figurative- Realistic Art
2018, Pais Culture Council Support in Exhibition and Catalogue
2016, Ismail Shammout Award in Fine Art2015, 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 Catalogue
2012, Excellency Award, Oranim College
SELECTED PRESS
2025, The Studio of Samah Shihadi, GalleryViewer
2024, Tabari Artspace presents a powerful and feminine showcase of artists at Art Dubai, The National
2024, ELLE Arabia
2023, SWANA Women Artists Deserve Better, Hyperallergic
2023, Hyperrealistisch: Samah Shihadi in Museum MORE, Tableau Fine Arts Magazine
2023, De roots van Samah Shihadi, Jegens & Tevens
2021, Samah Shihadi and Michael Halak: Terra (Un)firma, Magpie
2021, Featured Guided Tours: Terra (Un)firma at Tabari Artspace, Selections Magazine
2021, 6 Amazing Art Exhibitions in Dubai to Check Out in February, What’s On Dubai
2021, Michael Halak and Samah Shihadi tell tales of their land through a hyperrealist lens, Stir World2020, 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
COLLECTIONS
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv
Dubi Shiff Collection, Tel Aviv
Ari and Anne Rosenblatt Collection, Los Angeles, USA
George Alama Collection, Bethlehem
Jaffar Dajani Collection, Amman, Jordan
Nora Al Kaabi Collection, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mark Oldham Collection, London, UK
Ali Kulghasi Collection, Amman, Jordan
FB Art Collection, Bolzano, Italy
Private collections in Palestine and abroad
Kinda Foundation For Contemporary Arab Art, KSALACMA Collection, Los Angeles, US
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Works
Landscape series -
Exhibitions
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Routes to Roots a Group Presentation at Abu Dhabi Art 2024
Sliman Mansour, Samah Shihadi, Michael Halak, Hazem Harb, Aya Haidar, Randa Maddah, Chafa Ghaddar and Tagreed Darghouth 20 - 24 November 2024Routes to Roots draws on James Clifford's concept that understanding one's cultural roots often requires embarking on new journeys or routes. This idea serves as the foundation for Tabari Artspace's...Explore -
Berlin Diary, Stedelijk Museum Vianen
Samah Shihadi 4 November 2023 - 18 February 2024Text by Laura Cherrie Beaney and Dr. Werner van den Belt An individual lodged between worlds, Samah Shihadi's art transcends boundaries, speaking from a multitude of places. As a Palestinian...Explore -
Samah Shihadi Solo, Roots, Museum MORE, Netherlands
Tabari Artspace 17 February - 3 September 2023Homesickness, or perhaps more a yearning for a lost home, is a significant theme in the burgeoning oeuvre of Samah Shihadi. She uses graphite and charcoal to paint subjects including...Explore -
Terra (Un)firma
Samah Shihadi and Michael Halak 11 February - 15 March 2021Exhibited at Tabari Artspace art gallery in Dubai, Terra (Un)firma was a dual exhibition of Palestinian hyperrealists, Samah Shihadi and Michael Halak.Explore -
Terra (Un)firma (Online)
Samah Shihadi 5 - 11 October 2020The body of work produced for Terra Un(firma) an online exhibition by Tabari Artspace art gallery was divided into two segments, The Living and The Land, which took the artist's personal narratives and feminist outlook as a starting point to explore issues faced by women, across cultures, in the contemporary moment.Explore -
Hungry for Home
Samah Shihadi with accompanying text by Rania Tabari Idliby 28 November 2018 - 8 January 2019Presented in Tabari Artspace Dubai art gallery, Hungry for Home is a collection of 18 compelling hyperrealist pencil and charcoal drawings that use traditional Palestinian food as a platform from which to explore deep-rooted cultural codes and memories.Explore
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