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
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
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, 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