The Artists

Dina Matar was born in Gaza to parents who are originally from Al-Jura village, depopulated in 1948. She holds a BA in Art Education from al-Aqsa University (2007) and has been actively engaged in Gaza’s art scene as a member at the Gaza Contemporary Art collective Eltiqa. She participated in the Cité internationale des arts in Paris in 2012, and has exhibited widely across Arab and European countries.

Dina, left her home with her husband, artist Mohammed Al-Hawajri, and their children three days after the war began, and sought refuge in Nuseirat. They survived intensive night shelling in December 2023 and fled to Rafah border. There, they endured the winter months under extremely difficult conditions, without electricity, gas, or clean water, with wet ground beneath them. Dina and her husband also survived a drone bombing. But, when they learned that their home had been bombed and that the war was expanding, they made the difficult decision to leave Gaza to protect their children. After considerable difficulties, they managed to leave Rafah in April 2024 for Cairo, Egypt. Then, it took six months for Dina to reunite with her family in UAE.

Today, living in Sharjah, Dina continues her artistic practice as a way of reclaiming, celebrating, and sharing Palestinian cultural heritage.

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Guardian of the Homeland, acrylic on canvas, 2025, 120 x 120 cm

Family in the Orchard, acrylic on canvas, 2025, 120 x 180 cm

Hebron Pottery, acrylic on canvas, 2025, 100 x 100 cm

Dina’s practice is rooted in Palestinian heritage, particularly traditional embroidery, folklore, and landscape. Inspired by the ornamentation and abstraction of Islamic art, her work reflects her family’s connection to both the sea, through her parents’ fishing and ship-building tradition, and the land, through her in-law’ agricultural roots. She explains: “In my work, heritage is not a nostalgic reproduction of the past, but a living and evolving presence. By reinterpreting traditional symbols through contemporary practice, I create a dialogue between past and present, preserving the spirit of Palestinian heritage through a renewed visual language.”

@dinamattarart