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Laila Al Shawa

Palestine • 1940 - 2022

Biography

Laila Shawa (4 April 1940–24 October 2022), was a Palestinian visual artist whose work has been described as a personal reflection concerning the politics of her country, particularly highlighting perceived injustices and persecution. She was one of the most prominent and prolific artists of the Arabic revolutionary contemporary art scene.

As a Palestinian living in the Gaza Strip for her formative years and the daughter of Rashad Al Shawa, activist and mayor of Gaza City, Shawa's revolutionary mindset was inculcated at a young age. Often her artwork, which included paintings, sculptures, and installations, worked with photographs that served as the base for silkscreen printing Her work has been internationally exhibited and is displayed in many public (e.g. The British Museum) and private collections.

Early Life

Laila Shawa was born on 4 April 1940 in Gaza, Mandatory Palestine, eight years prior to the 1948 Nakhba. Shawa was well educated; she attended boarding school at the Leonardo da Vinci Art Institute in Cairo from 1957 to 1958, then went to the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma in Rome from 1958 to 1964, while also studying during the summers at the School of Seeing in Salzburg, Austria.

In 1965, after finishing her schooling, Shawa returned to Gaza and directed arts and crafts classes in several refugee camp She then continued to teach an art class for a year with UNESCO's education program. She then moved to Beirut, Lebanon in 1967 for a total of nine years and was a full-time painter. After the Lebanese Civil War began, she returned to Gaza and with assistance from both her father and husband, Shawa founded the Rashad Shawa Cultural Centre. Unfortunately, the centre is not currently being used for what it was intended, as a cultural connection to Gaza through exhibitions and galas.

Nationality

Palestinians artists