This adapted exhibit of Gaza Remains the Story, originally curated by the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, Palestine, features eight Gazan artists.
Their biographies were authored by Wafa Ghnaim who curated the Gaza Remains the Story exhibit at the Museum of the Palestinian People, Washington, D.C., April – Dec. 2025.  

Heba Zaqout (1984 – 2023; Gaza) An acrylic artist, Zaqout graduated from Gaza Training College in 2003 and Al-Aqsa University in 2007, specializing in graphic design and fine arts. A devoted public school teacher, she participated in numerous exhibitions and held a solo show in 2021 titled My Children in Quarantine. “My paintings are full of Palestinian houses, minarets, domes, and churches,” she once said, “to emphasize the Palestinian identity and Palestinian existence.” In October 2023, Zaqout was killed by Israel alongside her two sons. All of her paintings were destroyed in the same attack.

Laila Shawa (1940-2022; Gaza City) Laila Shawa was a pioneering Palestinian visual artist from Gaza City whose work boldly confronted the political realities of Palestine, with a focus on themes of identity, gender, occupation, and resistance. She studied fine arts in Cairo, Rome, and Salzburg, where she trained under Austrian expressionist Oskar Kokoschka, an influence that shaped her expressive and symbolically charged style. Shawa became internationally recognized for her multimedia works that blended traditional motifs with contemporary techniques, often incorporating photography, silkscreen, and installation. Her art has been exhibited widely across Europe, the Arab world, and the United States, and is part of major collections including the British Museum and the Barjeel Art Foundation. A trailblazer in the Arab art world, Shawa received numerous accolades throughout her life and remained a fierce artistic voice until her passing on October 24, 2022.

Raed Issa ( Born 1965; Al Bureij Camp, Gaza) Raed Issa is a contemporary Palestinian visual artist whose work explores themes of vulnerability, loss, and the grief of living under siege. He holds a diploma in Computer Science from Al-Aqsa University and is the founder of the Fine Art Program of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, as well as a founding member of Gaza’s first contemporary art collective, Eltiqa. His work has been exhibited widely in Palestine, Europe, Japan, the Arab world, Australia, and at Documenta fifteen. During both the 2014 and current wars on Gaza, Issa’s home and studio were destroyed; now displaced and living in a tent with his family, he continues to create and teach using materials like tea, hibiscus, and charcoal, transforming loss into acts of resistance and remembrance. Instagram: @raed.issa.art https://zawyeh.net/raed-issa/

Khaled Jarada (Born 1996; Gaza) Khaled Jarada is a Palestinian visual artist and children’s book illustrator whose work spans illustration, animation, video art, and performance. Rooted in expressionism, his art centers on figurative forms, the study of the human body, and its psychological states in response to contemporary social and political conditions. He has illustrated numerous children’s books—including Cane Talk and School Uniform—and participated in exhibitions and residencies across Palestine and Europe. Jarada has completed residencies at the A.M. Qattan Foundation, the Royal Spanish Academy in Rome, La Filleuse in Reims, and the Festival Ciné-Palestine in Paris. A member of the Agency of Artists in Exile since 2021, he continues to develop a multidisciplinary practice that reflects both intimate interior worlds and collective experiences of displacement. Instagram: @khaled.jarada https://khaledjarada.wordpress.com/

Shareef Sarhan (Born 1976; Gaza) Shareef Sarhan is a multidisciplinary Palestinian artist, photographer, and designer based in Gaza, whose work spans drawing, installation, digital photography, and video art. He began his formal training in fine arts at the YMCA in Gaza and later earned a diploma in arts from the University of ICS in the United States. Sarhan deepened his artistic practice through intensive workshops, including studies at the September Dara Academy of Jordanian Arts under the mentorship of Syrian-German artist Marwan Kassab Bashi, whose influence introduced him to modern art’s everyday relevance. Sarhan’s work has been widely exhibited in Palestine—in Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem—as well as internationally in Amman, Paris, London, the United States, Italy, the UAE, and Cairo. A founding member of the Windows from Gaza for Contemporary Art collective, Sarhan continues to explore themes of place, memory, and survival through conceptual and public art. Instagram: @shareef_sarhan

Bishar Sinwar ( Born 1942; Al Majdal) Sinwar is a Palestinian painter who fled from Al-Majdal to the southern part of Gaza during the Nakba in 1948. He earned a BA in Fine Arts with a focus on oil painting from Cairo in 1965 and spent over a decade teaching art in Gaza’s secondary schools. From 1977 to 2002, he worked in the UAE as Chief Painter at the Teachers Training Center and later at the Ministry of Education and Youth’s Center for Curriculum Development. A key figure in the region’s cultural scene, he helped establish the Emirates’ Fine Arts Society and led the Palestinian Artists’ Union branch in the UAE. Since retiring and returning to Gaza, he has devoted himself fully to his art, with works held in both private and public collections and featured in numerous local and international exhibitions.

Maisara Baroud (Born 1976; Gaza) Maisara Baroud is a Palestinian visual artist and university lecturer at the College of Fine Arts at Al-Aqsa University. He earned a BFA from Al-Najah National University in Nablus and an MFA from the College of Fine Arts in Zamalek, Cairo. Baroud has exhibited widely, participating in group shows across Palestine, the Arab world, Europe, North America, and Asia, and has held six solo exhibitions including Rubble, Salt Boats, and White Phosphorus for the Birth of Elia. His art practice is marked by a stark black-and-white aesthetic and explores themes of war, migration, political imprisonment, and survival, offering a deeply human portrayal of Palestinian suffering. Through expressive technique and emotional intensity, Baroud’s work navigates the tension between grief and hope, violence and freedom. Instagram: @maisarart https://zawyeh.net/maisara-baroud/

Ruqayya Al-Lulu (Born 1975; Gaza) Ruqayya Al-Lulu earned a BA in Painting from An-Najah National University and an MA from Helwan University in Cairo. An educator and founding contributor to arts programs in Gaza, she has taught in public schools and universities. Her paintings show a clear expressionist influence: marked by bold colors and textured brushwork. She draws from contemporary Palestinian life, portraying everything from still lifes, portraits, and flowers, to scenes of resistance. Al-Lulu has exhibited in Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan, and is a member of both the Eltiqa and Shababek Contemporary Art groups in Gaza.