Rana Samara (born 1985) is a Palestinian painter. Her work explores societal expectations and taboos regarding Palestinian women's sexuality and gender roles. [1]
Samara was born in Jerusalem. [1] She grew up in a "typical Palestinian family". [2] At one point in her childhood, her family's home was stormed by Israeli soldiers while she was playing Super Mario, a memory which later inspired pieces of her art. [2] As a teenager, she began analyzing social expectations as they related to gender. [2]
Samara's father encouraged her to study finance, but after one semester she changed her major to art. [3] She completed a two-year degree at Palestine Technical College in graphic design. [4] She then went on to study contemporary visual arts at International Academy of Art Palestine. [3] [5] She later obtained a master's degree in Fine Art from Northwestern University in Illinois. [3]
Samara's work often focuses on places and objects, particularly indoor rooms, rather than human figures. [6] [2] She has said she wants to move away from common Palestinian artistic motifs, like olive trees, and to instead portray everyday interior life as a way to "make the private public". [2] She is inspired by "intimate stories and female wisdom". [2] Her painting style has been compared to Henri Matisse and David Hockney. [2]
Samara is represented by Zawyeh Gallery in Ramallah. [2] In 2016, she had her first solo exhibition, Intimate Spaces, at the gallery. [5] The exhibition was based on a year of research in Al-Am'ari refugee camp and West Bank villages, during which she interviewed women residents about their sex lives and experiences with intimacy. [5] [3] The exhibition was later shown at Art Dubai in 2017. [3] [7]
In 2019, Samara exhibited her series "War Games" at Art Dubai. [2] The paintings were born out of an 18-month research project based in Jerusalem and Jordan, and focused on the dreams of children and refugees impacted by war. [2] They were inspired by Samara's interaction with a young boy in Jerusalem whose home had been destroyed. [2]
In June 2021, Samara's pieces were included in Zawyeh Gallery's permanent group exhibition. [8]
In June 2022, Samara exhibited in Zawyeh Gallery's Dubai gallery; her 40 piece exhibition, Inner Sanctuary, focused on "the artist’s conception of her own intimate space from an emotional perspective". [1] [6] [9] [4]
During the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, Samara worked with Zawyeh Gallery to raise money to support humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip. [10] She created pieces inspired by images of the war, specifically looking at what children carried with them as they evacuated their homes. [10]
Samara lives in Ramallah, in the West Bank. [11] [10] She has three children, [11] and is estranged from her ex-husband. [3]