In 2014, 14-year-old Malak Mattar witnessed the killing of her neighbor, someone she cared about, during the 52-day military assault on Gaza. She couldn’t articulate her need to process the trauma, so she opened her box of watercolors and started painting. Malak depicted unforgettable scenes of war and self-portraits that revealed the psychological impact on her 14-year-old psyche. Malak grew up in an artistic household where art was celebrated. Her uncle, an artist and professor of art, encouraged her early experimentation with different media like acrylics, oil, ceramics, photography and gouache. Growing up in a besieged city, Malak relied on the internet to learn about other artists. In 2015, she created over 300 art pieces, and held her first solo exhibition at an art venue in Gaza called 28.

Malak says that the underrepresentation of female artists and stereotyping has opened her eyes to gender inequality and inspired her to reframe women in art by painting them in society, through their daily lives and unjust deaths. Her themes have expanded to encompass social justice, liberation, and identity. Since her successful solo exhibition, she has received invitations to show her work at museums, galleries, and universities around the world. Malak recently produced a semi-autobiographical children’s book, Sitti’s Bird, published by Interlink Publishing.