Nidaa Badwan (born 17 April 1987) is a

Palestinian art Palestinian art is a term used to refer to artwork either originating from historic Palestine, as well as paintings, posters, installation art, costumes, and handcrafts produced by Palestinian artists in modern and contemporary times. Simi ...

ist who was born in the United Arab Emirates. She moved to

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

when she was in sixth grade, and spent a year working in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

after completing her fine arts degree at a Palestinian university.

Career

Badwan is an artist known for her work ''100 Days of Solitude'', for which she spent an extended period of time creating a beautiful space in her room where she could isolate herself and escape from reality of Gaza. She says living in a city where she "lost basic rights as a human being" inspired her to "create an alternative world" in her room. This project is composed of 25 photographic self-portraits taken in that room since ''13 November 2013'' that portray her during her twenty months of self-imposed exile, started after she was abused by members of

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

in Gaza. She is a graduate of the Fine Arts School of Gaza's Al Aqsa University. Her story, reported in an interview with the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, has made her known internationally, cited by many other newspapers, magazines and television from all over the world (such as

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

France24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...

and

Sky Arte Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8 (Italy), TV8, Cielo (TV channel), Cielo, and Sky TG24 ...

). After the years of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, she moved to the

Republic of San Marino A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although a ...

, where she also worked as a university professor at the ''University of Design'' ''of the

''. Now, the artist lives in Italy. Her exhibitions have toured and are touring the world: after the first in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, numerous exhibitions in Italy,

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

, Denmark, Germany, US, Spain, United Arab Emirates. In 2016, she was selected for ''The 2016 Sovereign Middle East & North Africa Art Prize Finalists'', a prize for the ''30 best artists in the Arab world''. In 2017, she was a speaker at the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

conference held in

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

(

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

). Also in 2017, the municipality of '' Monte Grimano Terme'', Italy, granted Nidaa with a space for herself right in the historical center of this little town, which is inserted in the club "''Most Beautiful Villages in Italy''". This place will be her "new room". The inauguration took place in the presence of numerous authorities, including the ''Consul of Palestine'' in Italy.

Notes

External links

* Official web site: ''www.nidaabadwan.art'
Gallery
via the HuffingtonPost {{DEFAULTSORT:Badwan, Nidaa 1987 births Living people Al-Aqsa University alumni 21st-century Palestinian women artists Emirati women artists Artists from the Gaza Strip Photographers from the Gaza Strip 21st-century Palestinian photographers Palestinian women photographers