Sara Shamma

Shamma, was born in Damascus, Syria (1975) to a Syrian father and Lebanese mother. She graduated from the Painting Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus in 1998. She moved to London in 2016[3] where she currently lives and works, under the auspices of an Exceptional Talent Visa. Shamma has taught at the Adham Ismail Fine Arts Institute in Damascus (1997–2000).[4]

Shamma was selected as one of the prize winners for the 2004 BP Portrait Award.[5] She was subsequently invited to participate in a number of solo and group exhibitions around the world, including Q at the Royal College of Art, 2013, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters' Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in 2013,[6] and NordArt[7] in Büdelsdorf, Germany in 2012. In 2010 she was selected as the 'Celebrity Partner' artist to the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP).[8]

Self-portrait – Sara Shamma (2018). Oil on canvas. 200×250 cm

• 2019 – Sara Shamma: Modern Slavery, Bush House, The Strand, King's College London, London
• 2017 – London, Art Sawa Gallery, Dubai, UAE[9][10]
• 2015 – World Civil War Portraits, The Old Truman Brewery, London[11][12][13][14][15]
• 2014 – Diaspora, Art Sawa Gallery, Dubai[16][17][18]
• 2013 – Q, Royal College of Art, London[19][20]
• 2011 – Birth, Art House, Damascus
• 2009 – Love, 360 MALL, Kuwait
• 2008 – Sara Shamma Finishing Touch, Knowledge Village, Dubai
• 2008 – Sara 1978, Art House, Damascus
• 2007 – Music, Cornish Club Event Gallery, Kuwait
• 2004 – Sara Shamma, Kalemaat Art Gallery, Aleppo and Kuwait
• 2002 – Sara Shamma, Nassir Choura Art Gallery, Damascus
• 2001 – Sara Shamma, Shell Cultural Club, Damascus
• 1999 – Sara Shamma, French Cultural Center, Damascus

Woman in smoke – Sara Shamma (2014). Oil on canvas. 200×250 cm

• 2019 – The Ruth Borchard Self-portrait Prize, Piano Nobile, King's Place, London
• 2019 – Multi-colour, 9 Cork Street, London[21]
• 2018 – The Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
• 2018 – New collective show, Mark Hachem Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
• 2015 – Guest artist, 33rd Emirates Fine Arts Society Annual Exhibition, Sharjah Art Museum
• 2013 – The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, The Mall Galleries, London
• 2013 – Florence Biennale, Florence
• 2012 – Nord Art 2012 organised by KiC – Kunst in der Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf
• 2010 – Art Prize 2010, Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• 2010 – Nord Art 2010 organized by KiC – Kunst in der Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf
• 2010 – Contemporary Art from the Middle East, Ayyam Gallery, Dubai
• 2008/9 – Damas-Paris, Regards Croisés, The Arab World Institute, Paris and National Museum, Damascus
• 2008 – UAE Through Arabian Eyes, International Financial Centre, Dubai
• 2008 – Syrian Artists, Souq Wakef Art Center, Doha
• 2008 – The Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, South Australian Museum, Adelaide and the National Archives of Australia, Canberra
• 2007 – Panorama of Syrian Arts, Catzen Arts Centre at The American University, Washington D.C.
• 2006 – Syrian Artists, Syrian Cultural Centre, Paris
• 2005-06 – International Painting Prize of the Castellon County Council, ESPAId, Castellon and the Municipal Arts Centre of Alcorcon, Madrid
• 2005 – Women and Arts, International Vision, Expo Sharjah, Sharjah
• 2004/5 BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London; Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter; Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen; Royal West of England Academy, Bristol; Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth
• 2004 – Syrian Artists, National Library, Madrid
• 2003 – Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Montreal
• 2002 – Syrian Artists, Gallery Amber, Leiden and Enschede, The Netherlands
• 2002 – International Artists, Gallery M-Art, Vienna
• 2002 – Mediterranean Biennial, Kheir El Din Palace, Tunis
• 2001 – Two Syrian Artists, Coventry Museum, Coventry
• 2001 – Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah
• 2001 – Cairo Biennial, Cairo

• British Council
• National Museum, Damascus
• Ministry of Culture, Damascus
• Spanish Cultural Center, Damascus

Alien – Sara Shamma (2016). Oil on canvas. 120×100 cm

• 2019 – Artist-in-residence with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London[22]
• 2019 – Shortlisted Asian Women of Achievement Awards,[23] London
• 2019 – Shortlisted Ruth Borchard Self-portrait Prize,[24] London
• 2013 – 4th prize and Special Mention, Florence Biennale[25]
• 2010 – Shortlisted NordArt Prize, the Annual International Exhibition, Kunst in der Carlshütte,[26] Büdelsdorf, Germany
• 2010 – United Nations Food programmes Celebrity Partner
• 2009 – Second Prize in Painting of the Art/Literary Competition, Sculptural Pursuit magazine,[27] United States
• 2008 – 1st prize Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize,[28] South Australian Museum, Adelaide, Australia
• 2006 – Fine Arts Syndicate Award, Damascus
• 2006 – Member of the jury for the Annual Exhibition for Syrian Artists, Damascus
• 2005 – Shortlisted for the International Painting Prize of the Castellon County Council,[29] Castellon, Spain
• 2004: Fourth Prize at the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery,[30] London, UK
• 2002 – Represented Syria in the Mediterranean Biennial, Kheir El Din Palace, Tunis
• 2001 – 1st prize (Golden Medal) in Latakia Biennial, Syria[25]
• 2000 – 2nd prize Spanish Cultural Center Art Competition, Damascus
• 2000 – 2nd prize British Council Art Competition, Damascus
• 1998 – 2nd prize Youth Exhibition, Damascus

Hidden in plain sight – Sara Shamma (2019). Oil and acrylic on canvas. 255×150 cm

• Sara Shamma 2000-05, Damascus, 2005
• Sara Shamma 2005-07, Damascus, 2007
• Sara Shamma Music, Kuwait, 2007
• Sara Shamma, Damascus, 2008
• Sara Shamma Love, Kuwait, 2009
• Sara Shamma 2009-10, Damascus, 2011
• Sara Shamma Q by Jessica Lack, Royal College of Art, London, 2013
• Diaspora Sara Shamma by Edward Lucie-Smith, Art Sawa Gallery, Dubai, 2014
• Sara Shamma by Edward Lucie-Smith and Sacha Craddock, London, 2014
• World Civil War Portraits: Sara Shamma by Sacha Craddock, Old Truman Brewery, London, 2015
• London Sara Shamma by Charlotte Mullins, Art Sawa Gallery, London, 2017
• London Sara Shamma by Charlotte Mullins, London, 2018
• Sara Shamma: Modern Slavery by Kathleen Soriano and Dr Sian Oram, King's College London, London, 2019

• Sara Shamma official website
• King's College artist in residence
• BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London
• Mark Hachem Gallery
• Ruth Borchard Collection
• The Jalanbo Collection
• Sara Shamma's interview with Forward Magazine
• Sara Shamma WFP Celebrity Partner
• Bait al Qasid with Zahi Wehbe, Al Mayadeen TV, Beirut, Lebanon, 10 February 2019
• Artist's works show agony of war in Syria, CNN, February 2016
• Syrian artist, Sara Shamma, fled the war with her family to start a new life in Lebanon, Rome report TV, Rome, Italy, 28 August 2016
• Exiled Syrian artist paints portraits of a brutal war, Zain Asher, CNN, 12 May 2015
• Syrian artist exhibits 'World Civil War Portraits', Today programme, BBC radio 4, 13 May 2015
• Conflict of interest, the Monocle Weekly, Monocle 24, 17 May 2015
• The Syrian tragedy in Sara Shamma's paintings, Al Jazeera (Arabic), 17 May 2015
• Syrian painter ”war changed my art”, Outlook podcast, BBC, London, December, 2014
• Episode at Al Aan TV, 2011