Malak Mattar

Malak Mattar (; born 17 December 1999) is a Palestinian painter, illustrator, and author of children's books. She is from Gaza.

Early life and education Mattar was raised in Gaza City. Her father's family is from Ashkelon, and he is a former member of the Palestinian foreign service; her mother is from al-Batani al-Sharqi and works as a UNRWA English teacher. Mattar attended UNRWA schools until ninth grade. She attended university at Istanbul Aydin University in Turkey, where she studied political science and international relations.

Art work Mattar began painting in 2014, during the 2014 Gaza War, as a way to express her emotions and work through her trauma. One of her paintings at the exhibition was the portrait of Yusra Al Barbari, a Palestinian activist.

In January 2024, Mattar began work on a more than two-meter-tall painting entitled "Last Breath," (later renamed "No Words") which she competed the following month. The painting has drawn comparisons to Picasso's Guernica.

In May 2024, another exhibition of Mattar's work, "Screams", opened in Scotland. The exhibit featured more than 100 new pieces which Mattar had created in response to the Gaza war.

In September 2025, Mattar was the artistic director for the Together for Palestine fundraiser concert curated by Brian Eno at Wembley Stadium that raised at least £1.5m.

Style Mattar has said she tries to focus on bright colors and positive subject matter - like hope and peace - in her work. She has also cited Frida Kahlo as an inspiration.

Mattar tends to depict women in her work. She has attributed this to the sex-segregated nature of Gazan society, and the strong presence of her mother and grandmothers in her life. Some of her figures have halos, which were inspired by a trip Mattar took to Roman Catholic Holy Family Church in Gaza and are a way of imbuing the figures with "spiritual strength and power".

Mattar is also been drawn to painting birds, as symbols of freedom and, when caged, of imprisonment. The dove in particular is a common symbol in her paintings. Other Palestinian symbols in Mattar's work include oranges, olives, and pomegranates.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023, Mattar has worked primarily in white, black, and grays, depicting images of destruction and death in the Gaza Strip.