Heba Al Akkad

 In a Few Words

Born in: Damascus, Syria (1981)

Lives In: Gislaved, Sweden

Background: An artist and educator, Heba Al Akkad equally enjoys creating joyous art and teaching young artists how to do so as well.

Style & Media: Heba’s style is best described as contemporary cubism with a dominant collage mindset.

Themes: Moments of intimacy and self-reflection.

In a Few More Words

Heba Al Akkad was born in Syria in 1981. She started studying art at the age of 12 by frequenting several art workshops around Damascus. She went on to formalize her education by attending the prestigious Adham Islamil Centre for Visual Arts in Damascus for three years. Between 2004 and 2008, she taught art to elementary school students. In 2009, she obtained her diploma from the Faculty of Fine Art at the University of Damascus.

Al Akkad’s style is heavily influenced by her formative decade, the 1990s. Heba has experimented with several media over the years, including photography, sculpting and painting. Her signature style is akin to a modern-day form of cubism depicting moments of intimacy between lovers, friends and family. In more recent years, collages have been a dominant format for Heba’s art.

Heba Al Akkad’s career has been adorned with accolades since her early years. She won first place in the 2010 edition of the Young Artists Awards, a joint initiative between Petro Canada and the Ministry of Culture. Al Akkad has also been recognized internationally through numerous opportunities to participate in international group exhibitions. These included art fairs in Armenia and Turkey’s signature art fairs (2018 and 2016, respectively), as well as Italy’s famed Venice Bienalli (as part of the Syrian pavilion in 2015). Heba relocated to Sweden after the civil war ravaged Syria. She continues to create art and hosts art workshops for aspiring painters, sculptors and photographers. 

Key Exhibitions

Aram, Dar Al-Anda Art Gallery, Amman, Jordan (2012)
Gallery Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon (2013)
Solo Gallery, Gislaved, Sweden (2017)

ASL, London, UK (2018)
Mozaik, Gut Altenkamps Museum, Papenburg, Germany (2017)