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Heba Al Akkad – Syrian Visual Artist
Art as Personal Memory and Visual Resistance
Born in Damascus in 1982, I have been residing in Sweden since 2013. I do not view art merely as a form of expression, but as a means to document experience, break silence, and survive memory and exile. My relationship with art began at the age of twelve, when I first learned the basics under the guidance of prominent Syrian artists such as Nashaat Al Zoghbi and Sabhan Adam, which provided me with foundational knowledge in classical techniques and tools. However, this was not enough to express the deep questions forming within me.
2022: Lighthouse Gallery, VELVET SOCIETY: Power and Glamour in 90s Damascus, London, UK.
2020: Eksjö Museum, Dreams, Intervals and Fragments with Eva Olsson, Eksjö, Sweden.
2022: Konsthall Blå Stället, Mirrors/Speglar with Bereeen Darwish, Gothenburg, Sweden.
2020: Eksjö Museum, Dreams, Intervals and Fragments with Eva Olsson, Eksjö, Sweden.
2023: HDK Valand Academy of Art, Open Up Festival, Gothenburg, Sweden.
2023: HDK Valand Academy of Art, Open Up Festival, Gothenburg, Sweden.
2018: Art Factory Gislaved, Konstrundan, Gislaved & Gnosjö, Sweden.
Residencie :2013 Alieh, Lebanon
2012: Al-Anda Art Gallery, Aram, Amman, Jordan.
2013: Tanet Gallery, Nothing Has Changed, Beirut, Lebanon.
2020: Moment Gallery, Life-force-anger with Eva Olsson, Ängelholm, Sweden.
2016: Skövde Museum The Other Side of the War, Skövde Sweden.
2022: Västerås Art Hall, Within Four Walls of Home with Eva Olsson, Västerås, Sweden.
2019: Sjöängens Art Hall, Two Cultures - One Meeting with Eva Olsson, Askersund, Sweden.
2011: Kazah Gallery, Love and War, Damascus, Syria.
2019: Ljungby Art Hall, Synonymi with Eva Olsson, Ljungby, Sweden.
2022: Konsthall Blå Stället, Mirrors/Speglar with Bereeen Darwish, Gothenburg, Sweden.
I studied at Adham Ismail Art Center in Damascus in 2001, then continued my education at the University of Arts, Department of Oil Painting, graduating in 2009. During my academic journey, I sought a space that went beyond traditional painting, and began exploring textiles, paper, wood, and metal not only as materials, but as tools laden with social and cultural significance. In 2011, I was awarded the Youth Prize for Visual Arts in Syria, sponsored by Petro-Canada, yet this prize soon felt like a small detail amidst the larger transformations disrupting my reality.
Between War, Exile, and the Body: Art as a Space for Survival.
Since relocating to Sweden, memory has become the central theme in my works. It is not just a longing for what was lost, but a visual dialogue between who I was, who I have become, and the two contrasting cultures. My works address exile, the relationship with the body, the impact of violence on individual identity, and patriarchal authority, using collage, acrylics, wallpaper, and textiles. I blend Syrian and Swedish cultural elements in an effort to create a visual bridge between memory and a new space.
Artistic Milestones Between Damascus and the World.
I have participated in numerous collective and solo exhibitions since 2004 in cities such as Beirut, Dubai, Cairo, Amman, London, Venice, Washington, and Sweden. I have held seven solo exhibitions, including:
"War or Love" – Damascus 2011 (Between violence and affection in repressive societies)
"Nothing Has Changed" – Beirut 2013 (On the illusion of survival after escape)
"The Other Side of War" – Sweden 2016 (The everyday memory of war)
I have also participated in art residencies in Lebanon and Jordan, and seven binary exhibitions in collaboration with Swedish artist Eva Olsson since 2017, where we explore the intersections of migration and visual identity.
In Collections and Museums: Where My Work Resides
My works have been acquired by museums and art collections, including:
The Modern Art Museum – Damascus
Skövde Museum – Sweden
Eksjö Museum – Sweden
In addition to private collections around the world, where my works have become part of larger narratives on war, memory, and exile.
Art as a Continuous Process: Education and Experimentation
Alongside my artistic practice, I work as a coach and educator in visual arts, where I develop interactive workshops to explore the relationship between art, identity, and the body. I do not view teaching as a process of imparting knowledge, but as a space for sharing questions and discovering new visual answers.
2018: ASL Exhibition, London, UK.
2020: Eksjö Museum, Dreams, Intervals and Fragments with Eva Olsson, Eksjö, Sweden.
2022: Västerås Art Hall, Within Four Walls of Home with Eva Olsson, Västerås, Sweden.
2019: Ljungby Art Hall, Synonymi with Eva Olsson, Ljungby, Sweden.
"Installation Work - A Journey in Expressing Identity and Revolution" 2006
I created this work during my third year at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus. The piece is a simple wooden box made of wooden columns with no edges, forming an open cube. Inside the cube, I printed a series of strong, transparent papers that reflect my personal identity. These papers include photos of me wearing the hijab, some after I removed it, and a picture of the cat I used to raise.
The work also includes messages from my younger brother and some of his drawings, as he loved to draw me. I added messages from my students, whom I used to teach drawing, as well as sand from the sea. I carved some phrases into the sand stuck to the papers, such as "Freedom", "Right", and "I love you", creating a dialogue between the texts and images, conveying a message of freedom and expression.
Other details of the work include suspending the papers with colorless threads, adding another layer of expression to the hanging papers. I placed the rectangular cube in front of a black-painted chair. As for my face, I made a plaster mask using plaster bandages, which solidified to create a mask of my face, becoming part of the artistic message I wanted to convey.
The core idea of this work was that the cube, containing personal details, speaks about me and reflects parts of my identity. By reading and interacting with the hanging papers and images, viewers can get to know me without needing to verbally describe who I am, what I like, or who my family is. This work was a form of my revolution against the imposition of religion and tradition in my patriarchal society, especially as a woman raised in an authoritarian environment, where I was forced to wear the hijab since I was seven years old.
This work was my first experience in installation art, marking the beginning of my journey in expressing identity, breaking free from social and cultural constraints, and also the internal revolution I fought to choose who I want to be, free from the impositions placed upon me.
This work is a bold step toward expressing myself without fear, an attempt to create an open dialogue with the world around me. Through it, I challenged the constraints imposed by society and the environment I grew up in, opening the door for communication with others through voices and symbols that carry personal and deep meanings. With every detail of this work, I insisted on removing the barriers between the self and the outside world, carving a path of optimism and faith in the possibility of change, and that every person has the right to express their identity openly and free from pressure or tradition. This work became a way for me to unleash my inner strength, a step toward the freedom that allows me to live honestly and authentically.
Title: ""Installation Work - A Journey in Expressing Identity and Revolution"
Medium Used: Wood chair, wooden holder, medical gauze, transparent printing paper, white cotton threads, black wood paint, sand, glue, and printed paper with images and text.
Dimensions: H 200 cm × W 120 cm × D 220 cm
Date: 2006
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