Nada Rajab

Nada Rajab is a 22-year-old student and artist. She was studying engineering at the University College of Applied Sciences before her life changed.

“I use my talents in drawing and writing to express my feelings and escape the thoughts of war and destruction around me. I have lived in Gaza City my entire life—a small homeland that accommodates us all. Despite its high population density, there is space for everyone.”

Amidst much displacement and hardships, Nada has been a prolific artist in this time.

Nada is also the sister of Shahd Rajab, another artist her age.

Recently, Nada started an Art From Under The Rubble initiative. She wrote about it:

“How did I transform pain into art and rubble into a message within the Gaza Strip? 🪄

In the heart of a city that has taken on a permanent shade of grey after two years of genocide, I made the decision to recreate color from the rubble to revive our emotions, our identity, and our city.

I began implementing a series of artistic activities under the “Art from Rubble” project, supported by

"The Hands Up Project" . Our work spans various forms of art including painting on cardboard boxes originally collected for firewood, sculpting and modeling with clay extracted from deep craters left by Israeli airstrikes during the latest war, and shaping figures directly from the rubble itself.

Our activities also include performing arts such as theatre, as well as creative writing and storytelling, which add a valuable educational dimension. Together with my talented students, we bring life back to destroyed spaces.

Now, amid the destruction, I continue to work turning pain into art, and rubble into a message within the walls of Gaza.”