Tamam Al Akhal was born in Jaffa in 1935. In 1948 she was forced to leave her birthplace and take refugee in Beirut, Lebanon.

In 1953 she enrolled at the Fine Arts College in Cairo. She is one of the first Palestinian women to be formally trained in the arts. In 1954 she took part in the exhibition of her colleague Ismail Shammout who she married in 1959.

She has exhibited widely with her husband in Cairo and various countries. Al-Akhal’s work deals mainly with the plight of the Palestinians, especially with themes concerning the Nakba. In visual form, her work uses a method similar to that used by the Mexican muralists, where scenes and symbols are combined to creative a narrative. Al-Akhal uses mainly oil paints, and her most famous works are those picturing the house she had to abandon In Jaffa in 1948. She is a member of the General Union of Palestinian Artists and of the General Union of Arab Artists.

 When art speaks – tribute to Tamam Al Akhal

Sources:

– tamamalakhal.com

-http://sakakini.org

Further readings:

– Jordanian exhibition honours pioneering women artists

http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/entertainment/2010/03/25/feature-03