Nabil Anani (b. 1943, Latroun, Palestine) is a key founder of the contemporary Palestinian art movement. Anani studied Fine Art at Alexandria University, Egypt, in 1969. he held his first exhibition in Jerusalem in 1972 and has since exhibited widely in solo and group shows in Europe, North America, the Middle East, North Africa, and Japan. As a multidisciplinary artist, Anani works as painter, ceramicist, and sculptor. He pioneered the use of local media such as leather, henna, natural dyes, papier-mâché, wood, beads, copper, and other materials. Anani is also the co-author of a number of books on Palestinian arts and folklore. He was also the head of the League of Palestinian Artists and played a vital role in establishing the first International Academy of Fine Art in Palestine.
Solo exhibitions include The Land and I, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2023); In Pursuit Of Utopia, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2021); Art of Memory: Life before 1948, Zawyeh Art Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2014); Spirits of the Land, Art on 56th Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon (2013); Land and People, Open House, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2012); A State of Mysticism, El Sawy Culture Wheel, Cairo, Egypt (2009); A State of Mysticism, Khalil Al-Sakakini Cultural Centre, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2008); A Journey into Script, Foyles Gallery, London, UK (2007); Ink on Paper, Khalil Al-Sakakini Cultural Centre, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2007); Border Rituals, Peace Center, Bethlehem, Occupied Palestine (2005); Khalil Al-Sakakini Cultural Center, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2003); People and Chairs, Khalil Al-Sakakini Cultural Center, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2001); Inspiration from Palestinian folklore, Hakawati Theater, Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine (1998); Leather Compositions, Al-Wasiti Art Centre, Jerusalem and Arts and Crafts Village, Gaza City, Occupied Palestine (1998); Inspiration from the first Intifada, Khalil Al-Sakakini Cultural Center, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (1998); Al-Wasiti Art Center, Jerusalem. Moved in the same year to Arts and Crafts Village, Gaza City, Occupied Palestine (1985); Acrylic Works Inspired by Palestinian Folklore, Hakawati Theater, Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine (1985); Paintings and Ceramics, Gallery 79, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (1980); Orthodox Club Hall, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (1974); Oil Paintings Collection, Y.W.C.A, Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine (1972).
Selected Group Exhibitions include The Bunker Artspace: Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody, The Bunker Artspace, West Palm Beach, USA (2023), Entangled Existence, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2022); Ramallah Art Fair, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2021); Palestinian Art: Resilience and Inspiration, Zawyeh Gallery, at Alserkal Avenue, Warehouse #44, Alqouz, Dubai, UAE (2020); KEYWORD PALESTINE: II, Middle East Institute, Washington DC, USA (2020); Challenges of Identity, Dar El Nimr, Beirut, Lebanon (2019); Intimate Terrains: Representations of a Disappearing Landscape, The Palestinian Museum, Birzeit, Occupied Palestine (2019); Jerusalem: 51 Years of Occupation, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2018); Subcontracted Nations,A. M. Qattan Foundation, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2018); There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Darat Al Funun, Amman, Jordan (2018); Jerusalem Lives, Inaugural exhibition of the Palestinian Museum, the Palestinian Museum Birzeit, Palestine (2017); A Sight of Disjunction, organised by A. M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF), Manjam – Haifa Culture Lab, Haifa, Occupied Palestine (2017); Our Homeland is Our Homeland, Yaser Arafat Museum, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2016); Rendezvous, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2016); Masters of Palestinian Art, season I, International Art Colony, Budapest, Hungary (2016);Unlike other springs, Birzeit University museum, Birzeit, Occupied Palestine (2016); The Identity of the Palestinian Artist: Between Tradition, Culture, Modernization and Globalization, Umm El Fahem Gallery, Occupied Palestine (2016); Winter Collective, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2016); Narratives, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2015); In Memory, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2014); Colors of life, Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2014); The Spring Group Exhibition, Gallery One, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine (2014); Art Palestine: Nabil Anani, Sliman Mansour, Tayseer Barakat, Meem Gallery, Dubai, UAE (2011); Framed – Unframed, The Changing Representation of Women in Palestinian Visual Arts, Ethnographic & Art Museum, Birzeit Museum, Birzeit University, Occupied Palestine (2011): Passport IN REMEMBERANCE OF MAHMOUD DARWISH, BY 27 PALESTINIAN ARTISTS, Darart el Funun, Amman, Jordan (2009).
Highlights and Collections
Nabil Anani was awarded the prize of the A. M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF), the New Vision Collective, Ramallah, in Occupied Palestine in 2018. He was awarded with the first Palestinian National Prize for Visual Art in 1997 by Yasser Arafat. Furthermore, Anani has been awarded the prestigious King Abdallah II Arab World Prize for Fine Art in 2006.
Nabil Anani was commissioned for Building Memorials in Palestine such as the Sculptures of a Palestinian famil in Rawabi city, North of Ramallah, in Palestine in 2013; Statue of Liberty, in Ramallah, Palestine in 2002; A Metal memorial statue, Kaukab Abu al-Hija park, Galilee in 1993; Mural, Faculty of Educational Sciences and the College of Women's Society, in Ramallah, Palestine in 1987 and a Statue of aluminium, in collaboration with Suleiman Mansour, Ina’sh Ak Usra Family Association building, in Ramallah, Palestine in 1986.
Nabil Anani’s work can be found in international private and public collections, which include The Birzeit University collection, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine; The Palestinian Museum, Birzeit, Occupied Palestine; Um Al Fahem Museum, Um Al Fahem, Occupied Palestine; The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan: Darat Al Funun, Amman, Jordan; The Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art: Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon; The Dar El Nimr Collection, Beirut, Lebanon; The Guggenheim, Abu Dhabi, UAE; The Salama: Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, Abu Dhabi, UAE; The Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, Abu Dhabi, UAE; The Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France; The Agha Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada; The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman, Jordan; Guggenheim, New York, USA; The Bunker Artspace, Palm Beach, USA; Tate Modern, London, UK; The Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharja, UAE, Bunker Artspace Museum (USA).