top of page
Rania Matar
Rania Matar was born and raised in Lebanon and moved to the U.S. in 1984.
Originally trained as an architect at the American University of Beirut and Cornell University, she studied photography at the New England School of Photography and the Maine Photographic Workshops in Mexico.
She teaches photography at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and in refugee camps in Lebanon.
Matar has won numerous awards, including the 2011 Legacy Award at the Griffin Museum of
 Zarha, Beirut, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 71 x 107 cm, 2010 |  Christilla, Rabieh, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 5/7, 71 x 107 cm, 2010 |
|---|---|
 Reem and Rania, Bethlehem West Bank, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 71 x 107 cm, 2009 |  Stephanie, Beirut, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 3/7, 71 x 107 cm 2010 |
 Jessica, Rabieh, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 71 x 107 cm 2010 |  Reem, Doha Heights Lebanon, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 71 x 107 cm 2010 |
 Nohad, Bourj El Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 71 x 107 cm , 2010 |  Lubna, Beirut, Girl In Her Room, Archival Pigment Prints on acid-free Baryta Paper, Edition 1/7, 71 x 107 cm 2010 |
 Bisan, Bethlehem West Bank, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 71 x 107 cm, 2009 |  Maryam, Bourj El Shamali Refugee Camp, Tyre Leb., Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 71 x 107 cm, 2009 |
 Elham, Shatila Refugee Camp, Beirut, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 3/7, 71 x 107 cm, 2009 |  Hiba, Shatila Refugee Camp, Beirut, Girl In Her Room, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 71 x 107 cm, 2010 |
 Clara 8, Beirut, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2012 |  Alia 9, Bourj El Barajneh Camp, Beirut, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2011 |
 Salma 9, Beirut, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2012 |  Maryam 10, Beirut, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2011 |
 Samira 12, Bourj El Barajneh Refugee Camp, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2011 |  Maryam and Yasmine 10, Beirut, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2012 |
 Christina 10, Beirut, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2012 |  Marguerita 10, Naccache Lebanon, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2011 |
 Fatima 13, Beirut, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2011 |  Dania 9, Bourj El Barajneh Camp, Beirut, L’Enfant-Femme, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 72 x 91 cm, 2011 |
 Defiant, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2006 |  Sisters, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2007 |
 Covering up, Bourj El Barajneh Camp, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2005 |  Women's Rally, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2008 |
 Palm Sunday, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2008 |  Boy in Mirror, Jaffa, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2009 |
 Doll and Veil, Shatila Refugee Camp, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2005 |  Three Nuns, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2008 |
 Covered in the Heat, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2005 |  Courtship by the Sea, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2005 |
 Juggling, Aita Al Chaab, Lebanon, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2006 |  Girl and Rocket Hole, Aita El Chaab, Lebanon, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 4/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2006 |
 Newspapers, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2007 |  Nuns Having Coffee on the Terrace, Shekka, Lebanon, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2008 |
 Girls in the Alley, El Azzeh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2009 |  Open Window, Bourj El Shamali Camp, Tyre Leb., Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 3/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2005 |
 Hanging Laundry, Aita El Chaab, Lebanon, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 4/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2006 |  Girl, Laundry and The Wall, Jerusalem, West Bank, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2009 |
 Broken Mirror, Shatila Refugee Camp, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2005 |  Ipod, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2007 |
 Barbie Girl, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 11/15, 61 x 91 cm, 2006 |  Fully Covered, Amercian University of Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2007 |
 Passage from Koran, Shatila Camp, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 3/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2005 |  Nun with Blowing Veil, Shekka Lebanon, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 2/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2008 |
 Broken Glass, Aita El Chaab, Lebanon, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 24x36 in, 2006 |  The Dead Mother, Bourj El Barajneh Camp, Beirut, Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2005 |
 Girl in the Light, Bourj El Shamali Camp, Tyre Leb., Ordinary Lives, Archival pigment prints on acid-free Baryta paper, Edition 1/7, 61 x 91 cm, 2005 |
Photography, 2007 and 2011 Massachusetts Cultural Council artist fellowship, first place at the New England Photographer Biennial, Women in Photography International, and the Prix de la Photographie Paris.
She has accumulated honorable mentions at the 2010 UNICEF Picture of the Year Award, the 2010 Lens Culture Exposure International, the Silver Eye Center for Photography Fellowship, CENTER and the Photo Review.
She was selected at one of the Top 100 Distinguished Women Photographers by Women in Photography, and was finalist for the distinguished Foster Award at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.
Her images are in the permanent collections of several museums worldwide.
A Girl and Her Room, chosen as a top fifty winner in Critical Mass, is Matar’s second book published by Umbrage Editions with essays by Anne Tucker and Susan Minot.
Her first book, Ordinary Lives, was published in 2009 by the Quantuck Lane Press with an essay by Anthony Shadid.
bottom of page