artist biography

Born and raised in Lebanon, Rania Matar moved to the U.S. in 1984. Originally trained as an architect at the American University of Beirut and Cornell University, she worked as an architect before studying photography at New England School of Photography, and at the Maine Photographic Workshops in Mexico with Magnum photographer, Constantine Manos. She currently works full-time as a photographer and teaches documentary photography at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She also teaches photography in the summers to teenage girls in Lebanon's refugee camps with the assistance of non-governmental organizations.

Matar's work focuses mainly on women and women's issues. Her previous work has focused on women and children in the Middle East, and her projects – which examine the Palestinian refugee camps, the recent spread of the veil and its meanings, the aftermath of war, and the Christians of the Middle East – intend to give a voice to people who have been forgotten or misunderstood. In Boston, where she lives, she photographs her four children at all stages of their lives, and is currently working on a new body of work, "A Girl and her Room," photographing teenage girls from different backgrounds.

Her work has won several awards, has been featured in numerous publications, and exhibited widely in the U.S. and internationally.

Her first book titled Ordinary Lives was released October 2009, published by the Quantuck Lane Press and distributed by W.W. Norton. Rania's forthcoming monograph, A Girl and Her Room, is being published by Umbrage Editions and is due to be released in the spring of 2012.

Gallery Representation

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Collections

© 2012 Rania Matar Photography
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Ordinary Lives book | A Girl and Her Room book