Rania Matar is a Palestinian-American documentary and portrait photographer, born in 1975 in Beirut, Lebanon. Her work primarily explores themes of identity, displacement, and resilience through...
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RANIA MATAR, Lebanon (1964)
Bio
Written by CHRISTINE LABBAN
Rania Matar is a Palestinian-American documentary and portrait photographer, born in 1975 in Beirut, Lebanon. Her work primarily explores themes of identity, displacement, and resilience through the portrayal of women across adolescence and adulthood.
Matar's upbringing in war-ridden Beirut greatly influenced her artistic perspective. Raised in a context of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) marked by socio-political turmoil, she developed an early sensitivity to the dynamics of personal and collective struggles. Matar began studying Architecture at the American University of Beirut in 1982, drawn to the field by her passion for art and strength in math. In 1984, she relocated to the United States due to the conflict in Lebanon and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Architecture at Cornell University in 1987. Her academic training included drawing, painting, and printmaking, disciplines that provided her with a strong foundation in visual composition. Architecture became a stepping stone toward her eventual photographic practice.
Her journey into photography began with a personal motivation: to document the lives of her children. Married in 1990, Matar had four children. Her experience of motherhood profoundly shaped her artistic lens, prompting her to photograph not only her own children but also young girls of similar ages. This maternal gaze later evolved into a wider exploration of womanhood.
Between 2000 and 2005, Matar attended numerous workshops to hone her photographic craft. She studied at the New England School of Photography under Nick Johnson, who instilled in her a deep appreciation for black-and-white printing and darkroom techniques. These skills became foundational to her practice, which she views as a craft rooted in both artistry and technical precision. She also trained at the Maine Media Workshops and College, and participated in a workshop in Mexico with Constantine Manos.
Matar’s style is defined by natural lighting, close-up compositions, and a raw, unfiltered approach that captures the authenticity, individuality, and emotional strength of her subjects. Her technique fosters a visual dialogue between subject and viewer, emphasizing both vulnerability and resilience while exploring personal narratives within broader social and cultural contexts. Through this approach, Matar challenges reductive portrayals of Middle Eastern women, presenting them instead as active participants in their own stories. By weaving personal experiences with collective themes, her work invites viewers to reconsider entrenched perceptions and has become a vital contribution to contemporary photography.
During the development of her 2009 series Ordinary Lives, Matar’s work was characterized by a reflective exploration of personal and collective identity through photography. Rania Matar's Ordinary Lives series comprises evocative black-and-white photographs that depict women and children in Lebanon engaged in everyday activities – such as reading newspapers, putting on veils, or playing with dolls – amidst the complexities of a region marked by cultural dichotomies and conflict.
Ordinary Lives captures the resilience and dignity of women navigating daily life within a landscape where tradition and modernity coexist. The political unrest in Lebanon and Matar’s own experiences as a displaced individual significantly shaped this phase of her work. A pivotal moment occurred in 2006, when she and her children fled Lebanon during the 34-day war, escaping through Syria due to airport closures. The experience, echoing her own childhood trauma, crystallized her commitment to documenting resilience among women and children in crisis. This intergenerational transmission of fear and resilience has remained a subtle but powerful undercurrent in her work. While war did not shape her work in overt ways, it gave her a lasting awareness of her Arab identity and instilled a sense that the cycles of conflict continue.
Another notable work is Matar’s series She, 2021, featuring women and girls in their personal spaces. These images are representative of her commitment to challenging Western stereotypes about women in the Middle East. In her portrait series A Girl and Her Room, Matar captures her subjects in intimate settings, such as their bedrooms adorned with personal memorabilia. The images reveal the tension between childhood and adulthood, as seen in the juxtaposition of youthful aspirations with the backdrop of their daily lives. Her approach underscores both vulnerability and empowerment, highlighting the subtle negotiations of identity within private spheres.
Her artistic process evolved further following the Beirut port explosions of 2020, which marked a turning point in her practice. While earlier works focused on womanhood across cultures, her attention shifted almost exclusively to Lebanon, particularly its rebuilding efforts. Inspired by the women involved in the post-blast reconstruction, Matar collaborated with them to create images that expressed their personal stories and their relationships to Lebanon. This project later expanded into a long-term exploration of Lebanon’s socio-political history, culminating in her ongoing work, 50 Years Later: Where Do I Go?, which examines the legacy of the Lebanese Civil War.
One of Matar’s notable works, Rhea S., Piccadilly Theater, Beirut, Lebanon, 2021, part of the Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation Collection, exemplifies the artist’s collaborative and context-rich approach to portraiture. The archival pigment print, measuring 73 x 91.5 cm, situates the subject, Rhea, within the decaying grandeur of the historic Piccadilly Theater in Hamra. Once a cultural landmark that hosted icons like Fairuz and Dalida in the 1960s and 1970s, the space now stands as a haunting symbol of Lebanon’s faded cosmopolitan era. The image also reflects Matar’s commitment to blending personal and collective narratives. Rhea’s poised demeanor amidst the grandeur and decay of the theater symbolizes resilience and transformation, key themes that resonate throughout Matar’s oeuvre. By capturing this layered interplay, Matar invites viewers to explore the complexities of identity and cultural history through the lens of her subjects.
Matar’s photograph draws inspiration from Rhea’s background in theatre, as a Beirut-based performance artist, while paying homage to a celebrated image of the Piccadilly Theater by Fouad Elkoury, a renowned Lebanese photographer known for documenting Lebanon’s socio-political landscapes. Elkoury’s original photograph captured the theater during a pivotal moment in its history, imbuing the space with layers of memory and meaning. By referencing Elkoury’s work, Matar situates her own practice within a continuum of Lebanese photographic traditions, fostering a visual dialogue that bridges past and present.
Matar’s contributions to the artworld have extended beyond her photographic practice to include her debut as a curator with Louder Than Hearts, 2024, at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. The exhibition focused on women photographing women, featuring works by artists from across the Arab world and Iran. Matar described the experience as deeply rewarding, noting the importance of representing diverse voices and narratives within the exhibition’s overarching theme of shared humanity. Her thoughtful curation included works that explored themes ranging from exile and occupation to tradition and resistance, ensuring geographical and cultural inclusivity. This curatorial experience offered Matar a deeper understanding of the collaborative and logistical complexities of exhibition-making, enriching her perspective as both an artist and a curator.
Her current projects include a focused exploration of Palestinian identity, particularly among the younger generation, as inspired by her personal losses and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. This work, rooted in archival materials collected by her father, seeks to amplify voices that resist erasure and celebrate resilience. Matar’s work remains vital in reshaping perceptions and advocating for nuanced representations of women from the Middle East, leaving an enduring mark on both the art world and the communities she portrays. Currently, Matar continues to reside in the United States, where she teaches photography as an Associate Professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She continues to exhibit internationally and leads workshops and lectures around the world, advocating for the power of photography to illuminate human dignity and cross-cultural understanding.
Sources
“About Rania Matar Photography. US & Middle East Fine Art Photography.” n.d. Rania Matar Photography. https://raniamatar.com/about/.
“Portfolios of US & Middle East Fine Art Photography by Rania Matar.” n.d. Rania Matar Photography. https://raniamatar.com/portfolios/.
Art Breath. “Rania Matar.” Art Breath. Accessed March 26, 2025. https://artbreath.org/interviews/rania-matar.
Goldwitz, AnnaRose. “Rania Matar | 50 Years Later - Where Do I Go?” Musée Magazine, November 6, 2024. Accessed March 26, 2025. https://museemagazine.com/culture/2024/11/6/rania-matar-50-years-later-where-do-i-go.
H.Larson, Vanessa. "Louder." The Washington Post, 2024. https://raniamatar.com/pdfs/matar2024_WashingtonPost-Louder.pdf.
Mallat, Danny. "Quand Elle Devient Elles." L'Orient-Le Jour, April 25, 2018. https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1112252/quand-elle-devient-elles.html.
Reges, Lubna. Interview with Rania Matar, for the Dalloul Art Foundation, July 2024.
جوزيف الحاج. 2014. “رانيا مطر: غرف محصّنة.” Almodon. 2014. https://www.almodon.com/culture/2013/2/7/%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b7%d8%b1-%d8%ba%d8%b1%d9%81-%d9%85%d8%ad%d8%b5%d9%86%d8%a9.
National Museum of Women in the Arts. 2023. “In Focus: Rania Matar.” YouTube. October 11, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPOpjNiW9Js.
Sibai, Liam. “Interview with Rania Matar.” Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, March 25, 2025.
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CV
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025
Rania Matar: SHE, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, Vermont, USA
Rania Matar: Where Do I Go? 50 Years Later, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon
2023
Rania Matar: SHE, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
Rania Matar: Oceans at My Door, Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, USA
A Girl and Her Room, Dana Center Alcove Gallery, Saint Anselm College, Manchester NH, USA
2022
Rania Matar: She, Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown, United States
Where Do I Go? (Lawen Ruh لوين روح), Photoville, Brooklyn Bridge Park - Pier 1, Brooklyn NY, USA
2021
Rania Matar // SHE, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston MA, USA
Rania Matar: SHE, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore MD, USA
SHE, Obscura Gallery, Santa Fe NM, USA
Rania Matar, Vevey Ville d'Images, Vevey Switzerland
On Either Side of the Window, Curated by Gisela Carbonell, Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins, Winter Park FL, USA
2020
Breaking the Frame: Women Artists from the Harn Collections, Harn Museum of Art Gainesville, Florida, USA
SHE, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque NM, USA
An Image and Her Woman, The Photographs of Rania Matar, American University of Beirut Art Gallery, Beirut Lebanon
2019
Rania Matar - She, Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, United States
A Girl and Her Room, Remis Art Gallery, Governor's Academy, Byfield MA, USA
Rania Matar Selection of Works, With cIe contemporary Gallery, Milan Photo Fair 2019, Milan Ital
2018
Rania Matar: A Selection of Photographs, Curated by Christian Caujolle Landskrona Photo Festival, Landskrona, Sweden
A Girl and Her Room, Curated by Francine Weiss, Newport Art Museum, Newport RI, USA
SHE, Galerie Tanit, Beirut Lebanon
SHE: Ohio Portraits, Curated by Natalie Marsh, The Gund Gallery at Kenyon College, Gambier OH, USA
In Her Image: Photographs by Rania Matar, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, United States
2017
Rania Matar, Galerie Eulenspiegel GmbH, Basel, Switzerland
In Her Image: Photographs by Rania Matar, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, United States
Rania Matar: Becoming, Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco, California, USA
2016
Rania Matar - Invisible Children, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, United States
2015
A Girl and Her Room, Galerie Eulenspiegel, Basel, Switzerland
2014
Rania Matar - Ordinary Lives, Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, United State
2013
Rania Matar L’enfant Femme, Carroll and Sons, Boston, United States
A Girl and Her Room, Galerie Lichtblick, Cologne, Germany
A Girl and Her Room, Dana Hall Gallery, Wellesley MA, USA
2012
Rania Matar, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon
Rania Matar - Girls in Between: Portraits of Identity, Photographic Resource Center (PRC), Boston, United States
Rania Matar: A Girl and Her Room, Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
2011
A Girl and her Room, The Mosaic Rooms, A.M. Qattan Foundation, London UK
A Girl and her Room, De Santos Gallery, Houston TX, USA
Rania Matar: Just a Girl?, Boston Arts Academy, Boston MA, USA
A Girl and Her Room, Part of “American Life”, Curated by Mr. Robert Morton, Lishui Photo Festival, China
Ordinary Lives, Part of FOTOGRAFIA 2011: “Motherland”, The Place Where I Belong, Curated by Marc Prust, Festival Internazionale di Roma, Rome Italy
2010
A Girl and her Room, Gallery Kayafas, Boston MA, USA
A Girl and her Room, Gallery of Photography B&B, Bielsko-Biala Poland
2009
Rania Matar - Ordinary Lives, Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut, Lebanon
2007
Rania Matar, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, United States
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
Portraits from the ICA Collection, Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Boston, Massachusetts, USA
2024
Riveting: Women Artists from the Sara M. and Michelle Vance Collection, The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, USA
Women Reflecting Women, Sanji Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
From Palestine With Art, P21 Gallery, Fitzrovia, London, UK
Picturesque Summer, Obscura Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Summer ‘24, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Louder Than Hearts, MEI Art Gallery, Middle East Institute, Washington D.C., USA
Shades of Compassion, Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo, Texas, USA
2023
Unfinished Business, Newport Art Museum, Newport, USA
The Outwin: American Portraiture Today, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill NC, USA
Remix: The Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., USA
In Focus: Artists at Work, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., USA
Oskar Barnack Award Shortlist Exhibition, Ernst Leitz Museum, Wetzlar, Germany
Tender Loving Care, Contemporary Art from the Collection, Museum of Fine Arts/Boston, Boston MA, USA
Art In Embassies, Curated by Camille Benton and Carolyn Yates, American Embassy Residence, Bern, Switzerland
Multidimensional Discourses, Lianzhou Foto Festival 2023, Lianzhou Museum of Photography, China
What a Wonderful World, MIA Art Collection, DIBA Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Le Liban n’a pas d’age, La Bibliothèque Orientale, Beirut, Lebanon
Coups de Coeur, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon
Tender Loving Care, Contemporary Art from the Collection, Museum of Fine Arts/Boston, Boston MA, USA
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Women Defining Women in Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles CA, USA
The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, FL, USA
Shades of Compassion, Organized by Photokunst LLC, Headley-Whitney Museum, Lexington KY., USA
2023 MassArt Auction, Mass Art College of Art and Design, Boston MA, USA
AIPAD 2023, Robert Klein Gallery (Booth 106), Center415, New York City NY, USA
International Photography Exhibition 164, The Royal Photographic Society, Bristol, England
In Our Eyes, Women's, Nonbinary, and Transgender Perspectives from the Collection, Rollins Museum of Art, Winter Park FL, USA
A Decade of Collecting, Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota FL, USA
Faces of Our Planet, Exhibit for the One World Connected Gallery permanent exhibition, Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., USA
The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
2022
Portrait of a Lady, Fondation Boghossian, Brussels, Belgium
Paper Trail: 50 Years Collective Exhibition, Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany
15 Years, Crossed Perspectives, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon
Conflict and Remembrance, Newport Art Museum, Newport, Rhode Island, USA
PARIS PHOTO, Grand Palais Ephémère, Galerie Tanit, Paris, France
Art In Embassies, Curated by Camille Benton and Carolyn Yates, American Embassy Residence, Bern, Switzerland
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, Cromwell Place, London, UK
Les Rencontres de la Photographie Marrakech 2022, Morocco
A Decade of Collecting, Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota FL, USA
Faces of Our Planet, Exhibit for the One World Connected Gallery permanent exhibition Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., USA
Arnold Newman Prize Exhibition, Lisa Elmaleh, Anne Grevenitis, Rania Matar, & Andrew Kung, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester Massachusetts, USA
Beirut Image Festival 2022, Memory, Lebanese National Library, Beirut, Lebanon
The Intimacy of Distance, Explorations of the Figure/Ground Marshall Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica CA, USA
Trois Regards de femmes photographes, With Joumana Jamhouri, Randa Mirza, Rania Matar, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon
At the Threshold, With Holly Andres, Gay Block, Cig Harvey and Rania Matar, Gold Gallery, Montclair NJ, USA
AIPAD 2022, Robert Klein Gallery (Booth 218) / Obscura Gallery (Booth 107), Center415, New York City NY, USA
Rania Matar – SHE, In conjunction with the exhibition 'ACROSS CULTURES', Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown MA, USA
The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, USA
La Biennale di Venezia: From Palestine with Art, 59 Esposizione Internazionale di Arte, Organized by the Palestine Museum US, Venice Italy
Portrait of a Lady, FONDATION BOGHOSSIAN, Villa Empain, Brussels Belgium
33rd Annual MassArt Auction Exhibition, Mass Art College of Art and Design, Boston MA, USA
The Bind of Humanity, Leica Women Foto Project Winners Exhibition Fotografiska New York, USA
US | THEM | WE, RACE X ETHNICITY X IDENTITY, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester MA, USA
Opulence and the Everyday, 19th century collection gallery, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth TX, USA
2021
Art Miami with C Grimaldis Gallery, Art Miami, Miami FL, USA
A Yellow Rose Project, Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, Central Washington University, Ellensburg WA, USA
In Her View, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis MN, USA
I Am One Acquainted With the Night, In collaboration with Galerie Tanit, Studio La Città, Verona, Italy
Multiple Voices/Multiple Stories, Works from the Collection, Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins, Winter Park FL, USA
All We Carry, PrattMWP College of Art and Design, Utica NY, USA
Intersect 21, With Galerie Tanit, Online Exhibition
i’m yours, Encounters with Art in Our Times, ICA/Boston, Boston MA, USA
Escape Routes, SHE, Curated by Dow Wasiksiri, Bangkok Art Bienniale 2020, Bangkok Thailand
Breaking the Frame, Women Artists from the Harn Collections, Harn Museum of Art, Julia C. and Budd H. Bishop Gallery, Gainesville FL, USA
Art in Isolation, Creativity in the Time of Covid-19, Middle East Institute, Washington DC, USA
Contemporary Muslim Fashions, Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian National Design Museum, New York NY, USA
A Tacit Inheritance, Elizabeth M. Claffey & Rania Matar, Herron School of Art + Design Gallery at IUPUI, Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis, USA
2020
ONLINE: Intersect Aspen, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
ONLINE: Rania Matar and Arne Svenson: Clear Boundaries, Robert Klein Gallery at Ars Libri, Massachusetts, USA
Summer '20, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
ONLINE: Sanctuary, Robert Klein Gallery, South End, Boston, USA
Just Kids, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Call & Response, Newport Art Museum, Newport, Rhode Island, USA
2019
She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
The Female Lens, Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York, USA
Live Dangerously, National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), Washington D.C., USA
2018
Rania Matar & Bongchull Shin: Two Shows, Galerie Tanit, Munich, Germany
Féminités Plurielles, Galerie Tanit, Beirut, Lebanon
Rania Matar & Malena Mazza: Discrezioni e Provocazioni, Vision Quest, Genova, Italy
Bridging Division: Empathy and Humanity, The Light Factory, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Summer '18, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Care and Feeding: The Art of Parenthood, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, California, USA
Un œil ouvert sur le monde arabe, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
2017
Summer '17, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Aftermath: The Fallout of War - America and the Middle East, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida, USA
Instantanés d’Orient, Fondation Boghossian, Brussels, Belgium
2016
She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World, National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), Washington D.C., USA
Mortal Things: Portraits Look Back and Forth, Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, Massachusetts, USA
Aftermath: The Fallout of War—America and the Middle East, Harn Museum of Art, Florida, USA
2015
Rania Matar and Reinhard Voss, Galerie Eulenspiegel GmbH, Basel, Switzerland
Gordon Parks & Rania Matar: Exposure, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, USA
2014
A Selection of Photographs from Life Magazine, Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, USA
The Middle East Revealed: A Female Perspective, Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, USA
2013
She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World, Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, USA
2010
Across the Divide: Critical Mass 2010, Top 50 Critical Mass Winners, Curated by Todd Hido, Traveling Group Exhibition: Photo Center NW, Seattle WA; Newspace Center for Photography, Portland OR; Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco CA, USA
In Between: Portraits of Teenagers Around the World: Rania Matar and Natan Dvir, Schneider Gallery, Chicago IL, USA
Photo Forum, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston TX, USA
14th Annual Friends of Friends Photography Auction, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York NY, USA
Paris Photo, Carousel du Louvre, Represented by The Empty Quarter Gallery, Dubai
I-95 Triennial Invitational Exhibition, University of Maine Museum of Art, Bangor ME, USA
The Aftermath, Px3, Winners Exhibit, Prix de la Photographie, Espace DUPON, Paris France and Instanbul Photo Festival, Istanbul Turkey
Annual Group Exhibition, Curated by Darren Ching, Owner Klompching Gallery NY, Newspace Center for Photography, Portland OR, USA
Act of Faith, Noorderlicht Photography, Abdijdmuseum Ten Duinen, Koksijde Belgium
Critical Mass 2009 Winners Exhibit, Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle WA, USA
International Art of the Lebanese Diaspora, Beirut Exhibition Center, Notre Dame University, Louaize Lebanon
2008
Contrapuntal Lines: Rania Matar and Buthina Abu Milhem, Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, USA
Collections
American University of Beirut Museum, Beirut Lebanon
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth TX
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore MD
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH
Rollins Museum of Art, Winter Park FL
Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham MA
Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Wellesley MA
DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park, Lincoln MA
Eskenazi Museum of Art, Bloomington IN
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg MA
Gund Gallery at Kenyon College, Gambier OH
Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville FL
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover NH
Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville AL
Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston, Boston MA
Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg Germany
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles CA
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis MN
MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge MA
MSU Broad Museum, Lansing MI
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston TX
Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (collection of Joaquim Paiva)
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City MO
Newport Art Museum, Newport RI
Portland Art Museum, Portland OR
Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL
Saradar Collection, Beirut Lebanon
Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach FL
Tufts University Permanent Art Collection, Medford MA
US State Department Art Bank, Washington DC
Worcester Museum of Art, Worcester MA
Allen & Overy, The Netherlands
Al Thani Private Collection, Qatar
A.M. Qattan Foundation Collection
Art of War Collection by Ms. Anne Wilkes Tucker
DAF Dalloul Art Foundation
Emir of Kuwait Collection
Fidelity Investments
George Gund Foundation Collection
Girls’ Club Collection, Ft Lauderdale FL
Guggenheim Foundation
Levant Foundation, Houston TX
Library of Congress
Microsoft Art Collection
Samawi Private Collection, Dubai
Saradar Collections
Honors and Awards
2023
Shortlist, Leica Oskar Barnack Award
Special Commission by LACMA to photograph the actress Iman Vellani, Ms. Marvel’s Kamala Khan’s character, for the permanent collection and the exhibition “Women Defining Women” on view
2022
Finalist, Arnold Newman Prize 2022 for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture
Winner, Leica Women Foto Project Award 2022, for Where Do I Go? لوين روح
Finalist, 2022 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, Washington DC
Recipient, Mosesian Award for the Arts
2021
Recipient, Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship Award
2019
1st Place Recipient, CENTER Awards 2019, Editor’s Choice, selected by MaryAnne Golon, Director of Photography, The Washington Post
Semifinalist, 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, Washington DC
Nomination, Infinity Award 2019, International Center for Photography
2018
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in Photography
2017
Selected by ArtNet one of 10 Remarkable Photographers to Discover at This Year’s AIPAD Fair
Mellon Foundation Artist-in-Residence Grant, The Gund Gallery at Kenyon College
Nomination, Yield Purchase Award at the Snite Museum of Art
Nomination, Anonymous Was a Woman Award (AWAW)
2015
Unspoken Conversations: Mothers and Daughters, Lens Culture Portrait Award finalist
Nomination, St. Botolph Foundation Distinguished Artist Award
Top 50 winner, Critical Mass, Photolucida
2012
Juror’s Commendation Award, Silver Eye Center for Photography Fellowship Competition 2012, Juror: Julie Saul, Julie Saul Gallery NY
2011
George Gund Foundation Annual Report 2011 Commission Award
Legacy Award 2011, Griffin Museum of Photography, awarded by Debra Klomp, Klompching Gallery NY
First Prize, “Off the Wall” 2011, Danforth Museum of Art, by Susan Stoops, Worcester Art Museum
Finalist, The European Publishers Award for Photography 2011, juried by 5 European publishers: Actes Sud, Apeiron, Dewi Lewis Publishing, Kehrer Verlag and Peliti Association
2010
Honorable Mention, UNICEF Photo of the Year Award 2010, A Girl and her Room
People’s Choice Award, A Girl and her Room, for finest photography in New England
Winner Second Place, Prix de la Photographie Paris for Aftermath
Winner, Art of the Lebanese Diaspora Award, Beirut Lebanon
Honorable Mention, CENTER Project Competition Award and CENTER Curator’s Choice Award, 2010 A Girl and her Room
2009
Finalist, James and Audrey Foster Award, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
2008
Top 100 Distinguished Women Photographers, Women in Photography International
Middle East Award Prize, Al Thani Photography Competition
2007
First Place, Women in Photography International
First and Purchase Prize, Danforth Museum of Art, New England Photographers Biennial
Finalist, “Women to Watch 2007”, Massachusetts Chapter National Museum of Women in the Arts
Invitation to Moving Walls International, Open Society Institute, Soros Foundation
Nomination, Henri Cartier Bresson Award
+–
Press
How photographer Rania Matar captures cross-cultural womanhood - The Middlebury Campus.pdf
Picturing Women's Lives, From Beirut To Boston, Girl To Mother _ Art&Seek _ Arts, Music, Culture for North Texas.pdf
Rania Matar’s “SHE” explores women’s resilience in new Middlebury Museum of Art photography exhibit - The Middlebury Campus.pdf
Meet The Multi-Awarded Lebanese-American Photographer Rania Matar.pdf
Rania Matar on Photographing Women and Girls _ Ideastream Public Media.pdf
A Lebanese Photographer Takes Cross-Cultural Portraits of Girls on the Brink of Womanhood _ Artsy.pdf
Rania Matar’s Intimate Portraits of Girls On the Cusp of Womanhood — Blind Magazine.pdf
Rania Matar Finds Inspiration in the Amazing Women She Photographs.pdf
RANIA MATAR Artwork
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-RaniaMatar-BarbieGirl,2006-Front2.jpg)
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