Nada Sehnaoui is one of Lebanon’s most respected contemporary artists. Her work is known for addressing memory, war, loss, and resilience with honesty and depth. Through paintings, installations, and public art projects, Nada Sehnaoui has spent decades exploring how personal and collective memories shape societies. Her art asks difficult questions about forgetting, silence, and the responsibility to remember.
Born in Beirut in 1958, Nada Sehnaoui grew up during years of political unrest and civil war. These early experiences became deeply embedded in her consciousness. Instead of distancing herself from painful memories, she chose to confront them directly. Her artistic practice became a space where personal history and collective experience could meet, creating works that resonate far beyond Lebanon.
A Paris Museum Visit That Changed Everything
Before fully committing to art, Nada Sehnaoui was a student of History at Paris IV Sorbonne. She loved studying history because it helped her understand what had happened to Lebanon and why the country had fallen into civil war. History offered explanations and structure during a time of confusion and violence.
During her years in Paris, a visit to a Picasso exhibition became a turning point in her life. Standing before works created in response to war and human suffering, she felt something shift inside her. She realized that art could speak to history in a powerful and emotional way that academic research alone could not. This experience awakened a deeper calling and a strong desire to express ideas and feelings through visual language.
Choosing Art Over Academia
Following this calling was not an easy decision. One of the biggest challenges Nada Sehnaoui faced was allowing herself to let go of an academic future, including plans to pursue a PhD in History. Choosing art meant embracing uncertainty and taking a risk.
She later joined the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where she pursued five years of art studies. These years played a major role in shaping her artistic voice. She developed strong technical skills while also deepening her conceptual approach. Although she was physically far from Lebanon, her work remained emotionally connected to its history and people.
First Exhibition and Early Recognition
Nada Sehnaoui’s first exhibition took place in 1993 at Amal Traboulsi’s Epreuve d’Artiste. This exhibition marked the beginning of her professional career as an artist. Even in her early works, themes of memory, identity, and conflict were clearly present.
Rather than limiting herself to one medium, Nada Sehnaoui allowed ideas to guide her artistic choices. She worked across painting, mixed media, and conceptual formats. This flexibility became a defining feature of her practice and allowed her to respond freely to the subjects she explored.
Stepping into Public Space with Fractions of Memory
A major turning point in Nada Sehnaoui’s career came in 2003, when she created her first large scale public installation titled Fractions of Memory in downtown Beirut. At that time, the city was undergoing rapid reconstruction. While new buildings were rising, many personal and collective stories were being erased.
Nada Sehnaoui invited people to write down their memories of downtown Beirut before the civil war. These handwritten memories were displayed in a public space, alongside blank pages representing forgotten or silenced histories. The installation transformed the city into an open archive and allowed ordinary citizens to actively participate in preserving memory.
Fractions of Memory was not just an artwork. It was a collective act of remembrance and a powerful statement against forgetting. It established Nada Sehnaoui as an artist deeply engaged with society and public dialogue.
Art as a Way to Resist Forgetting
Throughout her career, Nada Sehnaoui has remained committed to the idea that memory is essential for healing. Her work challenges collective amnesia and questions how history is written and who controls it.
She believes that ignoring the past leads to repeated mistakes. Through her art, she encourages reflection rather than denial. This approach has made her work emotionally powerful and intellectually relevant. Her exhibitions have been shown internationally, yet Beirut remains the emotional center of her practice.
The Beirut Explosion and the Loss of a Studio
On August 4, 2020, a devastating explosion struck Beirut and destroyed large parts of the city. Nada Sehnaoui was among those personally affected. Her studio, a space filled with years of work and research, was severely damaged.
The shock was profound. Recovery was not immediate, and it took time to process the loss. Rather than rushing back into production, Nada Sehnaoui allowed herself the space to reflect and heal. This pause eventually gave way to a new creative process shaped by the experience of destruction.
Flowers Blossomed out of Broken Concrete
Out of the damaged studio emerged a new body of work titled Flowers Blossomed out of Broken Concrete. Curated by Saleh Barakat and shown at kenshō in Beirut, this exhibition reflects both destruction and renewal.
The works are textured and physical, with thick layers of paint rising from the surface like organic forms. They resemble flowers pushing through cracked concrete, symbolizing resilience and survival. The exhibition does not deny pain. Instead, it acknowledges trauma while looking toward a future shaped by awareness and understanding.
A Quiet but Lasting Influence
Nada Sehnaoui prefers to focus on her work rather than define her own legacy. She believes it is up to art historians, curators, and audiences to decide the impact of her contributions and how they will be remembered.
Her approach to life and art emphasizes commitment without unnecessary anxiety. She encourages enjoying the process and trusting that meaning will emerge over time. Through decades of dedication, Nada Sehnaoui has built a body of work that continues to inspire reflection, dialogue, and hope.
Her journey is one of courage and integrity. By choosing art over comfort, memory over silence, and reflection over denial, Nada Sehnaoui has shown how creativity can help societies confront their past and imagine a more conscious future.
More information about her work can be found at www.nadasehnaoui.com.
Do follow her on Instagram
Read Next – Pierchic Dubai: A Dining Experience Like No Other
