Rania Matar’s Profile

A Girl and her Room By Rania Matar
12Jul2010
A Girl and her Room
A Girl and her Room This project is about teenage girls and young women at a transitional time of their lives, alone in the privacy of their own personal space and surrounding: their bedroom, a womb within the outside world. As a mother of a teenage daughter I watch her passage from girlhood into adulthood, fascinated with the transformation taking place, the adult personality shaping up and a self-consciousness now replacing the carefree world she had known. I started photographing her and...
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Photographer’s Biography

Born and raised in Lebanon Rania Matar moved to the U.S. in 1984. Originally trained as an architect at Cornell University, she studied photography at New England School of Photography, and Maine Photographic Workshops in Mexico with Magnum photographer Constantine Manos.  She currently works full-time as a photographer, and teaches photography to teenage girls in refugee camps in Lebanon, with the assistance of non-governmental organizations, and is in the process of working with teenagers with brain injuries in Boston and with Somali teenage refugees with the assistance of Children’s Hospital.

Matar’s work has been published and exhibited widely in the U.S. and internationally, most recently at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, ICA/Boston, the Mosaic Rooms London, Gallery Kayafas Boston, Galerie Janine Rubeiz Beirut, the Southeast Museum of Photography, the University of Maine Museum of Art, the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Spagnuolo Gallery at Georgetown University, the University of the Arts, Philadelphia in “Best of Show” exhibit, and at the Danforth Museum of Art in the New England Photographers’ Biennial.

Matar has won many awards including an artist grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, first prize in New England Photographers Biennial, first prize in Women in Photography International, second prize at Px3 Aftermath, Prix de la Photographie/Paris and honorable mentions at CENTER 2010 Project Competition Award and Curator’s Choice Award, Silver Eye Center for Photography Fellowship Award, Photo Review, Lens Culture International and MyArtSpace.  In 2008 she was selected one of Top 100 Distinguished Women Photographers by Women in Photography, and was a finalist for the prestigious Foster award at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston with an accompanying solo exhibit in 2009.

Her images are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Worcester Museum of Art; the Portland Art Museum, Oregon; the De Cordova Museum and Sculpture Park; the Danforth Museum of Art; the Kresge Art Museum; the Southeast Museum of Photography; and is part of numerous private collections.

Her first book titled “Ordinary Lives” has just been released, published by the Quantuck Lane Press and distributed by WW Norton.

Biography

Profile and Photographic Interests:

Born and raised in Lebanon, she moved to the U.S. in 1984. Originally trained as an architect at at Cornell University, she studied photography at New England School of Photography, and Maine Photographic Workshops in Mexico with Magnum photographer Constantine Manos. She currently works as a freelance photographer, teaches photography to teenage girls in refugee camps in Lebanon with the assistance of non-governmental organizations, and works with teenagers with brain injuries in Boston. While most of her work previously focused on the Middle East, in Boston, where she lives, she photographs her four children at all stages of their lives, and is working on a body of work titled “A Girl and her Room” photographing teenage girls from different backgrounds. 

Recent Honors, Grants and Awards:

  • Finalist for the James and Audrey Foster Award, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, 2009
  • Winner 2nd Place for Px3 – Prix de la Photographie Paris for the Aftermath, 2010
  • Winner 3rd Place: Art of the Lebanese Diaspora Exhibition, Beirut Lebanon 2010
  • Honorable Mention: CENTER Project Competition Award, 2010
  • Honorable Mention: CENTER Curator’s Choice Award, 2010
  • Winner First Place: Best Photo Essay the 2009 Ippies Award: "Refugees: Aftermath of War in Lebanon" published in Nueva Luz #13, by the New York Community Media Alliance
  • Honorable Mention: Best of Show: The Photo Review, Juror Ms. Lesley Martin, Aperture, 2009
  • Honorable Mention, Lens Culture International Exposure Awards, 2009
  • Distinguished Top Finalist MyArtSpace, Aqua Art Miami Exhibition, 2009
  • Honorable Mention, Santa Fe Center for Photography, Singular Image, 2009
  • Selected one of Top 100 Distinguished Women Photographers, Women in Photography International, 2008
  • Photolucida Critical Mass Finalist, 2007, 2008, 2009
  • Honorable Mention, Berenice Abbott Prize for an Emerging Photographer, 2008,
  • Honorable Mention, Prix de la Photographie 2007 Paris, Px3 “The Human Condition”, 2008
  • Nomination to the Baum Award for Emerging American Photographers, 2007
  • Recipient of the 2007 Artist Grant in Photography from the Massachusetts Cultural Council
  • First Place, Women in Photography International, 2007
  • First and Purchase Prize: Danforth Museum of Art, New England Photographers Biennial, 2007
  • Invitation to the Nooderlicht Photofestival in The Netherlands, 2007 and 2009
  • Winning Images, Women in Photojournalism International, NPPA, 2007
  • Nomination Henri Cartier Bresson Award 2007, Ms. Celina Lunsford, Artistic Director Fotografie Forum International, Frankfurt,
  • Nomination "Women to Watch 2007", Massachusetts Chapter of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C.
  • Best of Show, “Interactions” Juried Exhibit at The Center for Fine Art Photography, Colorado, 2007
  • B&W Magazine, Portfolio Spotlight Award, 2007
  • Invitation to Moving Walls International, Open Society Institute, Soros Foundation, 2007
  • Second Place Prize, Juried Competition, Texas Photographic Society, 2007
  • Honorable Mention, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Fellowship Competition, 2005, 2006
  • Honorable Mention, The Golden Light Awards, People and Portrait and Social Document Categories, 2006
  • Winning images, Women in Photography International: “Turning Silver”, 2006
  • Excellence Award: B&W Magazine, Portfolio 2006
  • First place, National Juried Exhibition, the Jerusalem Fund Gallery, Washington D.C. 2005
  • First place, Photojournalism category, “Beauty”, Women In Photography International, 2005
  • Honorable Mention, Santa Fe Center for Photography, the Singular Image 2006
  • Honorable Mention, the Berenice Abbott Prize for an Emerging Photographer, 2006
  • Honorable Mention, Women in Photography International, Juror: Mr. Charlie Holland, Getty Images, 2005

Current and Upcoming Exhibits:

  • National Juried Exhibition, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA curated by Dr. Jörg Colberg
  • Px3 Winner Exhibition, Espace Dupon, Paris, July-August 2010
  • Annual Juried Group Exhibition, Newspace Center for Photography, Portland OR, curated by Darren Ching, July 2010
  • Px3 Winner Exhibition Istanbul Photo Festival, September 2010
  • Gallery Kayafas Boston, September–October 2010
  • Schneider Gallery Chicago, September–October 2010
  • Gallery of Photography B&B, Poland, November 2010
  • De Santos Gallery, Houston, April–May 2011
  • Ordinary Lives, Arab-American Museum, Dearborn MI 2011

Select Recent Exhibits:

  • I-95 Triennial Invitational Exhibition, University of Maine Museum of Art, Spring 2010
  • Act of Faith, Noorderlicht Photography, Abdijdmuseum Ten Duinen, Koksijde Belgium, Spring 2010
  • Critical Mass 2009 Winners Exhibit, Photographic Center Northwest Seattle, Spring 2010
  • International Art of the Lebanese Diaspora, Beirut Exhibition Center, Spring 2010
  • Beyond Place: Recent Photography Acquisitions, Portland Art Museum, 2009 - 2010
  • Georgetown University Spagnuolo Gallery, Select Contemporary Photography: Collection of Lucille and Richard Spagnuolo Fall 2009
  • Best of Show: The Photo Review, Group Juried Show, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, 2009
  • Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA: “Three Concerned Women” curated by Constantine Manos, Fall 2009
  • Mt Ida College Gallery in collaboration with the Center for Arabic Culture, Brookline, MA, Fall 2009
  • The Mosaic Rooms Gallery, London UK, November-December 2009
  • Manege St. Petersburg Photofestival by invitation, St. Petersburg Russia, Fall 2009
  • Galerie Janine Rubeiz, Beirut October 2009
  • New England Photographer’s Biennial, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA Fall 2009
  •  Noorderlicht Photofestival: “The Pursuit of Happiness”, The Netherlands, Fall 2009
  •  “Ordinary Lives”, the Institute of Contemporary Art, ICA Boston, November, 2008 - March 2009,
  • Houston Center for Photography, Juried Group Show, Houston June-August 2009 Juried by Katherine Ware
  • “The Veil”, Center for Contemporary Arts, Abilene TX, Fall 2008
  • Contrapuntal Lines: A tribute to Edward Said, Koppelman Gallery, Tufts University, Fall 2008
  • The Veil, Council for Foreign Relations, New York City NY, 2008-2009
  • Group Show “The Human Condition”, Prix de la Photographie Px3, Gallery Farmani LA, touring New York & Paris, 2008
  • MCC Grant Recipients Exhibition, Trustman Art Gallery, Simmons College, Boston MA, Spring 2008
  • “Women of Islam in the Aftermath of War”, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, 2008
  • Photographs of Children from the DeCordova Permanent Collection, De Cordova Museum 2008
  • “Lebanon at the Crossroads”, Gallery Kayafas, Boston, 2008
  • “Lebanon at the Crossroads”, Michigan State University, Lansing MI, 2007-2008
  • New England Photographers Biennial, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham MA, Fall 2007
  • “Act of Faith”, Nooderlicht Photofestival, The Netherlands and traveling, curated by. Mr. Wim Melis, 2007-2008
  • MCC Grant Recipients Exhibition: Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA, Fall 2007
  • Houston Center for Photography, 25th Anniversary Exhibition, curated by Ms. Anne Tucker, 2007
  • "Forgotten People" and “Aftermath of War”, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland Oregon, 2007
  •  “The Veil”, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburg PA, 2007
  • “Interactions” Best of Show Juried Exhibition, Center for Fine Art Photography CO, juried by Ms. Alison Norsdtrom, 2007
  • “The Veil”, Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge, MA, 2007
  •  “Moving Walls International” sponsored by OSI, Soros Foundation, Espace SD, Beirut Lebanon, 2007
  • Juried Exhibition, Texas Photographic Society, San Antonio TX, winner 2nd Prize, 2007
  • “The Aftermath of War in Lebanon: 6th Month Anniversary, Oxfam Offices, Oxford England, and Oxfam Offices, Jerusalem,
  •  “Meeting with the Middle East", 9th International Photography Gathering, Aleppo Syria, Curated by Issa Touma, 2006
  • “The Veil”, “Secunda Bienal Argentina de Fotografia Documental”, Museo de Bellas Artes, Tucuman Argentina, 2006
  • National Juried Show, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester MA, Juror: Ms. Bonni Benrubi, 2006
  • “Forgotten People” Jerusalem Fund Gallery, Washington D.C. 2006

Collections:

  • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston TX
  • Portland Art Museum, Portland OR
  • Worcester Museum of Art, Worcester MA
  • DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln MA
  • Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham MA
  • Kresge Art Museum, Michigan
  • Southeast Museum of Photography Daytona Beach
  • “The Art of War” Collection by Ms. Anne Wilkes Tucker
  • Thomas Kellner Gallery Collection
  • Iowa Divine Word College Collection
  • Private Collections including the Anthony and Beth Terrana Collection, Lucille and Richard Spagnuolo Collection, John Cleary Estate, the Emir of Kuwait Collection among others.

Recent Lectures and Talks:

  • Photography Workshops for teenage refugee girls in collaboration with the Norwegian People’s Aid, 2009-2010
  • En Foco Photo Expo, Mount Ida College, Harvard University, Boston Arts Academy, Photosynthesis, Griffin Museum of Photography, Arte East, 2009-2010
  • Institute of Contemporary Arts, ICA Boston; Photographic Resource Center: Young Collectors; Tufts University; Simmons College; Boston Public Library; Regis College; Rhode Island School of Design; Chicago Cultural Center, 2008
  • Lecture, slide show and classroom lectures, Michigan State University, Fall 2007
  • Wellesley College, Brookline Center for Adult Education, Griffin Museum of Photography, Blue Sky Gallery, 2007
  • Panelist Harvard University: “Walls of Martyrdom”, 2007

Selected Media, Online Exhibitions and Publications:

  • Monograph “Ordinary Lives”, text by Anthony Shadid Pulitzer Prize winner 2004 for international reporting, Fall 2009
  • F-Stop Magazine April 2010: Rania Matar and Ntan Dvir with text by Susan Burnstine
  • Verve Photo Magazine, April 2010 (http://vervephoto.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/rania-matar/)
  • Urban Magazine “A Girl and her Room”, Milan Italy 2010
  • Serge Online Photography Magazine, March 2010
  • The Black Snapper: International Online Photography Magazine
  • Leica Magazine Book Review, January 2010
  • Just life, frame by poetic frame, Boston Globe Art Review by Mark Feeney, December 26, 2009
  • The American Dream, 100 Eyes Magazine, December 2009
  • Nueva Luz Photo Magazine, 2009
  • Boston Magazine, Boston 2009
  • Post Road Magazine, Boston College 2009
  • Women’s Review of Books, Text by Ms. Rachel Lafo, De Cordova Museum, 2008
  • South End News “Photographing the Human Spirit”, 2008
  • Noorderlicht Photography Book: “Act of Faith”, The Netherlands 2007,
  • Boston Globe: “Finding Humanity in Ruin”, 2007,
  • Art New England: “Interior World, Exterior Visions”, 2007,
  • “Turning Silver”, Women in Photography International, 2007
  • Black and White Spider Awards Book: "The World's Greatest Black & White Photography, No. 1",
  • B&W Magazine, Issue #44, Spotlight Award, 2007,
  • The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 2007
  • B&W Magazine, Portfolio Contest, Special Issue, August 2006,
  • Shots 92 Magazine, Documentary and Photojournalism, 2006,
  • Art New England Magazine, 2006,
  • The Daily Star, associated with the Herald Tribune in Lebanon, 2005.

Stats:


Albums Published:
1
Tags:
Number of Connections:
16