Malak Mattar (Arabic: ملك مطر; born 17 December 1999)[1] is a Palestinian painter, illustrator, and author of children's books.
Her father's family is from Ashkelon, and he is a former member of the Palestinian foreign service; her mother is from al-Batani al-Sharqi and works as a UNRWA English teacher.
[3] Mattar was given the chance to study abroad for college, after graduating high school in 2017 with the second-highest GPA in Palestine.
[4][2] She first began with using watercolors on basic paper, but her mother bought her acrylic paint and canvases after seeing her passion for art.
[5] In August, some of her work was brought to Gallery al-Quds in Washington D.C.[5] In 2021 Mattar wrote and illustrated a children's book called, Grandma's Bird.
[6][8] In January 2024, Mattar began work on a more than two-meter-tall painting entitled "Last Breath," (later renamed "No Words") which she competed the following month.
[12] Mattar has said she tries to focus on bright colors and positive subject matter - like hope and peace - in her work.
[2] Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, Mattar has worked primarily in white, black, and grays, depicting images of destruction and death in the Gaza Strip.