Zeinab Gharbia is an honors graduate of the Visual Arts department at Kay College of Beer Sheva.
Zeinab is a resident of Segev Shalom, combines Bedouin symbols and motifs in her artwork, including embroidery-like decorations and embroidered strips which are integrated into her creations. Zainab received recognition as an artist when her artwork was featured at the Venice Ceramic Biennale in Italy. As an extraordinary Bedouin woman and artist, Zainab encourages Bedouin women to emerge from their homes and reach for their dreams.
“I’m particularly proud of this achievement considering my painful childhood growing up as an orphan from a very early age, and my family situation, which compelled me to leave school [after 9th grade] to help earn a living. Until age 25, I was forced to work at various jobs, particularly in agriculture [harvesting]. But my love of learning never stopped. After completing an academic program, I continued in various educational institutions to study, develop, and be empowered, all this while holding down a job as a school art teacher in Lakiya. I see art as a form of self-expression and also a way to sustain the wonderful visual art culture of my heritage, which is disappearing over the years. I fervently hope that through my art, I will be able to transmit and preserve at least a bit of the cultural richness in which I grew up. I work intensely and with great pleasure in various types of material. I use high quality pigments in my pieces so that they will preserve their freshness for many years. Baked at 1200°C., they are also dishwasher and microwave safe. The ornamental objects can withstand all types of weather – both indoor and outdoor temperatures.”
