Woman Beside Smoking Red Telephone,

May Murad, born in Gaza City in 1984, is a Palestinian visual artist whose work spans painting, video art, digital photography, installation, and performance. She earned her degree in Fine Arts from Al-Aqsa University and has since developed a practice that delves into the interplay between music and visual art, as well as the socio-political realities of Palestinian life.

Murad's notable exhibitions include her third solo show, "Musical Spectra," held in 2014 at the Arab Cultural Club in Sharjah, where she presented 16 acrylic paintings inspired by compositions from renowned musicians like Vivaldi, Bach, and Mozart. In 2013, she showcased "Passport," a series of paintings influenced by the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, in collaboration with the Abdel Mohsin Al-Qattan Foundation. Her 2014 exhibition, "Messages of the Wall and the Soul," drew from street writings in Gaza, reflecting the political and social messages embedded in public spaces.

In 2019, Murad completed a four-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, marking her first opportunity to engage directly with the international art community beyond virtual platforms. This experience allowed her to expand her artistic horizons while maintaining a focus on themes central to her identity and experiences as a Palestinian artist.