Born in Umm al-Fahm, Hannan Abu-Hussein is a feminist plastic artist who has lived and created in Jerusalem since 1995. She has a BA from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and is a post graduate in ceramics. She also has an MA in art history from the Hebrew University. She lectures in the Kibbutzim College, teaches at the Israel Museum, and engages in education. Abu-Hussein taught in Shenkar and is a visiting lecturer in various art colleges. She has participated in symposiums and exhibited her works in many exhibitions in Israel and abroad. In addition, she has taken part of group exhibitions in the Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum, Haifa Museum, Rockefeller Museum, Anna Ticho House in Jerusalem, and more. Abu-Hussein has also exhibited her works in solo exhibitions in Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv.



The issues that concern her are identity, meeting of cultures, and femininity and masculinity (sexuality). Her art especially touches upon the status of women status in the Arab society. She claims she has a dual identity – "my roots ate those of a Palestinian Arab woman, and on the other hand I am active in the artistic scene in Israel. I am in between these two words, and it is important for me to give this a place and echo it in my art. The works I exhibit deal with the status of women. Through my works I want to promote a discussion and dialogue between myself and the place where I exhibit".

The materials she uses are mainly concrete and industrials materials, as an analogy of Arab work or manly work. Her works deal, as aforesaid, with the condition of women in the Arab society, and mainly honor killings in the Arab society. Addressing domestic violence is a charged issue that also involves dealing with sexuality. Abu-Hussein says that for years the media has ignored the condition of women and their distress and she felt strongly about addressing this issue in her works.



Abu-Hussein has won many awards: the Tzipi Ziskind Award for the project "First Reveal", Manofim 2022, Jerusalem, and the Becky Dekel Award for an outstanding artist on behalf of the Association for Women's Art and Gender, 2019. She also won all the awards on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, the Minister of Culture Award for 2014, the Teaching Artist award for 2011, the Artistic Encouragement Award for 2010, the Young Artist Award for 2004 as well as the Sharet Award on behalf of America-Israel for 1998-2002 and the Heinrich Böll Award for 2002.