Laila Ajjawi (Arabic: ليلى عجاوي, born June 9, 1990) is an activist, graffiti artist, muralist, and digital artist based in Jordan. She is of

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

descent, and was born and raised in a

Palestinian refugee camp Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian ...

outside of

Irbid Irbid ( ar, إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in ...

, Jordan. Her work highlights women living in the Middle East, with a focus on refugees facing discrimination and limited resources in their countries of residence. She has created murals with

Women on Walls Women on Walls (Arabic: ست الحيطة ''Sitt el-Heita'') is a public art project in Egypt aimed at empowering women through the use of street art, by encouraging the portrayal of strong Egyptian female figures in street art and empowering female ...

, a public art project based in Egypt aimed at empowering women through street art.

Early life and education

Ajjawi was born in a Palestinian refugee camp outside of Irbid, Jordan. She is the oldest of six children, and her father is a construction worker. Her family built their house on the site where her paternal grandparents resettled during the

Nakba Clickable map of Mandatory Palestine with the depopulated locations during the 1947–1949 Palestine war. The Nakba ( ar, النكبة, translit=an-Nakbah, lit=the "disaster", "catastrophe", or "cataclysm"), also known as the Palestinian Ca ...

. While her family has cultural ties to

Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...

, both of Laila's parents were born and raised in refugee camps. Her interest in

street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...

began when she was 17 years old after being commissioned to paint a mural for a kindergarten. Ajjawi attended

Yarmouk University Yarmouk University ( ar, جامعة اليرموك), also abbreviated YU, is a comprehensive public and state supported university located near the city centre of Irbid in northern Jordan. Since its establishment in 1976, Yarmouk University (YU) ...

and studied biomedical physics.

Career

Ajjawi completed her first piece in 2014 in the Ras Al Ain Gallery at a workshop organized by the Women on Walls. Ajjawi's primary source of income comes from the humanitarian sector, and she has worked as a site supervisor in a refugee camp.Jordanian graffiti artist
/ref> She took the humanitarian route as a response to the Syrian crisis, saying her work with Syrian refugees has widened her knowledge of "social life and humanity." Ajjawi's art highlights issues such as

gender-based violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence includes any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification. Types of gender-related violence include: * Violence against women (sometimes referred to simply a ...

, a lack of women's representation in the workforce, and the ongoing discrimination of Palestinian refugees. She paints murals of strong women, as a means to show other women and refugees that they can take control of their lives, despite legal and social opposition. She is strategic in the colors she uses in her art, and uses cool-toned colors to promote a sense of peace and calm. Ajjawi has discussed the potential difficulties that including political content in her works could cause, and has stated that her art is focused more on social issues, especially women's rights. Ajjawi has accumulated numerous awards for her art, writing, and short film. One notable work is her 2014 mural ''Look At My Mind'', which she created as part of the Women on Walls project. ''Look At My Mind'' questions societal focus on women's appearances. Other works include a 2021 mural in Irbid titled ''My country's daughter'', and a mural completed in 2023 in celebration of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

. Ajjawi has partnered with other leaders that focus on

women's empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

as well. In 2015, she painted a mural for SheFighter, Lina Khalifeh's women-only martial arts training studio in

Amman, Jordan Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...

References

Women graffiti artists Living people 21st-century Palestinian women artists Year of birth missing (living people) Women muralists {{Palestine-painter-stub