Rawand Abuilal was born in 1991 in Jerusalem. She completed her secondary school at Ibrahimieh College and studied art at Al-Quds (Abudees) University. She says:

“Art is a part of me and whenever I try to get away from painting it lures me back. There is a lot of motivation inside me but also I am motivated by events happening around me, such as war and injustice. Through art I want to give a voice to the suffering people who have no voice.”

Of her piece, Hope is Stronger Than Misery, Abuilal says:

“It used to be that I saw nothing in the Nakba but fear, misery, and darkness. I struggled to let go, but time had turned my heart black and pulled me deeper into the abyss. I wondered how it was possible to live freely with this dark weight inside me. But now the rising sun reminds me that life begins anew every day and it shines across my heart and gives me hope that I shall one day return to Palestine, my beloved home.”

Hope Is Stronger Than Misery