Bosla Arts announces second art residency featuring Palestinian artists Rand Hamdallah and Shahd Itbakhi

29 April 2025: Bosla Arts is proud to announce its second artist residency programme, welcoming Palestinian artists Rand Hamdallah and Shahd Itbakhi.

Rand Hamdallah will spend six months in London as Bosla Arts’ artist-in-residence, where she will focus on developing her practice within the city’s vibrant creative community. As part of her residency, Hamdallah will undertake a course at The Royal Drawing School and work closely with Bosla Arts to contribute to its programming. The residency aims to provide temporary relief and a nurturing environment for Hamdallah to explore and expand her artistic practice.

For the first time, Bosla Arts is also introducing an online residency programme. Palestinian artist Shahd Itbakhi will participate remotely, completing a three-month intensive course at The Royal Drawing School while engaging virtually with Bosla Arts and its wider network.

Speaking about the programme, Bosla Arts co-founders Georgia Beeston and Hossam Fazulla said: "Despite the unbelievably difficult situation for Palestinians at the moment, we are proud to be able to offer two artists the opportunity to take part in our residency programme this year - both in-person and online. At a time like this, it is more important than ever to support artists, and we are excited to work with Rand and Shahd over the coming months."

About the Artists

Rand Hamdallah is an architect by training whose passion lies in graphic design and visual experimentation. Originally from Tulkarm, Palestine, her work merges spatial understanding with explorations of culture and identity. Since graduating in 2020, she has experimented across a range of mediums, including furniture design during a residency at the Qattan Foundation in Ramallah. Currently pursuing a master’s degree in urban sustainability, Hamdallah’s practice increasingly examines the dynamic relationship between urban life, spaces, language, and movement, using both digital and traditional media to document and reinterpret the Palestinian context.

Shahd Itbakhi is an artist and conservator born in Hebron in 1997. She holds a BA in Contemporary Arts from Dar Al-Kalima University. Itbakhi’s practice centres on the concepts of time, memory, and the layered experiences that shape human identity, both individual and collective. Her work explores the relationship between people and their environments, investigating how repetitive and extraordinary events influence perceptions of stability and turbulence. She also delves into the psychological and demographic shifts within local communities, offering nuanced reflections on personal, cultural, and political change.