Meet Malak Mattar, the Palestinian artist behind the 'Together for Palestine' concert at London's Wembley Arena

Malak Mattar left Gaza on 6 October 2023, bound for London to begin her studies at Central Saint Martins. The next day, Hamas attacked Israel and war engulfed the home she had left behind.

She was 14 years old when she first picked up a box of watercolours and taught herself to paint. It was 2014, and Mattar was living through the 51-day assault on Gaza, during which a quarter of her neighbourhood was destroyed. Painting became both an outlet and a way to endure. 'My art is painting experiences from my heart,' she says. 'It represents me.' Now 25 and living in London, she has exhibited at international institutions, and after graduating with an MFA from Central Saint Martins in July, became the first Palestinian student to be awarded a solo exhibition at the school.

On Wednesday 17 September, she steps onto her biggest stage yet as artistic director of Together for Palestine, one of the largest benefit concerts for Gaza since the 7 October attacks. Taking place at London’s OVO Arena Wembley and overseen by Brian Eno, the event will raise funds for Choose Love, a British charity working with 23 partner organisations in Gaza to provide food, medical supplies, and urgent humanitarian aid.

'In the face of the horrors of Gaza, silence becomes complicity,' Eno has said. 'Artists have always helped societies to point out injustice and imagine better futures. That’s why this concert matters. It’s time for us to come together – not just to raise our voices, but to reaffirm our shared humanity.'

The evening’s line-up brings together Palestinian musicians Adnan Joubran, Faraj Suleiman, and Nai Barghouti with Eno and other leading UK artists including Bastille, Cat Burns, Hot Chip, James Blake, Jamie xx, King Krule, Mabel, Obongjayar, Paloma Faith, Rachel Chinouriri, and Sampha. The production design is being led by Mattar, who will transform the stage into a canvas for contemporary Palestinian art, offering an expression of Palestinian creativity, resilience, and beauty.

'I was keen to bring our story; a story of diaspora and exile,' Mattar tells Wallpaper*. 'In 1948, we were expelled from our homes, including my own family, and made refugees. I wanted to show that history, and to portray the work of artists who remained in Palestine and continued painting.'

Her curation presents around 15 artists, spanning from the 1980s to today, in what she describes as 'a selection of paintings from different schools, from different generations, from different backgrounds.'

Part of this tribute honours eight artists killed over the years of conflict in Palestine. Among them is her close friend, artist Mohammed Sami Qariqa, who was killed in the bombing of Gaza’s al-Ahli Arab Hospital in October 2023. 'Every day I’m so angry he’s gone; he was such an incredible person,' Mattar says. 'He was my age, so driven and so passionate about working with the community and with children. He spent his time playing with kids at the hospital, trying to distract them from the bombardment. He was murdered there with the children. That’s his last memory.' She adds: 'I feel my only contribution now is to bring people to see his work and to know his story.'

Another artist featured in Malak’s showcase is Laila Shawa, a Palestinian-British artist born and raised in Gaza, where she became a central figure in the local art scene. 'Growing up in Gaza, I was surrounded by her work,' Mattar recalls. 'To be able to bring it into the concert means so much to me – it feels incredibly valuable.'

Mattar herself will present five works, among them No Words (2024), a vast black-and-white oil painting and a centrepiece of her MFA exhibition. With its apocalyptic imagery, the canvas bears witness to Gaza’s devastation under Israeli assault, which has left more than 65,000 dead and 90 per cent of the population displaced.

For Malak, Together for Palestine signals a new era in the art world; one where speaking about Palestine, and for Palestine, carries an urgency that can no longer be ignored. 'As an artist myself, I’ve been cancelled, silenced, and suppressed, even told not to speak at the opening of my own exhibition,' she says. 'I know how difficult it is for artists in the West to speak up, and how it can lead to real consequences: damage, lost opportunities, labels, and cancelled shows.'

Since its announcement in July, the concert – which features a visual identity designed by Samar Maakaroun of Pentagram – has continued to gather support, with more artists and cultural figures joining the line-up. This month, Benedict Cumberbatch, Louis Theroux, and Chicken Shop Date’s Amelia Dimoldenberg were confirmed, adding their voices to an initiative long backed by Eno, a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause. 'The way I see it, it’s so brave and so right,' Mattar says. 'Some artists are speaking out two years after the genocide, and that’s okay. Better late than never. I see this collaboration as valuable because we step away from titles and labels and stand together simply as human beings, united in our outrage at the genocide in Palestine.'

'All the artists are very excited and will be tuning in to watch the live broadcast of the concert and see their work presented,’ Mattar adds. 'It’s really a moment of the artists celebrating their work, and of us as the audience celebrating what they’re doing.'

togetherforpalestine.org