A few days ago, the cultural community in Palestine lost artist and writer Sohail Nowarah, who passed away at the age of 76.
Nowarah was born in 1940. He was a writer and an artist. He began his journey as a writer with a number of short stories, and in particular his play, Zaghrodet Al Ard, which was produced for the theatre twice, the first production in the 1970s, and the second, a few years ago.
Nowarah began his artistic journey by attending a fine art school in Jerusalem, where he spent 10 years. He exhibited his works several times in Nazareth. The Foundation organised an exhibition for him in Ramallah, in June 2006, thanks to the initiative of his friend, director Michel Khleifi. That was his last exhibition.
Nowarah took on simple professional jobs throughout his life, but he never stopped painting and writing. He remained close to Nazareth, his neighbourhood and his house where he lived until his mother’s death, a few years ago. Till the very end, he dreamed of returning back to this house where he grew up.
Nowarah was a private person; his exhibitions were organised only because of his friends’ initiatives. He never sought to show himself or present his works to the audience.