Sara Shamma

Shamma was selected as one of the prize winners for the 2004 BP Portrait Award. She was subsequently invited to participate in a number of solo and group exhibitions around the world, including Q at The Royal College of Art, 2013, The Royal Society of Portrait Painters' Annual Exhibition at The Mall Galleries in 2013, and NordArt in Büdelsdorf, Germany in 2012. In 2010 she was selected as the 'Celebrity Partner' artist to the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP).

Sara Shamma (Arabic: سارة شمّة ‎) (born 26 November 1975) is a UK-based Syrian artist whose paintings are figurative in style. The importance of storytelling and narrative is paramount in her work. Shamma has a long-standing interest in the psychology associated with the suffering of individuals and has made work on the subject of war, modern slavery and human trafficking. Her works can be divided into series that reflect prolonged periods of research.

Shamma, was born in Damascus, Syria (1975) to a Syrian father and Lebanese mother. She graduated from the Painting Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus in 1998. She moved to London in 2016 where she currently lives and works, under the auspices of an Exceptional Talent Visa. Shamma has taught at the Adham Ismail Fine Arts Institute in Damascus (1997-2000)