- City
- Belle River
- Booth
- Nathan Phillips Square
Booth 127
Ralda Burhan
Ralda Burhan was born in 1979 in a rural area near Damascus, Syria. Raised in a conservative environment, Ralda carved her own path through education, graduating in 2004 from the University of Damascus with a degree in Arabic Language.
She later moved to Dubai, where she worked as a journalist and editor for several newspapers and magazines.
Following the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011, Ralda was barred from returning to her homeland. The conflict deeply impacted her life, resulting in the loss of family members and friends through death and forced disappearance. Like many, she endured the profound pain of displacement, as her family became scattered across multiple countries.
In 2018, she sought refuge in Canada, where she faced the challenge of rebuilding her life while carrying the weight of memory and loss. After gaining stability and Canadian citizenship, she began a journey of self-discovery. In 2021, she turned to painting as a means of expression.
she says: "The paintings healed me and became my therapy through expressing and sharing my trauma, and then I began expressing the strength that helped me overcome the trauma. Now I paint victory, the will power to heal, and the ability to renew and transform."
Ralda works in a symbolic Cubist style, exploring themes of women, strength, renewal, and survival. Her paintings delve into the inner worlds of women spaces shaped by struggle, resistance, and transformation. Through recurring symbols and layered compositions, her work reflects an ongoing dialogue between past and present, memory and identity.
Through her practice, Ralda invites viewers to witness not only pain, but the resilience and power that emerge from itan expression of the enduring strength of women across time.
