Kamal Boullata was a Palestinian artist, writer, and art historian. He earned a diploma in fine art from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome in 1965, followed by an MFA from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC, in 1971. He lived in several countries, including the USA, Morocco, France, and Germany, where he passed away in 2019.
In his artistic practice, Boullata was renowned for using Kufic script to create colorful, geometric compositions. Inspired by his childhood in Jerusalem, much of his work explores themes of identity and exile, drawing inspiration from the ornate decoration of the Dome of the Rock and the distinctive embroidery of his native Palestine. He was also an author, producing three publications on Palestinian art. His scholarly writings on modern and contemporary Arab art and culture appeared in numerous exhibition catalogues, anthologies, and academic journals.