Steve Sabella, born in Jerusalem in 1975, is a Berlin based artist who uses photography and photographic installation as his principle modes of expression. He is the holder of the Ellen Auerbach Award (2008) granted by the Akademie der Künste (Academy of the Arts) in Berlin and was one of the commissioned artists for the inauguration of MATHAF Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha where he presented a critical installation entitled Settlement - Six Israelis & One Palestinian. His artworks were shown in Les Rencontres d’Arles 2013.

Steve Sabella’s artworks have been collected by the British Museum in London, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Ars Aevi museum in Sarajevo and leading collectors in the Middle East including The Samawi Collection, Cuadro Fine Art (Dubai), Salsali Private Museum (Dubai) and Barjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah).

Sabella’s international shows include: Neighbors in Dialogue (Istanbul, Turkey 2007 and Sarajevo, Bosnia 2008), Gates of the Mediterranean (Rivoli, Italy, 2008), Palestine, La Création Dans Tous Ses Etats, Institut du Monde Arabe & the National Museum of Bahrain (Paris 2009), Deconstructing Myths & Realties, Gallery Caprice Horn, Berlin, NOW - Contemporary Art of the 21st Century, Phillips De Pury (London 2009), This is Not a Love Song, The Empty Quarter gallery (Dubai 2010), Award Month, Akademie der Künste (Berlin 2010), a retrospective solo Steve Sabella In Exile at the Metroquadro Gallery (Turin 2010) The Interrupted Image, Nicholas Robinson Gallery (New York 2010), Told Untold Retold, MATHAF Arab Museum of Modern Art (Doha 2011), a solo exhibition Euphoria & Beyond at the Empty Quarter Gallery (Dubai 2011), Arab Reflections on Praxis and Times, Spazio Qubi (Turin, 2011), Les Recontres Arles Photographie Edition 2013 (Arles 2013) and PHOTOQUAI Photography Biennial (Paris 2013).

Sabella’s project Jerusalem In Exile explored the mental image Palestinians hold of Jerusalem and has gained international attention, leading to its production into a documentary film. Consequently, Sabella has been using photo collage as a visual form for the state of mind that results from living in 'mental exile’ and the transcendence of this state towards Independence (2013).

Steve Sabella studied art photography at the Jerusalem School of Photography and New Media in 1994, and holds a BA in Visual Arts from the State University of New York (2007). Sabella received his first MA with a Caparo Award of Distinction in Photographic Studies (2008) from the University of Westminster and his second MA in Art Business (2009) at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. Sabella gave art talks / presentations in several places including the University of Cambridge, Turin University, SOAS, University of East London, Accademia Albertina Delle Belle Arti in Turin, Contemporary Art Platform Kuwait, Rostock University, Akademie der Künste in Berlin & and the British Museum in London.

Sabella’s artworks and life have triggered much media attention. He was featured on IkonoTV as the 'Artist of the Month' in 2011 and 2013. Sabella was invited as a speaker for TEDx Marrakech in 2012. A monograph is currently being prepared in collaboration with the Akademie der Künste and Hatje Cantz in Berlin, that will review his life and artistic career from the early 1990s.