Mona Al Khaja (b. Sharjah, 1958) is an Emirati painter. Having graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Cairo of Helwan University, in 1981, Mona studied under influential artists and educators from the Arab World including Hamed Nada, Mohammed Riyadh, and Ahmed Nawar. She is considered among the founding artists of the contemporary art scene in the UAE.
As one of the first generation of UAE artists, Mona’s approach to painting is the result of formal study in the history of art, training in Egypt alongside artists such as Dr. Najat Makki and Abdulrahim Salim, as well as mastering techniques unique to Islamic culture. These sources provide her with abundant inspiration that she translates to the Emirati present, often blending symbolism and impressionist abstraction into her signature style. Mona uses figuration and abstraction, deliberately layering and blending colours and strokes to capture simplicity so elaborately. The artist mirrors her experience observing and recollecting acts of life at home and abroad.