Ali El-Chaer (b. 1995; they/he) is a trans Palestinian-American writer, illustrator, and interdisciplinary artist based in New Jersey. Their practice bridges the gap between historical archival research and contemporary political urgency, currently focusing on interpersonal grief and displacement. Drawing from Byzantine iconography and Levantine political poster art from 1913 to the present, El-Chaer’s work serves as a visual record of resistance and memory.

El-Chaer is currently an MFA candidate in Design at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts (2025-2027) and earned a BFA from Austin Peay State University.  Their work has been exhibited internationally, with notable showings at MNFA (Amman, Jordan), the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery (Seattle). In 2024, they were a resident artist at the Bethany Arts Community and were selected by South Arts to represent Tennessee as a fellow for the National Leader of Color cohort from 2024-2025.

Their illustrative work has been featured by Lambda Literary and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. In collaboration with Renascence Books, they served as editor for the anthology Heaven Replied (2024). Through a synthesis of journalistic and artistic practices, El-Chaer continues to advocate for Palestinian liberation and the preservation of marginalized histories.