Sharif Waked was born in Nazareth to a Palestinian refugee family from the village of Mjedil. He lives and works in Haifa/Nazareth.

Waked has exhibited at various biennials and museums in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S.A including: (2009) Paris Photo, Carrousel Du Louvre; Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Algiers; Banja Luka Biennial; Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia; Queens Museum of Art, New York City; Sharjah Biennial 9, United Arab Emirates; (2008) Huarte Centro de Arte Contempor·neo, Spain; Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool; Artists Space, New York; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. (2007) Meeting Points 5, Berlin; The Nobel Peace Centre, Oslo; The Seconde Riwaq Biennale, Ramallah; Tate Modern, London. (2006) Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, Charlottenborg Exhibition Hall, Copenhagen. (2005) The Oberhausen Short Film Festival; Transmediale 05, International Media Art Festival, Berlin. (2004) Macro al Mattatoio, Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome; Institute of Contemporary Arts, ICA, London; Herziliya Museum of Contemporary Art. (2003) Witte de Witt Museum, Rotterdam; Home Works II, Beirut; Sharjah International Biennial 6, UAE. (2002) Ars Electronica, Linz.

Waked’s work is part of the permanent collections of the Solomon Guggenheim-New York, the Fondation Louis Vuitton pour la Création, the Sharjah Art Foundation, and the Israel Museum.