Dana Awartani

Multimedia artist Dana Awartani is inspired by traditional Arabic and Islamic culture, and her works in film, textile, performance, illuminated manuscript, parquetry, ceramics, and embroidery demonstrate her dedication to preserving and reinvigorating traditional crafts and practices. In collaboration with and under the tutelage of skilled craftspeople and experts on historical methodologies, Awartani finds contemporary relevance for old forms to evoke the nostalgia, sadness, and remorse that accompanies the foreseeable loss of cultural heritage. With raw materials like locally-sourced sand, textiles, and natural dyes derived from minerals and plants, Awartani creates intricate works that also reveal the ephemerality of material existence.