complices

farha najah

Farha Najah is an anti-racist feminist artist-activist currently based in Tiohtia:ke, unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory.  Since a young age, she has been interested in the artistic traditions of her South Asian and Muslim background, including Urdu/Arabic-Persian Script (U/APS) calligraphy, while being surrounded by, and engaging in, social justice activism.  This experience informed her to launch an art practice in 2016. More specifically, her own intersecting experiences of queerness, gender, and racialization, and solidarity with others facing systemic oppressions inspired her to develop an art practice that engages with self and collective empowerment, particularly as part of Queer/Trans People of Colour communities. Her art practice has primarily focused on U/APS calligraphy through acrylic paint and tattoo design.  More recently, she has been focusing on U/APS calligraphy while experimenting with body paint, dance, clay, and film. She is currently interested in artistically embracing the intersections of Queer and Muslim identities and imaginations via interdisciplinary artistic processes.