Aya Afaneh is a Palestinian artist, writer and performer based in the UAE. She is interested in the process of creating and how that space can be its own version of a spiritual practice. Her performance work deals with duration, the absence of time, and connecting to a higher self. Her most recent work, a visual series titled astral, centers around the intersectional female experience, spirituality and witchcraft.
A large part of Aya’s work stems from her positionality as a Palestinian in the diaspora and finding a means to connect with her identity. The identity politics she is exploring intersect heavily with current social and political events. Aya’s work is a space for processing, reflecting, and creating meaningful commentary. She is currently devising a performance piece about a Palestinian teenager in the diaspora who finds a way to connect with his homeland through the use of his grandmother’s recipes.
She graduated with a Bachelors of Art from New York University Abu Dhabi in May 2021, double majoring in Art and Art History and Theater, with a minor in Creative Writing. She has been chosen as a part of Numoo’s first cohort (‘21/’22).
Contact: aya.afaneh@nyu.edu
The art I create is a space for processing, reflecting, and healing. The core of my work lies in the meditative intersection of creative spaces and spiritual practice, centering the intersectional female experience, witchcraft, and the senses; both physical (sight, touch, smell, scent, and taste) and soul-based (intuition, peace, foresight, trust, empathy). This approach centers my work around the question: how does losing myself in a spiritual artistic space inspire intuitive, feminine work?
This has manifested into my current interest and research centered around food as a matriarchal, generational community tool for learning and reconciliation, specifically amongst diaspora. My research deals with food, cooking, and archiving as a means of grieving and healing. What does it look like to heal with community? Can independent healing give way to community healing? Is one possible without the other?
My work is not linear. It is a messy cycle of thoughts and creations that ignite one idea after another and somehow all come back together to be me. My art is a regurgitation of my soul and being, and trying to find my place in the Universe.