Dream Weaving: Art, environment, and politics of belonging

At last week’s Dream Weaving art exhibition, two artists stood out, not just for their bold techniques, but for the completely personal stories woven into their pieces of work.

Kenyan textile artist Agnes Waruguru and Sudanese painter Amani Azhari are using visual art to reflect on climate, healing, and the intimate lives of women across borders.

“I’m very conscious of how the environment affects our everyday lives,” said Agnes, whose small-scale textile pieces shimmered with pigment derived from hibiscus, turmeric, saffron, and even avocado pits.

“Look at the floods we've been going through and the collective grief in the world. I feel that there's a real connection between the climate and the state of the world.”

Agnes, who has worked as a visual artist for over 10 years, is best known for fusing textile art with natural materials. Her works, priced at Sh61,365 ($475) each during the show, often blend printmaking, beading, and embroidery in a soft, intimate palette.

“I extract pigment from plants, and use a lot of kitchen ingredients. I’m inspired by traditional women’s practices, many of which my mom taught me,” she says.

Though the size of the Dream Weaving works was unusually small for her, she embraced the challenge.

“I typically don’t work on such a small scale, so it was about doing enough, but not too much. These feel like extended sketching, a space where I can be playful with my imagination.”

For Amani Azhari, the canvas is also a vessel for collective emotion, but in her case, the focus is on sisterhood and therapeutic dialogue. Her painting, created over two months while she was eight months pregnant, depicted girls sitting close together, quietly immersed in one another’s presence.

“It’s like a healing session,” she told the BDLife. “Girls sitting and speaking together—it’s not only about gossip or talking. It’s a kind of therapy. I wanted the people seeing it to feel that relaxation. To focus not on who the girls are, but how they feel.”

Azhari, a graduate of the College of Sudan and Applied Arts, draws heavily from her country’s social dynamics and recent political turmoil. Her work doesn’t shout; it invites. In quiet tones and warm domestic spaces, she portrays women in moments of strength, softness, and survival.

Read: Kenyan women’s legacy told in tapestry and brass

While their mediums differ, both artists share an important value: they see art not just as expression, but as a way to sustain themselves without compromising their integrity.

“When I first started, I made sure to have other jobs—tutoring, teaching, running an art camp—so that my ideas always stayed true to themselves,” said Agnes. “Now the practice sustains itself in its own time.”

Her influences include renowned Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu and Nigerian-Belgian visual artist Otobong Nkanga, both known for feminist, nature-centered works. “Their practices align with mine,” she says, “especially in how they talk about women, heritage, and the climate.”

Asked where she’d ideally exhibit her work, Agnes, who has been the only Kenyan to exhibit at the world's most famous exhibition, Venice Biennale, since 1895, doesn’t name Paris, Berlin, or New York. She smiles and gestures to the gallery space where ‘Dream Weaving’ took place.

“Right here, today. To support this place,” says Agnes, who trained to be a painter [in Kenya and the US] but chose early on to break away from the conventional approach of working on primed stretched canvas.

Art may not always offer answers, but in the hands of these two artists, it certainly offers comfort, reflection, and healing.

“Art is completely fulfilling,” Agnes concludes. “For me, it’s a life-saving activity. I don’t think I’d be here today without my art practice.”

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