- Artists Profiles
- Africa
- East Asia and the Pacific
- Europe and Eurasia
- Near East
- South and Central Asia
- Western Hemisphere
- All 2010 Artists
- All 2009 Artists
- All 2008 Artists
Nazira Aldzhanova
Kyrgyzstan
Year(s) attended: 2010
Embroidery and Kurak
Nazira is part of Folk Motifs, a group of seven women and two men who are revitalizing the art of kurak (patchwork) and embroidery in Kyrgyzstan.
Once a means of individual expression for nomadic Kyrgyz women, these rag works employed simple geometric shapes and color combinations rich in symbolic content.
As kurak died out, Kyrgyz women saw the loss of their grandmothers’ designs as well as their mystical knowledge and ideals. Folk Motifs works to revive kurak and other traditional Kyrgyz art forms, alleviating poverty among Kyrgyz women.
