The Material Before the Object: Reclaiming the Chain from Source to Form

The Materials Library at VCUarts Qatar is pleased to host an artist talk by Ishraq Zraikat in collaboration with Liwan.

Talk overview

What happens when artists and designers move beyond the finished material and enter the processes that produce it? This talk proposes a return to material literacy: an expanded practice in which extraction, cultivation, processing, transformation, and making become part of creative authorship.

Register for the event here. 

Artist bio

Ishraq is a Jordanian fiber artist and wool developer. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech and a MA in Textile and Material Design from NABA – Milan. Her interdisciplinary practice combines architecture, fashion, and textile design, rooted in critical reflections on process, materiality, and technology. Specializing in felting and Bedouin weaving, Ishraq draws inspiration from the concept of ‘archaic revival’ and the return to ancient crafts and our relationship with nature – not as a literal reconstruction of the past, but as a creative reimagining for the present and future. She divides her practice between NY and Jordan. In 2018, she became a certified wool grader with the American Sheep Industry. Her work has been exhibited at Design Doha Biennale, Diriyah Islamic Art Biennale, Amman Design Week, Dubai Design Week, Osaka World Expo 2025, The Escher Museum, as well as in galleries in New York.

www.ishraqzraikat.com
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