Photo: Marie Ravn

I have always been on the move - between countries and languages, the seen and the felt. My work lives in that space in-between: where memory becomes image, where silence becomes line, where emotion becomes color.

Born between cultures, I learned early on that home is not always a place, but a feeling, a gesture, a glance, a moment of shared understanding. My drawings, photographs, and words are ways of holding onto that. Of mapping connection. Of capturing what cannot be explained but is deeply known.

I work with watercolor and ink on paper, often intuitively, letting each piece unfold like memory - layered, uncertain, soft around the edges. My portraits speak to the fragments we share; my abstract pieces drift like places once passed through; my photographs are quiet witnesses to the world’s small, unspoken truths.

In all I do, I search for beauty in the unresolved, in longing, in stillness, in the quiet resistance of tenderness. This is my archive of that search. You’re welcome to wander through it.

I am an artist, writer, and cultural advisor with over a decade of experience in programme management at the intersection of art, human rights, and international development. With a background in political science, human rights, and international law, I have led and advised cultural programmes across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Western Balkans, often focusing on artistic freedom, gender equality, and cultural mobility.

My professional journey has taken me from working with UN and EU institutions in twelve countries to collaborating directly with national stakeholders, civil society, and communities in transition. I currently work with the Swedish Arts Council, developing international strategies to strengthen artistic freedom and support cross-border cultural cooperation.

Alongside my advisory work, I maintain an independent creative practice. My illustrations, often created in watercolor and ink, explore themes of movement, memory, and belonging. My photography and writing have been featured in international publications and exhibitions across Europe, offering personal reflections on identity, place, and the quiet politics of everyday life.

My debut novel, Conversations with Cities, will be released in 2026, a visual dialogue across landscapes, emotions, and the maps we carry within.

I believe deeply in the power of art to connect across borders.

Exhibitions and collaborations:

Questions, thoughts, or collaborations - Drop a Line

niushakhani.art@gmail.com