SWANA SOWING COLLECTIVE

SWANA Sowing Collective is a group of SWANA artists and cultural workers dedicated to cultivating land-based artistic practices rooted in cultural memory, seed stewardship, and Indigenous relationships to land. The collective centers embodied forms of research—working through growing, tending, making, and storytelling as methods of cultural preservation that move beyond institutional frameworks. SWANA sowing collective practices and teaches ancestral crafts from Palestinian tatreez to Egyptian weaving and khayamiya appliqué, carrying on the traditions of these Folk arts as forms of cultural remembrance and a futurism of resistance against cultural errasure.

Grounded in a deep reverence for plantcestors, the collective approaches art as a living system—one that sustains ancestral knowledge through seed saving, regenerative practices, and reciprocal relationships with land. Their work prioritizes sustainability across all aspects of practice, from ethically sourced and biodegradable materials in exhibition-making to community engagement rooted in care, accessibility, and long-term relationship building.

Formed through ongoing collaborations between Alexandria Saleem, Nadira Bitar (Bint Bandora), and Amirra Malak, the collective builds on shared projects that center SWANA diasporic experiences and cultural continuity. Their approach is shaped by an understanding that many SWANA communities are navigating ongoing loss—of land, seed sovereignty, and cultural knowledge—due to imperial wars and displacement.

In response, SWANA Sowing Collective is committed to preserving and reactivating ancestral practices as acts of resilience and resistance. Through collaborative exhibitions, workshops, and land-based programming, the collective creates spaces for diasporic communities to reconnect with lineage, cultivate relationship to land, and sustain cultural knowledge for future generations.