ST. LOUIS — Naba Yasir is a singer, an artist, and a woman, proud of her Muslim faith.
"I think a consistent theme with my work would be social justice, as well as the Islamic empowerment aspect of it is something I've also been very passionate about. So just using design as a storytelling tool is something that I really hold close to my heart," Yasir said.
The recent Webster University graduate’s senior thesis project was displayed earlier this month at the historic arcade building in downtown St. Louis.
"The piece is an installation, and it is a 13-foot-long tatreez tapestry. Tatreez is the traditional Palestinian embroidery. I'm using their culture and it's something that represents their passion and their arts and their resilience," she said.
Her piece won the Best of Show award at Webster’s senior showcase, but if you rewind to the beginning of her college career, she didn’t anticipate this path.
"Art has always been there in my life, but it was only just a hobby. I was very focused on science. So, I never considered the arts to be a career path to go through, and then COVID hit. That was when I had so much time on my hands," she said.
Naba turned to her faith, and her faith led her to art.
"Webster, I think has been really great with giving me the space to explore my design and my arts and just meet like, my identity as a Muslim artist," she said.
Her senior project is just one example of Naba weaving her Muslim faith and heritage into her art. She has taken social media by storm! After posting a few covers of Islamic songs, her Instagram blew up! With over 20 thousand followers she is embracing her identity as a Muslim woman, loud and proud, hoping to inspire and educate at the same time.
"The best part of it was to see the responses to see that whatever I did in whatever capacity was able to connect with them. For you to say it as in me inspiring someone else, I'm just so happy to have the opportunity to do that," she said.
You can follow along on Naba's journey on Instagram. For inquiries on available art or commissioning pieces, email her at studio.nabayasir@gmail.com.
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