Artists Sara Alkhayyal, Maryam Altajer, and Hana Almilli are using calligraphy, textiles, and mixed media to weave the region’s rich past into its bright future. Here Villa 88 speaks to the trio about why art has become the driving force in their lives, their collaborations with Bvlgari and how the respective work that they create is designed to spark conversations, elicit emotions and, most importantly, educate the wider world about the deep cultural heritage that fuels their oeuvre.
There’s a certain elegance in the way Sara Alkhayyal weaves the past into the present, her work bridging generational narratives with contemporary artistry. The Emirati artist and designer, known for her deeply personal approach to textiles and pattern-making, has built a career around storytelling – both her own and those of the women who came before her.
“I started my art journey in a very unclear way,” Sara admits. “Since I was young, I loved crafts. I loved making things, but I never thought of it as a career path. It was just something I did.”
That changed when she found herself dissatisfied with a marketing degree and stumbled upon graphic design. “From the very first class, I felt this overwhelming sense of belonging,” she recalls. “It was the first time I truly connected with something I was learning. It allowed me to explore myself, not just in terms of what I could create, but as a person.”
Graphic design, for Sara, was more than aesthetics – it was a method of problem-solving. “People think graphic design is just about making logos, but it’s so much more than that. It teaches you how to research, how to look at things critically, and how to communicate visually,” she explains.
But it was textiles that truly captured her imagination. During her senior project, she delved into female oral histories, how stories could be archived in fabric. “I realised how little was documented about women’s history in the UAE,” she says. “I wanted to change that.”
The result was a collection of jalabiyas embroidered with patterns inspired by oral histories. “I wore one of my designs to a family gathering, and my younger cousin asked me about the pattern. When I told her the story behind it, she ran to our grandmother to ask more questions. That moment showed me the power of art to connect generations.”
This exploration of heritage and identity caught the attention of curators and collectors alike. Her first solo exhibition, Sara’s Weave – A Sadu Story, was an ambitious reimagining of the traditional weaving craft. “I wanted to modernise Sadu,” she explains. “I experimented with 2D and 3D weaving, animated digital patterns, and even metal grids to challenge the traditional format.”
That sense of reinvention is what made her a natural choice for Bvlgari’s latest Ramadan collaboration. “When they reached out, I had this realisation that Bvlgari had already been part of my life for years,” she says. “My first big purchase after high school was a Bvlgari bracelet, and when I got my first freelance paycheck, I bought the matching necklace. So when this opportunity came, it felt like things were coming full circle.”
Called The Reflection of Growth, the project Sara created for Bvlgari used the palm tree as a starting point to create a woven motif sculpture. ”I wanted to reflect the evolution of growth in crafts that we have in the UAE. So I took the craft of Al Khous palm leaves weaving and transformed it into a sculptural piece to showcase that,” she explains.
Despite her rapid success, Sara remains deeply introspective. “I don’t plan too far ahead,” she admits. “All the opportunities I’ve had so far have come from doing what I love and staying open to what’s next. I just want to keep evolving and pushing myself.”
Her work is a testament to that philosophy. Whether through pattern-making, fabric, or immersive installations, Sara’s art is an act of preservation – of memory, culture, and self-discovery. “I think of fabric as a second skin,” she muses. “It carries meaning, but it can be changed and passed down. That’s what makes it so powerful.”
And as she continues to experiment and expand her practice, one thing is clear: Sara isn’t just creating art. She’s creating history.
If there is one thing that defines Maryam Al-Tajer’s artistic practice, it’s her commitment to pushing boundaries while staying deeply rooted in her cultural heritage. A graphic designer turned abstract artist, her work is a study in contrasts – between structure and fluidity, tradition and innovation, abstraction and meaning. And, perhaps most strikingly, between black and white.
“For me, black and white reflects who I am,” Maryam says. “I’m a straightforward person. I don’t sugarcoat things – I say what I think, and that’s how I create.”
That sense of clarity and conviction has carried Maryam through an unconventional artistic journey. A Bahraini-Qatari artist who originally studied graphic design, she found herself frustrated with the rigidity of grids and guides. “Graphic design is so structured, so traditional,” she explains. “During my last year of my BFA, I started painting just to release the tension. I never drew flowers or portraits – it was always abstract shapes, always something more instinctual.”
That instinct led her to a whole new artistic direction, one that is now attracting international recognition. Her collaboration with Bvlgari, part of the brand’s Ramadan campaign, saw her reimagining sacred contemplation through design. “They asked me to create a piece that symbolizes Ramadan. I thought about the act of stacking stones — how people place them one on top of the other for meditation, for slowing down, for finding balance. I wanted to translate that into my work.”
The result was an interactive sculpture using Bvlgari’s iconic Diva collection shape, designed to be carefully stacked. “The edges are so thin that you have to slow down, focus, and be present when you place them,” she says. “It’s about being mindful, about finding a rhythm.”
This kind of material exploration is where Maryam’s work is currently heading. Now completing her MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Doha campus, she is incorporating 3D modelling and natural materials into her practice, further blurring the line between fine art and design. “I’m moving beyond paper. I’m working with 3D fabrication, with materials like black sesame seeds, frankincense, and sidr leaves – things that have spiritual significance in Islamic tradition,” she explains. “I’m even experimenting with moulding these materials into abstract Kufic calligraphy, inspired by the disjointed letters at the beginning of certain Quranic verses.”
Maryam’s approach to calligraphy is deeply personal. Unlike traditional Arabic scripts, her letters are intentionally unreadable. “My work is poetic,” she says. “Sometimes people don’t even understand themselves, so why should text always be perfectly legible? I love watching people stand in front of my paintings, trying to decipher them. They project their own meaning onto the work, which makes it even more personal for them,” she adds.
That interplay between meaning and mystery, between control and surrender, is what makes Maryam’s work so compelling. It’s also what makes her career path so remarkable. As the only artist in a family of business professionals, she wasn’t always sure how her choices would be received. “When I first shifted from graphic design to fine art, my parents didn’t fully understand it,” she admits. But when they began to see her work exhibited and the overwhelmingly positive feedback it was generating from the public, her family realised Maryam had found her calling.
That moment of validation – when her art resonated not just with her, but with others – was a turning point. Since then, she has exhibited internationally, completed a three-month residency in Paris, and is now preparing for a major solo show. “Paris was one of the most amazing times of my life,” she recalls. “I was surrounded by artists from all over the world, exploring new techniques, visiting galleries, just creating for the sake of creating. It reminded me why I do this.”
As she continues to redefine what contemporary Arabic art can be, Maryam is proving that true creativity exists in the spaces in-between – between past and future, structure and spontaneity, black and white. And in that space, she is making a name for herself, one striking, contemplative piece at a time.
In the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary art, the creative voice of Hana Almilli resonates with depth and introspection as a Saudi Arabian artist, she works at the intersection of textiles, memory, and identity, Hana’s work is a dialogue between the past and present, woven together through the delicate medium of fabric. Her pieces, often rich with historical references and personal nostalgia, serve as both intimate recollections and universal truths.
“I am who my ancestors are,” Hana says in between takes for this issue’s cover shoot. “I represent them. I try to carry their history, I try to carry their journey. I try to carry their message.”
That commitment to heritage and storytelling has been the driving force behind her artistic evolution. A graduate of the California College of the Arts (CCA), Hana initially entered the world of architecture before pivoting to textiles – a decision spurred by a single knitting class she took as a way to keep a connection to her grandmother who used to take Hana with her to the knitting store when she was a girl. “I don’t really know if I was truly expressing myself in the right way with architecture,” she explains. “I wanted to explore art, poetry, and different mediums. Then I took a knitting class, and that kind of pushed me to switch my entire major to textiles. It was a big shift, but still deeply connected – architecture has structure, and so do textiles.”
That structure, for Hana, is not just physical but emotional. Her work is imbued with a sense of longing, a connection to her homeland, and an ongoing conversation with her roots. Moving from Saudi Arabia to California was a seismic shift, one that fueled much of her creative exploration. “There’s this idea of alienation and nostalgia towards home, towards discovering ancestors and their history. It became more pronounced when I left Saudi,” Hana admits.
This theme of longing manifests in her use of archival photography and dreamscapes. One of her most poignant works is a textile piece inspired by a dream about her grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s. “At the time, we weren’t able to contact her. It was almost like that connection to her, to my past, was slipping away. Dreams reconnect you with things that are no longer there.”
Hana’s practice is also a study of collaboration – both with other artists and with her audience. She sees her work as an invitation for people to bring their own histories to the conversation. “It’s more important to me that people interpret my work in their own way. People come with their own histories, and I want them to see something in my work that speaks to them. I’ve noticed that when people view my art, they start sharing their own stories. That’s powerful,” she says.
Her recent collaboration with Bvlgari challenged her in new ways, pushing her to explore spirituality and abstraction in a fresh context. “It was very different from my usual practice. It was a play on contemplation, on how to make something abstract yet deeply meaningful.” The project, tied to Ramadan and the sacred rituals of the holy month, allowed Hana to stretch her artistic vocabulary while staying true to her craft.
As Hana prepares for her upcoming solo exhibition in Dubai, she is immersed in family archives, uncovering forgotten narratives and weaving them into new expressions. “Right now, I’m delving into my family’s photographic archives. It’s about reconnecting, mapping our past, and seeing how these pieces fit into a larger cultural tapestry.”
Yet, for all her focus on history, Hana is not weighed down by the past. Instead, she carries it forward, reinterpreting it, breathing new life into forgotten images and untold stories. “It’s not just about my history. It’s about keeping history alive for future generations. I want people to be proud of where they come from, to explore their roots, and to keep those stories safe.”
In a world that is constantly in motion, Hana’s art stands as a reminder that our identities are not static. They are stitched together by the places we’ve been, the people we’ve known, and the dreams that continue to guide us forward. “We are ever-changing,” she muses. “But history – that’s what keeps us anchored.”
In Hana’s hands, history is not just remembered. It is woven, embroidered, and made tangible – one thread at a time.
On the cover:
Sara wears an Abaya set by O.Tafintseva with a BVLGARI Serpenti Viper necklace in white gold with diamonds, a BVLGARI Serpenti Tubogas watch in rose gold and stainless steel bracelet and a diamond-covered case, BVLGARI Serpenti ring in rose gold with emeralds and diamonds. Maryam wears a dress by Marmar Halim, an inner dress by Lime and a sheila by Elna line. She pairs her look with a BVLGARI Serpenti bracelet in rose gold with diamonds and black onyx eyes and a BVLGARI Serpenti Forever Mini Top Handle Ramadan exclusive bag. Hana wears a dress by manaalalhammadi with a pair of BVLGARI Serpenti Viper earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, a BVLGARI Serpenti Viper necklace in yellow gold with diamonds, a BVLGARI Serpenti Viper two-coil bracelet in yellow gold with diamonds and a BVLGARI Serpenti Viper ring in yellow gold with diamonds
Photographer: Michel Takla
Stylist: Polina Shabelnikova
Creative direction: Toufic Araman
Set Designer: Yehia Bedier
Creative Producer: Beya Bou-Harb
Make-up: Emily Clayton
Hair: Betty Bee
Jewellery: Bvlgari
