Natasha Mann

Having spent a year in Fes studying Zouaq – a traditional form of Moroccan painting on wood - Natasha embarked on our MA degree course because she realised it offered a unique opportunity to study geometry and traditional art techniques that are in grave danger of being lost. Natasha was awarded a distinction for her MA and won the Barakat Prize for Islamic Art.

The MA course allowed Natasha to explore her Zouaq painting in ways she could never have done on her own, nor in Morocco. She learned to see this traditional Moroccan art in the context of the philosophy underlying all traditional arts which freed her to develop her own art while respecting and maintaining traditional techniques.

Her work has been supported by the Radcliffe Trust and the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust.

In 2014 and 2015 her painted pieces formed part of group exhibitions at the Seyhoun Gallery in Los Angeles.

Now working to commission from her studio at Cockpit Arts, London, Natasha continues painting and studying Moroccan geometric designs in order to rediscover the knowledge of lost techniques for future generations.