In my art i process personal stories, mine and from others, that reveal underlying emotions around themes such as belonging and identity.

As a daughter of migrants, little to no knowledge about my familyhistory and having migrated to another country myself, these themes affect me on a personal level. But it is the complexity of these issues on a universal level that interests me and that i find important to explore.

I do so by using various textile crafts like handcrafted traditional weaving, patchwork and quilting techniques. And through a kind of visual language that has emerged over time with which I translate text compositions into textile compositions.

I am attracted to textile craft, visual art and fashion because of the social & cultural impact they can have on individuals and communities. It speaks to the core of our being and to us expressing ourselves, revealing ourselves.
And I love that the cultural heritage of textiles is a living tradition inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants. It is about connecting, connecting to others, through time and space.

I see the superpower that textile designs can hold to influence our state of mind; they can sooth us, they can empower us to express our identities, our voices and play a role in evoking social change even.
There is a greater purpose to threads and i want to explore it.

My work bares personal stories, memories, express a significant moment in time or give voice to social issues. I see them as strong and soothing, but also vulnerable, imperfect, honest and never without mistakes, as is real life.

I hope they give you pause and joy!

X Natasa

a short and sweet bio written by Sygne Cygan /AABKC

NATASA HEYDRA (b. 1974) is a visual artist, raised in Rotterdam and now living in Rødkærsbro. Throughout Natasa's works are themes such as belonging, home and identity.

The move from Rotterdam (NL), a large and diverse city, to a house in the countryside in Rødkærsbro (DK) has meant that these themes now engage Natasa both on a personal and a more universal level.

In her works that are often made in textile with different techniques such as weaving and quilting, Natasa investigates the emotions that associated with searching for a place to belong and the importance of being able to be and own who you are

"The hardship of migrating, of leaving who you are and what you know, is a story that needs to be shared” says Natasa and highlights how the isolation, many experienced during the Corona shutdowns is but a fragment of what refugees and other migrants experience. They find themselves in a similar situation but without an home, social status, culture and people they love. If anything, the lockdowns revealed the variety of social elements we need to thrive as human beings and the effects on our (mental) health and thus our society when these are absent.

Natasa's works can often be activist in their themes and at the same time soothing and inviting.

For a number of years, she has worked with the organization and curation of art in the Netherlands. She has worked for Showroom M.A.M.A., where she led a project about young, Western, fashion-minded Muslim women, which resulted in, among other things, the fashion magazine MSLM – the first Dutch magazine focusing on the juxtaposition of Western and Eastern Muslim fashion.

After Natasa has moved to Denmark, her focus has shifted from organizational and curatorial work to an immersion in her own artistic practice. However, she is still working on the organization of art as part of the association Kunstforum Viborg, of which she has recently become a chairman.

Natasa graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, where she first studied Fashion Design and later Visual Art.