Najat Makki

Najat Makki was influenced by pioneer Egyptian artists such as Mokhtar, Mohamed Saeed, Hamed Nada, Brothers Wanly, Alsajini and Saed Alsader. Najat’s creativity also inspired by the local Emirates environment such as the desert, the sea and folklore. Her perception has a large impact on the artistic interpretations she has developed over time. Her work covers a variety of styles including realism and abstract expressionism.

“Everything has colour to me. When I was a child, my father owned an herbal medicine shop. It was full of boxes of all different herbs as well as indigo dye and alum-block. I used them all to paint on paper bags. That’s when I started to love colour. At home, I watched my sisters make cushions and curtains from brightly coloured material. I learned about light and shadow from watching my mother fold our clothes. My relationship with colour didn’t just come; I worked on it by learning from everything I saw.”

Makki was the first Emirati woman to earn a government scholarship to study art abroad in 1977. She obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees in relief sculpture and metal from the College of Fine Arts in Cairo, where she also received her doctorate in the philosophy of art in 2001.

Najat Makki (born 1956) is a United Arab Emirates visual artist. She is a member of the Dubai Cultural Council. and one of the pioneers in Emirati contemporary art scene.