Meet the Artist: Natalia Tan

Natalia Tan is a textile and community artist, educator, co-founder of the Singapore Eco Arts Festival, and Fellow of the Artistic Directors Academy at T:>Works (previously known as TheatreWorks). An active advocate of sustainability and socially-engaged artmaking, she weaves and facilitates the co-creation of artworks using salvaged waste, found objects, and participants’ personal experiences and imagined futures.

She studied contemporary weaving in Japan between 2014 and 2019, and was selected for a scholarship and weaving residency in Osaka to further her exploration of Saori weaving in 2019. Natalia has worked with prestigious arts venues like The Esplanade, National Design Centre, and Singapore Art Museum; iconic hospitality locales including the Raffles Hotel, Edition Singapore, Figment, and 1880; and counterculture sites Peace Centre, The Substation, and 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace. Her work is collected around the world, primarily in Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States. Many of her weavings are on permanent display in House Natalia, a conservation shophouse and co-living space in the eclectic Katong-Joo Chiat enclave. 

Natalia has completed one weaving residency in Japan and three art residencies in Singapore, sharing her praxis and research with thousands of visitors over the past three years alone at "into softer worlds" (2021), presented by Art Outreach; “tactile tales” (2022-23), presented by the library@orchard; and “nothing but a day dream” (2024), presented by Supper House. She has been interviewed on national television for her work in upcycling and community engagement, and has also been featured in periodicals such as Vogue, Female, Art & Market, and The Robb Report. Some of her past clients include Diptyque, Christian Dior, and Samsonite.

Find out more about Natalia's other works and exhibitions by clicking the portfolio link below: