Natalie Fisher
Natalie Fisher is a needlepoint artist based in Sydney, Australia. She works with pure wool, translating decorative Islamic tiles into stitched needlepoint art. Her work celebrates diverse visual cultures inspired by decorative Islamic architecture, particularly tile work adorning significant public sites in countries including Morocco, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Turkiye and India. Her work is well respected by Muslims and Islamic art scholars in Australia and internationally.
Natalie’s work has been exhibited in art galleries, as well as in non-traditional spaces including Persian carpet galleries, mosques, and Islamic art museums in Australia and the United Arab Emirates. She has been published in textile and Islamic art magazines and journals. Her original needlepoint artworks are held in private collections in Australia and in the United Arab Emirates.
Recent Exhibitions
2023 Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival 25th edition, Sharjah Art Museum, United Arab Emirates
2023 Bayti Lebanese Restaurant, Parramatta, Sydney, Australia for UNHCR fundraising dinner
2022 Silk Inroads, Gallery76m Concord West, Sydney
2022 Silk Inroads, Wagga Wagga, NSW
2020 Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial, United Arab Emirates (postponed due to COVID-19)
2019 Persian Rug Co, Rozelle, Sydney
2018 Lakemba Mosque Open Day, Sydney
2017 Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival, United Arab Emirates
2016 Islamic Musuem of Australia, Melbourne
Commissions
2021: Private commission, Dorset, England
2021: Private commission, Sydney
2017: Commission for Bayt At Qindeel cultural organisation, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Australian Government Grants
2021: Create NSW Individual Project Grant
Publications
2021: Book ‘Ghorzah: Islamic Architecture in Needlepoint’. Self-published. Online worldwide launch- September 2021 and in-person, Wagga 2022.
Speaking/Presenting
2023: Book talk, Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2023: Australia for UNHCR- guest speaker for fundraising dinner
2023: Keynote speaker and workshop delivery for Technology Educators Association (TEA), NSW
2021: Guest lecturer, Creative Practice Research for Research Methods, Charles Sturt University
2021: International online book launch
2018: Artist talk, Islamic Museum of Australia, Melbourne
Workshops
Dec 2023: For Sharjah Art Foundations, Al Hamriyah Studios, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Dec 2023: Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
July 2023: Australian Craft and Quilt Fair, Sydney
July 2022: Gallery76, Concord West, Sydney
Sept 2021-Jan 2022: Wagga Wagga local community project Silk Inroads, NSW, Australia
Press
2019 Inspirations Magazine, Issue 102
2019 Uzbek Journeys: Art, craft and history tours to Central Asia, 19 October
2018 Textile Fibre Forum #131, September
2017 Islamic Arts Magazine, 14 December
Other
2017 Participant, Phd focus group: creating principles for contemporary Islamic art and design, Tetuan, Morocco
2017 Commission for Bayt Al Qindeel cultural organisation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2006 Designer for Ehrman Tapestry, London