The Facts
On October 12, 2026, Lisson Gallery announced that Dana Awartani will be included in 'Nach Damaskus … Karl Ernst Osthaus und die islamischen Künste,' opening at Museum Folkwang in Essen, Germany, on November 6, 2026. The exhibition brings together approximately 340 objects from the museum's historic collection of Islamic arts assembled by founder Karl Ernst Osthaus from 1898 onward, including ceramics, textiles, an illustrated Šāhnāma (Book of Kings), and Hispano-Islamic tiles, shown alongside European modernism and design. Awartani contributes her silk textile installation 'Come, Let Me Heal Your Wounds. Let Me Mend Your Broken Bones, As We Stand Here Mourning' (2019), addressing cultural memory and historical transmission. The show is on view through February 21, 2027.
The Signal
Awartani's inclusion signals the growing institutional appetite for contemporary artists whose work engages colonial and Eurocentric collecting histories, positioning her within a curatorial discourse that museums are increasingly foregrounding. For collectors, the placement of a 2019 textile work in a major German museum survey adds institutional validation and visibility, reinforcing the market relevance of artists who critically reinterpret historical narratives through craft and installation.
- Artists: Dana Awartani
- People: Karl Ernst Osthaus
- Galleries: Lisson Gallery
- Museums: Museum Folkwang
- Locations: Essen
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