Elnaz Javani

Elnaz Javani is an Assistant Professor of Fibers and Graduate Advisor for Fibers at Colorado State University’s Department of Art and Art History, within the College of Liberal Arts. Her work focuses on textile-based media, installations, drawing, and printmaking, exploring themes such as identity fragmentation, place, power dynamics, and labor. She coordinates the Fibers program, teaching across undergraduate and graduate levels.

Education: MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (recipient of the New Artist Society Merit Scholarship) and BFA in Studio Art from Tehran University of Art.

Research interests include gender, feminism, queerness, and immigration, often expressed through material manipulation and layered textile processes. Her exhibitions span international venues in the USA, Spain, Iran, France, Colombia, Turkey, UAE, Germany, Canada, and Switzerland.

• Awards/Grants:
• New Voices 2024 (Print Center NY)
• 2023 Center for Craft Artist Cohort Grant
• Chicago Break Out Artist of the Year (2022)
• Multiple residencies and fellowships (e.g., Kala Art Institute, Define American Art Fellowship)

Her practice constructs fictional and imaginary spaces through textile processes, addressing personal and collective narratives tied to displacement and cultural identity.