Lora Aziz
Art & ecology.
I’m Lora Aziz, an Egyptian–British interdisciplinary artist working with plants, water, memory and the ways we make a life in common.
Explore my practice ↓
Foraged nettle fibre. Walnut and oak-gall ink. A map, remade by hand.
A work from The Commons Way, bringing experimental calligraphy and plant knowledge into conversation with the history of the land.
Enter the work ↗Where art
takes root.
I make work through walking, gathering, listening and working alongside others.
My practice moves between installation, writing, experimental calligraphy, wildcrafting and participatory research. It asks how land, water and inherited knowledge shape our sense of belonging — and who gets to take part in shaping a place’s future.
Alongside making art, I direct cultural and environmental programmes: bringing artists, communities, researchers, public bodies and funders into sustained collaboration. Artistic practice and strategic leadership inform one another.
My work connects the UK and Egypt, with Arab, North African and diasporic perspectives at its heart.
View professional experience ↗From the field.
Artworks, shared enquiries
and cultural programmes.
Motanafas &
Walking in Wadis
A long-running enquiry into plant knowledge, water and cultural memory in St Catherine, Sinai. Working with Motanafas Collective and local young people, the project brings artistic expression together with ethnobotany and ecological learning.
Motanafas formed part of the British Council’s COP27 Creative Commissions. Walking in Wadis, credited to Lora Aziz and Motanafas Collective, was exhibited in Thirst: In Search of Freshwater at Wellcome Collection, 26 June 2025–1 February 2026.
Collaborators and partners include Dayma, Rehab Eldalil and Firstsite. The related film, The rain that fills the well, is credited by Wellcome to Saeed Jumna, Ahmed Ramadan, Hagar Elhady, Lora Aziz and Marley Karazimba.
Blue Steps Along
the Saffron Trail
A cultural and ecological enquiry into the relationships between a historic trail, freshwater and the communities around it.
As project director and founder, I bring together artists, ecologists, researchers and local partners through walking, mapping, fieldwork and creative commissioning. The work explores access to nature, climate justice and the possibilities of a shared blue-green cultural corridor.
The feasibility work is complete. The next chapter is developing opportunities around Danbury and Audley End, alongside the wider cultural ecology work growing through Samara Cultures.
The feasibility project was supported by Bluespaces funding from Essex & Suffolk Water. Explore the project website for the report, maps, walking logs and team credits.The Commons Way
Foraged inks, handmade papers, experimental calligraphy and walking encounters meet in an exploration of ecology, women, plants, land and rent.
Presented at Wat Tyler Country Park for Estuary 2021, the work drew on The People of 1381 research programme. Multimedia elements were created with videographer and sound artist Marley Karazimba.
I also contributed calligraphy and embellishments to The People of 1381 outdoor exhibition, designed by Samuel Restorick and produced by Metal with the University of Reading project.
Festival archive ↗The People of 1381: a later collaboration
The Poetry Society documents my illustration of a collaborative ballad made with school pupils and poets in 2022, printed using risography by Heidi Sharp.
Read the project story ↗In the gallery.
With others.
On the page.
In conversation.
Thirst: In Search
of Freshwater
A contributor to Wellcome Collection’s anthology exploring our relationships with freshwater, published on 3 July 2025, alongside the exhibition of the same name.
View the publication ↗Homeland is Presence
Women’s memories, cultural heritage and plant knowledge come together in a shared exploration of the Essex landscape. The project’s book launch and exhibition were documented by Chelmsford City Council.
Read about the project ↗Experience
& leadership.
My professional work brings artistic vision together with partnership development, fundraising, commissioning, programme management and evaluation. The chronology below follows my current professional CV.
Blue Steps / Saffron Trail
Leading strategy, budgets, fundraising, commissioned teams, contracts and evaluation for a cultural and ecological initiative spanning landscape, heritage, climate and access.
National Landscapes
Led a National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported national cultural programme, building partnerships, commissions and inclusive programming across the network.
Wyrd Flora
Developed artistic projects and producing work around place, climate and community, collaborating with cultural institutions, local government and environmental partners.
Chelmsford City Council
Developed cultural and community partnerships across council departments and local organisations. Served as an Equality and Diversity Champion.
Research, governance & international networks
- 2025–2028 · Visiting Research Fellow, University of Essex, Department of Sociology
- 2026–2027 · JUST Practice Builder, UKRI JUST Centre
- 2026–2028 · Arts & Culture Co-Chair and Ambassador, World Trails Network
- Current · Trustee, The Other MA (TOMA)
- 2020–2024 · Trustee, Essex Cultural Diversity Project
Education & professional development
- 2018 · MA The Contemporary, University of Kent, Paris Campus and ICA London
- 2012–2016 · BA Sociology and Social Anthropology, University of Essex / Université Jean Jaurès
- 2023 · Creative Climate Leadership, Julie’s Bicycle
- 2023 · Create South East creative industries cohort
- 2024–2026 · Creative Climate Adaptations, Black Mountains College
Practice &
possibility.
My artistic work continues through commissions, writing, research and encounters with place.
I founded Samara Cultures to support collaborative work across culture and ecology. It is a developing organisational home for this shared work, while my individual practice remains a space for artistic enquiry and experimentation.
Meet Samara Cultures ↗