Samt n.– Making no sound; quiet; still

Arabic for silence, Samt is a virtual platform for art and research that functions in periodic volumes, and mainly exists online through Samt.co

Founded by Walid Al Wawi in 2017, Samt’s mission centres around challenging the political economy and institutional hierarchy of the art system, by shifting the receptivity of art discourse from the conventional state of physical geographies to a fluid and contemporary techno-digital approach.

In 2022 in collaboration with Ragini Nagu, Samt further expanded on its mission with the creation of Samt Alternative Art School (SAAS); an experimental rethinking of creative methodologies structured around themes of indigenous wisdom and holistic wellness.

SAAS’s pedagogy excavates ancestral mysticism through the somatic system as a mode of resistance and authentic production; combating the colonialist Eurocentric academia, capitalistic frameworks and patriarchal dominance of the historical and contemporary art canon.