Sara Diani on Painting, Desire, and Being an Afghan American Artist
Download MP3In this episode of The Truth In This Art, I sit down with Afghan American painter Sara Diani at Eaton Hotel in Downtown DC!
About Sara Diani: Afghan American artist based in Northern Virginia and working in Washington DC, who works in oil and soft pastel to explore intimacy, desire, and attachment — focusing on fragments of the body, lingerie, fabric, curves, and the spaces between forms.
We start at the beginning — Sara's first creative memory is getting reprimanded in first grade for not waiting for the paint to dry during a portrait exercise. She connects that moment directly to who she is now: an oil painter who needs glow, patience, and time.
We get into her path to painting — a BA in art history from George Mason University with a focus on Eastern art, a photography background that served as a bridge to creative freedom, and drawing people, something she says has always stayed with her.
Sara also opens up about the tension at the center of her work: growing up Afghan American in a culture where modesty was expected and desire was not something you put on a canvas. She's clear that she can only speak from her own experience — while being direct that curiosity about the body, yearning, and intimacy is what pulls her to make work. As she puts it, she "alchemizes" those feelings onto canvas.
She talks about where she and her work intersect — her answer is that they don't diverge. She exists in her creativity. And she talks about the music and television that gave her a sense of freedom growing up — Busta Rhymes, the visual wildness of 90s music videos — and how that shaped her sense of what art could look like.
And she closes with advice for artists that is direct: focus on your work, focus on your voice, and don't water it down for anyone.
Photo courtesy of subject
About Sara Diani: Afghan American artist based in Northern Virginia and working in Washington DC, who works in oil and soft pastel to explore intimacy, desire, and attachment — focusing on fragments of the body, lingerie, fabric, curves, and the spaces between forms.
We start at the beginning — Sara's first creative memory is getting reprimanded in first grade for not waiting for the paint to dry during a portrait exercise. She connects that moment directly to who she is now: an oil painter who needs glow, patience, and time.
We get into her path to painting — a BA in art history from George Mason University with a focus on Eastern art, a photography background that served as a bridge to creative freedom, and drawing people, something she says has always stayed with her.
Sara also opens up about the tension at the center of her work: growing up Afghan American in a culture where modesty was expected and desire was not something you put on a canvas. She's clear that she can only speak from her own experience — while being direct that curiosity about the body, yearning, and intimacy is what pulls her to make work. As she puts it, she "alchemizes" those feelings onto canvas.
She talks about where she and her work intersect — her answer is that they don't diverge. She exists in her creativity. And she talks about the music and television that gave her a sense of freedom growing up — Busta Rhymes, the visual wildness of 90s music videos — and how that shaped her sense of what art could look like.
And she closes with advice for artists that is direct: focus on your work, focus on your voice, and don't water it down for anyone.
Photo courtesy of subject
The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore).
Host: Rob Lee
Music: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.
Production:
- Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel Alexis
- Edited by Daniel Alexis
- Show Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and Transistor
Photos:
- Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.
- Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.
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Creators and Guests
Host
Rob Lee
The Truth In This Art is an interview series featuring artists, entrepreneurs and tastemakers in & around Baltimore.
Guest
Sara Diani
Afghan-American artist based in the Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia area. Her work in oil and soft pastel explores body fragments, intimacy, desire, and themes of identity and displacement, with exhibitions featured at venues like Station 3510 and the FEMME Art Fair.
