Meet Ariette
About the Artist
Ariette Aklilu Alay Bahta is a curator and illustrator, and the visionary behind Alay Studios. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, she brings over six years of experience in visual arts and four years of curatorial practice. Her work fuses contemporary expressionism with elements of cultural anthropology, resulting in evocative portrait-based compositions.
Drawing from her multi-diasporic background of Eritrean and Black American traditions. Ariette explores themes of identity, heritage, and belonging. Through vibrant and monochromatic color palettes, layered textures, and mixed media techniques, she examines the multiplicities of self.
In her evolving practice, Ariette continues to redefine identity as fluid and multifaceted, engaging in an ongoing dialogue between past and present through curatorial work and digital painting.
