Sarah K. Khan

Headshot of artist Sarah K. Khan

Sarah Khurshid Khan (she/her) is a maker and scholar. Before the discipline of food studies formally existed, she cobbled together an undergraduate degree in Middle Eastern history and Arabic, as well as several graduate degrees in public health, nutrition and a PhD in plant sciences/traditional ecological knowledge systems. At present, her food/culture study and research informs her present art practice. A maker of prints, photos and doc films, Khan has received numerous grants, residencies, and fellowships to pursue writing, research, and multimedia expressions on food, culture, women migration, and healing. She has presented her creations at the Museum of the Moving Image, Queens Museum, and New York University, to name a few. To learn more about Khan’s work, visit http://sarahkkhan.com/ and @sarahkkhan on Twitter and Instagram.

Sarah Khurshid Khan, Curative Spaces: African Indian Ocean world femmes, Marjane and Uzza, engage in the simple act of creating during the monsoon. They infuse their world with local food-medicine-essences like black pepper കുരുമുളക്, cinnamon दालचीनी, clove خکیم, rose گل ورد, and bitter orange البرتقال زهر ماء. Steeped in indigenous sciences, the femmes advance their dynamic, multisensory healing arts, 2022.

Inspired by the Central Indian Ni’matnāma, Sarah Khurshid Khan reimagines the 16th century illustrated cookbook with a new playful visual critical fabulation in animation. The multimedia series are unfolding, ongoing, and ever-evolving.

This animation was made by Khan during her 2021-2022 Art Hx Artist Residency with assistance from Aaron Granat.

Art Hx: Visual and Medical Legacies of British Colonialism