As a native of Iran and a resident of Columbus, Ohio, Elham Bayati’s first task as the fall 2025 Windgate Foundation artist in residence at Arkansas Tech University was to immerse herself in a new culture.
“I don’t see any border between artists’ minds from different cultures,” said Bayati. “Here, I had a great experience. The people of the South are warmer with more hospitality. I tried to explore in different spaces beyond the art department and outside the school, and I found that people are so welcoming.”
Bayati will return the favor by hosting the people of the Arkansas River Valley at an opening event for her series of paintings entitled “Layers of Becoming” on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
The event will begin with an artist’s talk at 2 p.m. at the Co-Create Innovation Hub, 215 S. Arkansas Ave. in Russellville, and continue with a reception until 4 p.m.
Refreshments catered by Wildflower Café will be provided. Admission will be free and open to the public.
“My works are layered because of the way of living I have in different countries and in different cultures,” said Bayati. “Each experience of living that you have with different people affects your mind and your emotions…it’s another layer, and it changes you.”
Bayati created “Layers of Becoming” during her residency at Arkansas Tech. She explained that the series was influenced by such factors as the natural surroundings of the Arkansas River Valley and the music she heard ATU students perform inside Witherspoon Hall.
The series of three paintings is scheduled for installation on the second floor of Witherspoon Hall as part of a renovation of that space planned for summer 2026.
“Each layer presents memory, culture and emotion in a poetic way,” said Bayati. “My works are usually full of colors and patterns. I would love to invite people and audiences to connect with the colors and visual aspects. I would like to touch their hearts with colors and patterns, and then start exploring the story. Some people think paintings are like literature, but it’s like music. The language is color, texture and brush strokes. You have to feel that, and then explore what you think. Sometimes my audiences see something that I didn’t know about a work, and I love that ambiguity. Curiosity is the best space for connecting me to my audiences.”
Bayati holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbus College of Art and Design, where she now serves as an adjunct faculty member. She produces art at studios in Columbus, Ohio, and New York City.
The eighth Windgate Foundation artist in residence in Arkansas Tech history, Bayati was preceded in that role by Manami Ishimura (spring 2019), Tiffany Black (spring 2020), Jade Hoyer (fall 2021), Andrew Malczewski (spring 2022), Haylee Bolinger (spring 2023), Julie Benda (spring 2024) and Anders Nienstaedt (spring 2025).
“Residency is a great experience for an artist to concentrate…to explore…to see yourself as an artist from a different angle in a different community,” said Bayati. “This residency was positive because I had 3-to-4 months to explore and focus on my emotion as it connected to the community. That was important for me. The reaction and the space I received as an artist was wonderful. I felt free to explore, and the nature here was totally magical. Emotionally, I felt it, and I’m so happy I had this chance to connect more to nature with lights, shades and smells. I had my solitude to think and explore. I love this land.”
