This year’s WiT For Good, Artist-in-Residence, is Malaysian artist Nia Khalisa who works with batik fabrics. She says, “Batik is more than just a craft. It’s a language, a way to communicate stories.”

She also wants to impart the importance of this traditional craft to the next generation through “Cap Empak Tik” workshops. “I have a mission to reintroduce the importance of our traditional art and I hope to engage more young people and revive the Batik scene altogether.”

She will be on-site to collaborate with our audience to create personal pieces of art, as well as a collaborative piece which will be put up for auction during the Closing Party on October 16. Be sure to say hi to Nia. Meanwhile, here’s to getting to know Nia.

Step into Nia Khalisa’s world, and you’ll feel a wave of nostalgia through the sepia tones of wax and the faded, rustic look of her hand-dyed batik fabrics. Nia’s journey into the world of art began like many others, with a blank canvas and a brush. Trained in fine arts, she developed a deep understanding of form, color, and expression. However, it wasn’t until 2019, after a brief study of Batik Kriya in Surakarta that she truly found her voice.

Nia is not just an artist—she’s a storyteller, a cultural bridge, and a visionary who sees beauty in nature and draws inspiration from its surrounding ecosystem. The open spaces in her work create a peaceful and calming connection to nature, yet for those accustomed to the hustle and bustle of city life, they might evoke a sense of quiet solitude or even an unsettling emptiness. “Batik is more than just a craft,” she says. “It’s a language, a way to communicate stories.”

Further exploring stylized human figures of wayang kulit, a continuation to the first Batik Tulis composed in a manner of Indonesian setting while residing there.

Nia also takes the traditional motifs and techniques she’s learned and reimagines them, blending them with contemporary designs. She is gradually introducing her brand, ‘Cap Embak Tik,’ by conducting various Batik Tulis and tjap workshops mainly in the city. “I have a mission to reintroduce the importance of our traditional art and I hope to engage more young people and revive the Batik scene altogether.”