Wild, woven ride: How a CEO became an artist

RAISA RAJAN SEES SUSTAINABILITY AS A RESPONSIBILITY

- BY MANJUSHA RADHAKRISHNAN

I run a facilities management company by day — and by night, I'm weaving gold thread into art that ends up at Christie's. It's a double life, I know.

That’s Raisa Rajan. Dubai-born, Kerala-rooted, CEO, architect, mother of two — and now, a sustainable artist showing at one of the world’s most prestigious auction houses.

It all started with a solo exhibition at 1604 Art Space. “A Christie’s official just walked in. They saw my work. They heard the story behind it. And that was it,” she says.

Her signature installation, Zarute, is made from raw zari threads and jute rope — a fusion of South Indian textile tradition and Emirati craft materials. “The threads are finer than hair. I sourced them from Kanchipuram. It’s not the shiny stuff — it’s raw, authentic, full of character,” she explains.

'My work speaks'

And no, she doesn’t do art for beauty alone. “My work speaks. It raises awareness — wildfires, climate change, environmental neglect. Art, for me, is activism in disguise,” Raisa says.