Elan Byrd is multidisciplinary artist and textile designer from Miami,FL. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She acquired her undergrad training in fashion design, weaving, and surface pattern textiles from Parsons School of Design and Central St. Martins.
Elan’s work blurs the traditional boundaries between fine art, craft, and design. The central theme of her practice, explores the intersection between ancestral storytelling, the concept of home/community, and the cultural commonalities which highlight the value of handwork and materiality found throughout time.
Elan investigates the duality of identity through a macro and micro lens. She looks towards her family stories, and the cultural history of the African & Caribbean diaspora, to discover how her identity has been shaped then references ancient and historical architecture, furniture, textiles to build upon that identity and give birth to a new one.