Heather Hamann

Heather Hamann (b. 1990) is an interdisciplinary artist based in the Bay Area. Her work maps an ever-expanding magical universe that includes sculpture, performance, fashion, painting, and animation. She describes her motivation, “I always make all kinds of fantasy places, like Medieval Kingdoms, Enchanted Princess Castles, and the Wee Folk Forest. If you believe in your heart you can see all kinds of great things you can create.”

Hamann sculpts miniature food to keep royal fairy folk well fed, and slab-constructed dioramas of palaces, fountains, carousels, and evergreen forests. She elaborates on these environments in hand-bound artist books: watercolor illustrations of verdant gardens and lavish interiors function as theater sets, poised for performers to activate the space. In recent years, Hamann herself has taken the stage, fusing many aspects of her practice to create and star in films such as “The Dance of the Mushroom Kingdom” and “The Dance of the Flower Kingdom.” These performances incorporate spoken word, choreographed movement, and hand-stitched costumes. Each drama unfolds in front of a green screen playing Heather’s digitally drawn animations, allowing her to magically emerge from and disappear into her drawings as she dances. 

Heather Hamann joined NIAD Art Center in 2019. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at the Oakland Museum of California, Sonoma State University, Contra Costa College San Pablo, UC Hastings Law SF, and Mills College of Art. Hamann's sculptures, paintings, and artist books were showcased in Telling Stories Even in Our Dreams, a two-person exhibition organized by Liz Hernández in October, 2024 for the Main Gallery at NIAD.