Crossing is a word that holds movement as well as intention together—the desire to go beyond, without ever simplifying what lies on either side. When I founded Nilufar, I did not think in terms of categories or boundaries. I was guided by instinct, by curiosity, by a continuous desire to discover. What interested me most was not defining a field, but moving across it.

Crossing is a way of working. It is what allows a twentieth-century masterpiece to speak to a contemporary piece, what

makes a historical object feel unexpectedly present, what gives new voices the possibility to emerge. I have never believed in a linear narrative of design. I believe in connections—in the subtle, often invisible threads that link ideas, forms and people across time.

This naturally extends to culture. It is never singular, never fixed. It is shaped by encounters, by exchanges, by contamination. To cross means to remain open, to accept complexity, to embrace the richness that comes from looking beyond one's own perspective. It is, in many ways, an act of listening.

There is also a responsibility in crossing. It requires care, respect and a willingness to engage with what is unfamiliar without trying to control it. But it is precisely in this openness that I find the possibility for something new to happen.



– Nina Yashar