Aygamal Awut

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

ABOUT AYGAMAL AWUT

Aygemal Awut is a Uyghur Dolan folk artist and intangible cultural heritage practitioner based in Awat County, Xinjiang. She is a core artist of the Awat County Dolan Peasant Painting Cooperative, specializing in Dolan peasant painting, mural painting, and the teaching and transmission of intangible cultural heritage.

Her work is characterized by a natural, vibrant visual language and rich use of color. Drawing inspiration from her local community, Aygemal frequently depicts Dolan customs and traditions, rural harvests, everyday village life, and the changing cultural landscape of Awat.

Alongside her own artistic practice, Aygemal is committed to preserving and passing on Dolan peasant painting. She regularly participates in programs that bring intangible cultural heritage into schools, teaching traditional painting techniques to young people and encouraging a new generation to engage with local cultural traditions. She has also contributed to community mural projects and cultural initiatives throughout the region.

Her works have been featured in numerous exhibitions across Xinjiang. In 2022, Dancing Together, The Joy of Harvest, and Happiness Knocks at the Door were selected for a Xinjiang peasant painting exhibition organized by the Xinjiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles. In 2023, several of her works were selected for an exhibition celebrating the Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival.

In 2024, Aksu’s Apples Have Turned Red, Busy Autumn Harvest, and Prosperity Through Livestock Farming received Encouragement Awards at the “Colors of the Land · New Expressions of the Silk Road” Outstanding Peasant Painting Exhibition. Later that year, Another Year of Harvest and The Fragrance of Milk received Excellence Awards in an exhibition organized by the Xinjiang Artists Association.

In 2025, her work Housewife received Third Prize in an intangible cultural heritage co-creation competition held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

Through painting, education, and community engagement, Aygemal continues to document the everyday life and cultural traditions of Awat while contributing to the preservation and development of Dolan peasant painting.