Rental and Facilities Manager
Maha Taitano
Maha is a multimedia artist who works with all mediums including metals, wood, fabrics, papers, plastics and more. Maha was born in Baghdad, Iraq and lived in Beirut, Lebanon, Guåhan (Guam), and Morocco before her family finally settled in Alameda, California in 1983. In 2007 she earned a BA in Visual Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2017 Maha returned to UC Santa Cruz to obtain a second Bachelor’s in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. She recently completed an MFA in Visual Arts at Vermont College of Fine Arts in February 2023. During her graduate program she focused on decolonizing her art practice and ideologies.
Maha’s craft business also stems from rooted indigenous research. She pulls from both Arab and predominantly Pacific Islander geometric patterns and designs to influence her woodworking. She has been involved with many artistic practices in Santa Cruz, from running the Y2K International Live Looping music festival to creating and performing fashion art pieces at the Pivot Art of Fashion shows. As a Tannery resident who has raised both of her children here, she is an active community member at the Tannery Arts Center as well as Santa Cruz County as a whole.
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