Salma Arastu

Salma Arastu (born 1950) is an artist whose work takes inspiration from her cultural background and experiences. Born in Rajasthan, India to a Sindhi, she was raised Hindu and later converted to Islam and moved to the United States in 1986. She lived and worked in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from 1987 to 2006, before moving to Oakland, California. She creates paintings, sculpture, poetry and calligraphy and produces greeting cards for the American Muslim community.

Arastu has exhibited her paintings internationally. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, St. Louis, Missouri, the 9/11 Memorial Museum, New York, NY, and she has earned several grants for her work. Arastu received a Masters degree in Fine Art from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.