Born in Vilnius, Lithuania, Svetlana Gous is a fiber and land artist, weaver, curator, producer and community builder who lives in Palo Alto, CA. A computational linguist by training, Svetlana worked at Stanford and New York University, in a Silicon Valley start-up, and in corporate environments.

Svetlana advises Tukku Magi, a non-profit novel institution based in Latvia and USA. Its mission is to create vibrant new networks between Northern European, African and American cultures through juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary art. Since 2020, she has been involved in Jeppe Hein’s ongoing global art project “Breathe with Me” which promotes the UN Sustainable Development Goals, participatory art, the relationship between art practice and conscious breathing.

Svetlana is known in the art world for her work with creative collective AbidWe and under the alias Sana Gous. Her art bridges the gap between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary urban life and has been exhibited in public spaces around the Bay Area, in New York City and in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

While traveling, Svetlana meets with local textile artists to encourage creativity and cultural exchange, to bring international attention to their work and to forge unexpected collaborations. She also volunteers at Fabmo, a non-profit dedicated to rescuing designer materials for artistic reuse, furthering her commitment to sustainability and community-driven art practices.