Adra Kandil, known as Dear Nostalgia, is an award-winning Lebanese multidisciplinary designer and visual artist. Kandil blends digital and print media with a bold, narrative-driven approach. Booming on Instagram as her digital canvas, she merges cosmic, dreamy imagery with culturally relevant cues to create a visual commentary on modern identity, nostalgia, and societal change. Her signature aesthetic—a fusion of retro visuals, bold typography, and dreamy color palettes—transforms personal and collective memories into modern storytelling, creating visual letters from the past, present, and future.

With a background in Creative Advertising & Branding from IED Barcelona and a Master’s in Coolhunting, Design, and Global Trends from Elisava Barcelona, Adra’s work spans from design thinking, research, innovative solutions, exclusive collaborations, visual identities, and collage art in both digital and print media. Her art has been showcased in exhibitions worldwide, from Beirut to California, Paris, Switzerland, New York, Amsterdam, Montreal, and Barcelona.

Adra has collaborated with global and multinational brands, including Gucci, Chanel, Adidas, Benefit Cosmetics, Cartier, Womena, Roberto Cavalli, Ounass, and Harper’s Bazaar, designing everything from luxury fragrance packaging to editorial covers, lookbooks and large-scale immersive installations. Her influence extends into Web3, where her NFT artworks have been featured in high-profile digital art initiatives.

Her work has garnered international recognition, with features in Forbes, Vogue Business, NFT Now, Marie Claire Korea, Arab News, Savoir Flair, and Jamalouki Magazine. These features established her as a leading creative voice at the intersection of art, culture, and design.

Adra was an Adidas Global Resident Artist (2023-2024) and a UNDP Resident Artist (2019-2022). She is also an Adobe Express Global Ambassador (2023-) and is exclusively represented by Emergeast Gallery for limited-edition prints.

Awards

2021 - 'Collaging a Gender-Equal Future' Finalist, European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed)
2019 - Winner of ADG-FAD Silver LAUS Award, Barcelona, Spain
2018 - Winner of rank in 50 most outstanding students of IED Barcelona, Spain