This summer I was part of one of the largest arts and crafts shows hosted in Karachi by The Crafter’s guild: The Indie Arts and Crafts Show. It was a great opportunity to not only exhibit/sell work but also to meet other artists. It was absolutely incredible to see so much talent and get to […]
The Indie Arts and Crafts Show and my first magazine feature! Read More »
I’ve always known that community work is important to me. I think growing up with a dad like mine cultivated that in me. He’s an eye surgeon and his hobby is to host eye camps in the rural areas of Pakistan where people suffer from curable diseases like cataract and spend their whole lives blind.
The Untold Edition — Phases of planning part 1 Read More »
Women’s day was quite a while back but I forgot to write a blog on a small exhibition that happened at Ascott Hotel Jeddah. It was called “Women Supporting Women” and it exhibited all kinds of arts and crafts. Here are the paintings chosen to be exhibited there: I absolutely
The Other Story Project, mentioned in one of the previous blog posts, is a public art project I’ve been following for quite some time. I guess it is exactly my idea of using various forms of art and community involvement to build a cultural narrative. The Other Story Project often orchestrates a collaboration with artists
The Other Story Project — Illustrated Read More »
The Chicago trip… what can I say? It was a medley of moments; distressing, uplifting, thrilling and overwhelming all in turn. I’m still working on completing the visual journal and then will post details of the whole experience. For now, let me write this blogpost on the highlight of the whole trip: a visit to
The Art Institute of Chicago Read More »
The Other Story Project is a fascinating community project initiated by Fatima Al Banawi in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Here’s a bit more about Fatima Banawi herself: I find her and her work very inspirational. The focus of my own past community projects in Karachi has been to provide a platform for the stories and voices
The Other Story Project–collaboration Read More »
My first tutorial left me feeling interested in how objects could spin a narrative. That week, I decided to experiment with water and glass paints to marble porcelain dishes and mugs and see what kind of art it would create. Here’s the video of the whole process: At that time I added the touches of
Experiment # 2: It’s what they whisper Read More »
I haven’t concretely written down my project proposal yet, but brainstorming and some research has yielded the following answers about what I am seem to be seeking: I want to build simultaneous narratives to explore the ‘slice of life’ story of an absent protagonist. I want my art to reflect the ‘stream of consciousness’ or
Experiment # 1: I capture the desert Read More »
Every expat I have ever met in Jeddah, artist or no, has always been absolutely certain of one fact: there is no room for the expat artist to grow in Jeddah’s local art scene. Yes, you can get a teaching job, yes, you can even visit art galleries superficially, but to be part of it all? Nope.
Visit to Arbab Al Heraf Read More »
“I want to be a teacher,” she said. And in the neatness of her braid, the primness of her posture, the clarity of her speech, you could tell she wanted to be a teacher. Every child I met that day, had such hopes and aspirations for their future. They, who would probably leave this room
