On the occasion of International Artist Day, You! has rounded up few artists to celebrate and pay homage to this day…
international artist day
Around the world, artists are working hard in creating their artistic work. Artists are the ones who add beauty to the world we live in. They work with many different mediums. Artists include painters, photographers, sculptors, literacy, musicians, dancers, writers, actors, digital artists, and more. Over the years, IAD (International Artist Day) has been grown steadily in popularity globally. More precisely, IAD has taken on a life of its own. Artists and their supporters from everywhere celebrate IAD. They promote festivals and events to increase the perceptibility of the art and artists in a wide variety of genres. It may include painting to literature, music, the digital arts, and everything in between with the help of local and corporate sponsors. As art provides you with a medium of speech, let us also see the work of those who study, research and criticise artists to showcase their art of words. Here is a list of various artists…
– Multidisciplinary Visual Artist
Haya Zaidi is a full-time, self-employed artist, based in Karachi, Pakistan. Zaidi’s work is an amalgamation of mix-media, collage, miniature painting and digital art.
Her work centres on personal experiences, while navigating the world within the vessel of a brown female body and explores subjects around race, gender, identity and sexuality within the sub-continental cultural climate. “I think artists are important in all cultures and societies. They add beauty/aesthetics to the world around us and beauty is one of the few attributes which make life on this planet worthwhile. Whether musicians, actors, visual artists, chefs or dancers, I think all kinds of artists strive to do the same thing - to offer an escape to their audience,” she enthuses.
“I don’t really celebrate international artists’ day but it would’ve been nice if coffee shops or restaurants were to give our local artists some kind of a discount or a deal to celebrate them! Just an idea. Or maybe discounted deals on art and stationery stores at least, the cost of art supplies is insanely high! Maybe if things like this existed I’d feel celebrated as an artist (haha), practically speaking,” she shares candidly. “I think art, whether in one form or another, has always been present ever since life flourished on this planet. I can’t speak for the ‘future’ of art per se because I think art is timeless. When we talk about the future we predict the nature of something based on how it’s operating in the present, but art has always been there - it’s eternal,” she asserts.
– Graphic Designer
Purnia Farrukh, owner of her brand ‘Itereight” is a passionate and out of the box designer whose body of work is acclaimed for its abstraction, formal clarity and minimal designs. Purnia obtained her professional educational training from California Polytechnic University, Los Angeles, California; she holds a bachelor in Architectural Design. In addition, she has two years of training in Graphic Design from Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey. She mostly makes design logos, businesses, and brand identities for businesses based on their architectural design and design businesses’ interiors based on their brand identity.
Purnia believes in making brands and businesses cohesive between the 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional. “I am quite lucky and blessed to be a part of the design wave in Pakistan. I hope to see more young designers taking initiative and taking power into their hands to create new styles and be more exposed to marketing and design on an international scale. Having that exposure is super important. Following all the best studies, magazines and brands in the world, online and physical makes a mile of difference,” stresses Purnia.
– Artist and Architect
Based in Karachi, Asra Batool is a visual artist and a passionate architect. Her artworks are mainly focused on the preservation of architectural heritage of Pakistan, and portrayal of contemporary social issues and conflicts around the world. “I think art and architecture is the same thing because art itself inclined me to study and perceive architecture in a detailed manner. On the other hand, architecture has nurtured my creative and conceptual depth as well as analytical perception.
It allowed me to play with spaces, light, colours, forms, textures, design principles, and various materials which has not only broadened my imagination but has turned me into a socially responsible designer, as well. So architecture is a form of art for me and I enjoy practicing both. Although, it’s always a proud feeling to be called an architect who is an artist too.
“I desire to use my artistic expertise to address and portray underlying social issues concerning human rights violation, social injustice and gender inequality.
I would love to create an art that reflects the struggles, dreams and desires of the oppressed and impart my learning through education and activism. I believe I can make meaningful contributions and highlight contemporary issues in a creative and imaginative manner,” she reflects.
– Interior Designer
Marvi Imran Khan is an architect from NED University. She has been working as a designer for the last 6 years. She started off with a tunnel vision of just being a good architect, but with time, exposure and the opportunities broadened her horizon. She not only practices architecture but has also been working as an interior architect and a furniture designer. As fancy as it sounds, it’s one heck of a job.
“We, as a country really need to start celebrating International Artist Day more. We have such aspiring new artists coming up bringing in such amazing work which is going unseen and unrecognised since only a small community of people tend to go to an art gallery or an art exhibition.
Though art exhibitions are a brilliant step, which gives them a lot of exposure but just one public event in one year is not enough. Our designers need bigger and better platforms... Artists like Abdul Jabbar who works with metals, Jibran Shahid my personal favourite; he is like Da Vinci of this era! Hussain Jamil, Zahid Mayo... brilliant work. They need more recognition than they already have. We need to put Pakistan on the art world map,” she elucidates.
– Visual Artist
Zahra Asim graduated with a degree in Fine Art from National College of Arts, Lahore in 2014 and completed her Masters in Art and Design from Beaconhouse National University, Lahore in 2019. It has been 8 years since she has been painting professionally and exhibited her work in numerous groups shows both nationally and internationally.
“My art is my reflection. So, there are a lot of things which even I hate in my artwork. But I find myself lucky that I have been working constantly and my work has evolved a lot with time and the residencies have helped me immensely and I hope my evolution won’t stop here. I take criticism well because it gives me diverse perspective and make me think in a different way. I also believe now that Instagram itself is a library of an artist where an artist can create a brand out of their name. But also for an artist, they need a gallery, an authentic gallery, where they can be represented.
“I believe that Pakistan has a tremendous pool of talent and the art scene is so in action. The artists are making us proud by exhibiting works all over the world. The most important advice for future artists is to make their own personal space/studio. It doesn’t matter how small the space is, one needs to spend some time there. Just start spending time in that space even if it’s for a mere ten minutes. It will be your own personal space where you can create magic,” she illuminates.
