10 Instagram Accounts That Prove Pakistani Artists Are Awesome
By Anum Lasharie
If photos of food, selfies, and ‘It Girls’ seem to be dominating your Instagram feed as of late, chances are you’re in need of a little inspo. Thankfully, the 1947 team has been on the hunt to solve your news feeds most annoying problem! Discover the most swoon-worthy posts with 1947’s shortlist of 10 must-follow Pakistani Art Instagram accounts. Below, find all the inspiration you need buy, paint, admire or just simply breath.
Sara Khan @Mindforking
Sara Khan was born in Birmingham, England in 1984 and raised in Lahore, Pakistan. She holds a BFA (with honours) from National College of Arts, Lahore (2008). Her works have been featured in several national and international group exhibitions and if you have one look at her Insta account, you’ll know why. Her quirky, visually stunning, over the top colourful watercolours will indeed start your day with a smile.
Sophia Balagamwala @sophiabala
Sophia Balagamwala is an artist, illustrator and curator based in Karachi. She has a B.A from the University of Toronto and an MFA from Cornell University. She works at the Citizens Archive of Pakistan and is the Lead Curator for National History Museum at the Greater Iqbal Park, Lahore. Her Insta account is a small window into her work which explores the space where history meets fiction and nonsense. Although her childlike imagery and joyous use of bubble gum like colours explore a much deeper, serious reality.
Irfan Hassan @studioirfanhasan
Irfan Hasan graduated from the National College of Arts in 2006 with a major in Indo-Persian miniature painting. Achieving a distinction in his thesis project, Hasan moved on to receiving numerous awards, namely, ‘Best Young Painter’ from the Punjab Arts Council in 2007 and 2008 and the ‘Commonwealth Connection International Fellowship’. He is currently teaching at the National College of Arts, Lahore. Over the years his practice has been highly captivated by classical European portraiture and figurative painting. If you are fond of hyper-realism this Instagram account will pull hit the spot. You really have to see it to believe it!
Amal Uppal @amals.studio
Amal Fatima Uppal is a practising Traditional Painter, Muralist, Digital Illustrator and Game Environment Artist. Amal Graduated from National College of Arts, Lahore in 2010. She has been with Carameltech Studios since 2012 as their senior game environment artist; Amal has been a part of featured titles like Fruit Ninja, JetpackJoyride and Blades of Battle amongst others. Her most known public murals were her pen and ink interior at The Cafe Upstairs and recently, Rina’s Kitchenette, Lahore. She is currently working and researching local lore and experimenting with ink environments for her upcoming solo in Lahore. Her Instagram account will give you a peek into her most detailed pen and ink aerial cityscapes. These exceptionally intricate drawings will make you dive into thoughts of heritage, city life and social contrast.
Irfan Cheema @irfancheema
Irfan completed his formal education from Lahore and obtained a degree in fashion design. He moved to Cairo in 2001 and spent nearly three years there extensively travelling in the region, observing, studying and absorbing its rich and diverse culture. He has made Shanghai his home for more than a decade now where the rich culture and history infused city is endlessly inspiring.
He is a self-taught painter developing his technique after carefully studying work by many artists. His Instagram account is dedicated to his work which celebrates nature, life and creative heritage of places that he has visited, lived in and loved. If classical realism gets your heart going, then this artist is the one to follow.
Minaa Mohsin @minaamohsinpaints
Minaa Mohsin is a Brooklyn based painter from Lahore. Minaa earned her B.F.A from National College of Arts, Lahore, in 2013 and M.F.A from Pratt Institute, New York in 2016. She has exhibited her work in various galleries in Pakistan and United States. She uses the memory of her parents’ house in Lahore where she was raised, to explore the realm of the aspiring bourgeoisie. Her Instagram is a chock-full of vibrant colours and patterns, whimsically depicting ideas of home, comfort, and nostalgia. Mina’s work includes bright portraits of household objects and crowded compositions of female figures engaged in mundane acts of domestic life.
Wardha Shabir @wardhashabbir
Wardha Shabbir lives and works in the city of Lahore, Pakistan where she graduated from National College of Arts with honours in 2011, followed by the prestigious Principal Honour Award. Since her graduation, Wardha has been widely displaying on both National and International level. She has been part of the visiting faculty of the National College of Arts (NCA) since 2012. Wardha is a sensitive artist, absorbs and translated what she sees and experiences within her environment into her language mostly using a technique that is traditional miniature. You can find this sensitivity and her connection with nature in her vibrant yet delicate pieces all on display for us thanks to her Instagram account.
Zahrah Ehsan @zahrahehsan
Zahrah Ehsan is Lahore based visual artist. She received her BFA with Honours in 2013, with a concentration in Painting from the National College of Arts, Lahore. She has exhibited in galleries across Pakistan and overseas. Zahrah has been experimental with her work, scavenging for possible materials from industry, pop culture, and utility incorporating it into her paintings that is often a critique on the gendered body, social conformity, notions of socially constructed and childhood. Her Instagram account oozes curation and thought which she often likes to refer to as “mess”. In these unsettling and kitschy environments, the evidence of violence and struggle within socio-cultural constructs of the feminine ideal shine through.
Ghazi Sikander Mirza @ghazisikandermirza
Ghazi Sikander Mirza is a Lahore based visual artist. Ghazi graduated from National College of arts in 2016. Ghazi Sikander Mirza’s work deals with his daily strife and his regular confrontation with traffic whilst driving across the city, mainly viewing vehicles from the back, with a special focus on Qingqi rickshaws of Lahore. “When confronted, it is as though a wall of people is being followed, but as soon as one becomes conscious of this relationship, it alters, and the travelling people become passengers of the same journey,” he says. He works with pictures taken from different vantage points on a street and draws them in separate compositions. The materials he uses vary from charcoal to paint to ink.
Amani Noor Iqbal @picassoteaandme
This account is very different from the above-mentioned profiles. Amani Noor has curated a one-stop-spot for all art enthusiasts (artists and admirers alike). Amani not only covers the art updates of Pakistani Artists but like to include a sprinkling of what’s on in the international art scene. Her fun Insta account is a barometer of what’s trending, brimming with the latest happenings across the globe.
