Shamsia Hassani
| Shamsia Hassani | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 |
| Nationality | Afghan National |
| Known for | Graffiti artist and professor of sculpture at Kabul University |
| Notable work | Graffiti art in the street walls of Kabul |
Shamsia Hassani (born 1988) is an Afghani women graffiti artist, a fine arts lecturer, and associate professor of sculpture at the Kabul University. It is believed that she is the only female graffiti artist in Afghanistan who has popularized this "Street art" in the streets of Kabul and also in a digital format. Her love for this art form has won her accolades and she has held exhibitions of these two art forms in several countries such as India, Iran, Germany, Italy and in most diplomatic missions in Kabul.[1][2] In 2014 Hassani was named one of FP's top 100 global thinkers.[3]
Hassani's objective in painting graffiti on the war scarred walls in the streets of Kabul, which is now an accepted format of painting in the country, is to bring about an awareness among the people about the war years through the walls of the city, sprayed in different shapes and figures in vibrant colours.[2]
Biography
Hassani was born in 1988 in Tehran, Iran where her parents had temporarily migrated from their native Kandahar, Afghanistan, during the years of war.[1][2] She evinced interest in painting right from a very young age. While studying in the ninth grade in Tehran she was not permitted to learn art as it was not permitted for students from Afghanistan. On her return to Kabul in 2005 she continued her interest in fine arts by persuing a degree course at the Kabul University in the traditional art form. She joined the Kabul University as a lecturer and is now an associate professor of sculpture involved in painting in oil. She has established "Rosht" meaning "growth", which is a contemporary art collective.[4][5]
Hassani learned graffiti in a workshop that was conducted in Kabul in December 2010 by Chu, a graffiti artist from the United Kingdom, which was organized by the Combat Communications. Following this training she became the first Afghan female artist to put to practice this Street art form on the walls of houses in the streets of Kabul with the conviction that "Art is stronger than war". She has now pioneered this art form in Kabul’s contemporary art scene and has proposed to conduct annual graffiti workshops throughout the country hoping that such an art form by a women would be viewed positively by the Afghan society.[5] One of her striking graffiti is on the discoloured and bomb scarred walls of the Kabul's cultural centre which is done in the form of burqa clad woman seated below a stairway. The inscription below this graffiti made by spray painting, translated to English says "The water can come back to a dried-up river, but what about the fish that died?" She has adopted this art form preferring spray cans and stencils as it is a much cheaper format compared to the traditional art forms.[2][2] She carries out her Street art work, which is not illegal in the country, but completes it in a short span of about 15 minutes before the public starts abusing her work as “un-Islamic” that too by a woman artist; however, police has not harassed her.[6]
Hassani is also involved in presenting this art work in a digital format through her project titled “Dreaming Graffiti.” This presentation is made in a series in which she paints or "Photoshops colours and images onto digital photographs to explore issues of national and personal security".[5]
In 2014, Hassani was shortlisted for the Artraker Award for her project "The Magic of Art Is the Magic of Life."[5]
References
- 1 2 "Shamsia Hassani". Kabul Art Project. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Graham-Harrison, Emma (24 February 2012). "Shamsia Hassani". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- ↑ "Shamsia Hassani: Afghanistan's Street Art Star - in pictures". The Guardian. December 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Shamsia Hassani: ‘I want to colour over the bad memories of war’". The Guardian. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Clark, Nick (14 September 2014). "Hassani has been shortlisted for the prize, which is announced in London this week". Independent. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ "Afghan graffiti artist Shamsia Hassani shortlisted for Artraker Award - but she still has to dodge landmines to create her work". Independent. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2016.