Two Pakistani female artists have been shortlisted for The 2022 Sovereign Asian Art Prize. From over 400 entries, Ayessha Quraishi and Marium Agha were chosen. The finalists represent 16 Asia-Pacific countries and regions.
Marium Agha:
Marium Agha (b. 1982, Pakistan) holds a BFA from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Pakistan (2006), an MFA from University of The Arts London, Central Saint Martins, London (2009), and completed a course in Curating Contemporary Art from Chelsea School of Art And Design, London (2009). By surveying the relentless nature of love for over a decade through images, theory, and the self, the artist finds a safe process in deconstructing elements of popular culture which no longer validate contemporary sensibilities. Agha’s deconstructed tapestries, drawings, and text serve to create newer, relevant narratives of the ‘given real’, that is, love, and the supposed representational: the concupiscence of the flesh.
Ayessha Quraishi:
Ayessha Quraishi (b. 1970, Pakistan) works in a way natural to her since childhood, her process appearing like braille. Physically, she maintains constant contact with two materials: the surface and the paint
The Sovereign Asian Art Prize was launched in 2003 to increase the international exposure of artists in the region, whilst raising funds for programmes that support disadvantaged children using expressive arts. Held annually, The Prize is now recognised as the most established and prestigious annual art award in Asia-Pacific.
