Samina Mansuri, works on paper

SAVAC and IWSGS (the Institute for Women’s Studies and Gender Studies, U of T) present

Samina Mansuri, works on paper

November 7 to December 14, 2001
Institute for Women’s Studies and Gender Studies
20 Willcocks Avenue, New College

Opening Reception: Wednesday, November 7, 5pm to 7pm
Artist Talk: Thursday, November 22, 4pm to 5pm

This is the first Canadian exhibition for Pakistani artist, Samina Mansuri. A recent immigrant to Canada, Samina presents a collection of untitled drawings, which speak to the human predicament. They are about the inevitability of change pitted against our desire for permanence. We create personas and identities to give form to this desire, but they are constantly coming unhinged. The drawings approach this with playfulness, humour, and a great deal of sympathy. They are intended as a testament not only to our vulnerability, but also to our inherent dynamism.

Samina Mansuri is an artist, designer and educator. Her works have been nationally and internationally in several solo and group shows, in Pakistan, New York, England, India and Paris. This will be her first exhibition in Canada. Samina began her studies in Pakistan then went on to New York where she received her BFA from Pratt Institute and later studied painting at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture. She has taught at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi and has worked as a designer in both New York and Pakistan. Active in the arts community in Pakistan, she has organized and co-curated exhibitions and is the founding member of VASL International Artists’ Workshop, under the umbrella of the Triangle Arts Trust (a worldwide network of workshops organized by artists for artists).

This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and Toronto Arts Council.

This exhibition is sponsored by the Centre for South Asian Studies and the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies (CIARS), OISE/UT.