Art Lives

Date: New series available now!

What inspires artists to create? The Aga Khan Museum and TVO have teamed up to bring you insightful stories behind a selection of intriguing artworks and installations created by artists connected to the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, as well as Ontario.  Art Lives is a brand new TV series that will give you an exclusive glimpse into artists' working practices and conceptual approaches while exploring the personal stories and inspiration that drive them. 

Art Lives Episode 1 — Shaheer Zazai

Art Lives Episode 2 — Soheila Esfahani

Art Lives Episode 3 — Erdem Taşdelen

Art Lives Episode 4 — Hangama Amiri

Art Lives Episode 5 — Simin Keramati

Art Lives Episode 6 — Ekow Nimako

Art Lives Episode 7 — Tazeen Qayyum

Art Lives Episode 8 — Radha Chaddah

Hangama Amiri 
Hangama Amiri is an Afghan-Canadian artist whose textile installations examine notions of home and how gender, social norms, and larger geopolitical conflict impact the daily lives of women, both in Afghanistan and in the diaspora. Amiri's installation, Distance Between Homes (2023) was commissioned for the Museum's Rumi exhibition.

Radha Chaddah
Toronto-based artist and scientist Radha Chaddah pushes creative boundaries by blending art and science through large-scale projected light installations using microscopic imaging. Presented in collaboration with the Museum, Chaddah's digital exhibition, IAM debuted in September 2023. 

Soheila Esfahani
Award-winning visual artist Soheila Esfahani explores themes of transition, translation, and transformation through captivating contemporary artworks. Her installation Cultured Pallettes: Aga Khan Museum was on display in the Museum Collections Gallery in 2023.

Simin Keramati
Iranian-Canadian multidisciplinary artist, Simin Keramati works in photography, film, mixed media, and painting. Keramati references various elements from news and social media, her personal life, and her own body in her work, often addressing themes of identity, diasporic experience, women’s rights, and gender equality. Keramati's installation, The Elephant in the Dark was commissioned by the Museum for Rumi in 2023.

Ekow Nimako
Ekow Nimako is a Ghanaian-Canadian, internationally exhibiting LEGO® artist who crafts futuristic and whimsical sculptures from the iconic medium. Nimako's Kumbi Saleh 3020 CE was acquired by the Museum in 2021.

Tazeen Qayyum
Shaped by experiences in both Pakistan and Canada, Ontario-based contemporary visual artist Tazeen Qayyum's work is influenced by socio-political themes of identity and displacement. 

Erdem Taşdelen
Erdem Taşdelen is a visual artist who uses diverse materials and media to construct semi-fictional narratives that incorporate unique historical figures, events, and texts to implicate contemporary sociopolitical realities. Taşdelen's multimedia installation, The Dream That Must Be Interpreted, was commissioned by the Museum in 2023 for Rumi. 

Shaheer Zazai
Drawing inspiration from gardens and traditional Afghan carpets, Shaheer Zazai is an Afghan-Canadian multidisciplinary artist with a focus on exploring and investigating the development of cultural identity. Zazai's digital works and carpets were on display as part of the Afghanistan My Love exhibition in 2022.

Watch Art Lives on TVO's television channel, the Aga Khan Museum’s website, YouTube channel, Instagram, and Facebook channels.