About — Zahra Mansoor

Selected work

Zahra Mansoor (b. Karachi, Pakistan, 2000) is an interdisciplinary artist who works between Paris, New York City, and Karachi. The realities that she is a woman, grew up in Pakistan, and lived in foreign landscapes in the South Asian diaspora, have determined the nature of her work. Her practice investigates femininity, diaspora, fashion, and postcolonialism, through the mediums of painting, sculpture, and digital media including film. She is passionate about community spaces, and collaborative methods. She creates complimentary public experiences to extrapolate personal themes in her work to the public and political sphere. Mansoor has worked with the musée d'Orsay, the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in NYC, and her work has been covered by publications including Dawn EOS and Elle magazine. She has exhibited at manifold venues in Paris and Karachi, including the Fondation Fiminco and Chawkandi Gallery, and was awarded a residency at the 59 Rivoli Paris in 2023.

Education

2023 BFA in art, media, and technology, Parsons Paris (The New School), Paris, France
2018 High school diploma, Karachi Grammar School, Karachi, Pakistan

Solo exhibitions, screenings, and performances

2022 We sin-phool women, Chawkandi gallery, Karachi, Pakistan
2019 Discovering Habib screened at the Karachi Biennale 2019 launch night, Karachi, Pakistan

Group exhibitions, screenings, and performances

2024 Being Human, ModA Curations, New York City, U.S.A.
2024 Ladies First, Kayal, Karachi, Pakistan
2023 A girl will return looking for the woman she was, Galerie D (Fondation Fiminco), Paris, France
2023 Femmes engagées, Prieuré de Salaise sur Sanne, Isère, France
2023 A seat at the table, La Chaufferie (Fondation Fiminco), Paris, France
2023 Bad Romance, Club Silencio, Paris, France
2023 Obsessed, Galerie D, Paris, France
2022 Marché jeunes créateurs, Fondation Fiminco, Paris, France
2022 Bridges Burnt screened at UnionDocs event, What is Asia?, New York City, U.S.A.
2020 Alienation, Artcade, Marriott, Islamabad, Pakistan
2019 Tumbleweeds, Gala Knorr, Cité internationale des arts, Paris, France
2017 The Crafter’s Guild, Royal Rodale, Karachi, Pakistan

Residencies

2023—2024 59 Rivoli, Paris, France
2022 Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi, Pakistan

Curation and hosting

2023 Tambola d’Amour, The Dissident Club, Paris, France
2023 Baithak soirées, 59 Rivoli, Paris, France (Monthly events curating live music, tea drinks, and studio work)
2023 Bad Romance, Club Silencio, Paris, France
2022 An Evening with Sultana’s Dream: Stories & Music, Asian American Writers’ Workshop / South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective, New York City, U.S.A.

Selected collaborations and commissions

2021 Sound of the north, Kathleen Ritter, Paris, France /Toronto, Canada
Coding and art direction on the artist’s sound archive project about the Canadian north
2021 Pad patrol, Aga Khan University hospital, Karachi, Pakistan
Illustration for a campaign aimed at raising accessibility to menstrual hygiene products
2019 Acid crime and Forced marriage (Aagahi series), Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Films, Karachi, Pakistan
66th Cannes Lions Awards-nominated short film series on Pakistani women’s legal rights

Professional experiences and associations

2023—present Co-president, Thousand Ways to Go Home (Non-profit organization), Paris, France
2022—2023 Communications, American Friends Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France
2022 Studio assistant, Valette Studio, Paris, France
2021—2022 Sales and styling, ONE432 (Social impact fashion), New York City, U.S.A.
2021 Artist studio assistant, Susan Chen, New York City, U.S.A.
2020—2021 Creative direction and digital design, Elocance (French-American start-up), Paris, France
2020 Graphic design, Daraz, Alibaba group, Karachi, Pakistan
2020 Trade show assistant, Tranoi at the Louvre museum, Paris, France
2020 Graphic design, Parsons Paris Career Services, Paris, France
2019 Artist studio assistant, Rachel Marks, Paris, France
2019 Showroom assistant, Vogue’s Americans in Paris, Paris, France
2019 Art direction, documentary filmmaking, Karachi Biennale Trust, Karachi, Pakistan
2019 Art director and Illustrator, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Films, Karachi, Pakistan
2018 Drawing trainee, Mano animation studio, Karachi, Pakistan
2017 Editing and design trainee, Kifayat publications, Karachi, Pakistan

Awards and grants

2022 Dean’s Honour Symposium, The New School, New York City, U.S.A. (For Sasui: a journey of love)
2021—2022 Grant award, Student Research Award (SRA), The New School, New York City, U.S.A. (Funded We sin-phool women)
2021 Long-list, Zeenat Haroon Rashid writing prize for women, Pakistan
2017 Top in the World in O Level Art and Design (M/J 2016), Cambridge International Examinations, United Kingdom
2017 ‍Top in the World in O Level English Language (M/J 2016), Cambridge International Examinations, United Kingdom
2017 Top in the World in O Level Mathematics (M/J 2016), Cambridge International Examinations, United Kingdom