What is it that draws you towards creating art?
I have always been attracted to art since I was very young, since my childhood. I loved drawing scenery and things like that, and I think I was just always drawn to being creative. I think there was something inside me which just pushed me towards art.
Did you get any support at home or at school?
School was very strict, and sometimes it was very hard to go there. There was a lot of pressure and a lot of competition. I think I survived school rather than enjoyed being there.
Punjab University College of Arts and Design
My family supported me, but my father wanted me to study mathematics even though that would not have been my preference. I would have preferred to do creative studies.
What about studying art at university or college?
I studied a Master’s in Fine Arts (Painting) at the Punjab University College of Arts and Design. I studied Graphic Design at the National College of Arts. I moved to Northern Ireland and studied an MSc in Management for Business because I wanted to open my own business.
I started as a sole trader working as an artist, and I eventually opened a gallery, so now both the areas I studied, business and the arts, are finally working together.
Why do you think of Belfast?
I find Belfast an incredibly welcoming, very calming place, and it is far less crowded than other places. Yes, there are difficult things which happen here, there are people who are against immigrants, and my husband was attacked here, but there are lots of people who have supported me and encouraged me.
There was a big rally in support of immigrants, so it’s very few people who have those kinds of ideas. If I pull all the positive aspects together, that is why I enjoy living here.
