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Emaan Pirzada, a contemporary artist from Pakistan has been selected for the London Art Biennale 2025, one of the UK’s most respected international art events. Held from 16 to 20 July 2025 at Chelsea Old Town Hall, the Biennale celebrates its VII edition, featuring 350 creative talents from 60 nations.
The Biennale is organised in collaboration with London’s historic Gagliardi Gallery, a long-standing cultural institution in Chelsea. The event is curated by an international panel led by Peter Gagliardi, and showcases museum-level works across painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and mixed media, with a focus on artistic excellence and innovation.
Pirzada will exhibit A Moment in Gouache a mixed media on wasli, reimagines a space through altered perspectives and personal reflection. A decisive gouache stroke grounds the composition, evoking serenity amidst transition. Subtle, nostalgic details invite viewers to trace their own sense of stillness, while the dialogue between muted graphite and vivid pigment bridges memory and presence a quiet meditation on place, memory, and impermanence.
About Her Practice
Trained in Indo-Persian miniature painting, she has developed a mixed-media practice exploring topophilia—a deep connection to places and environments. As she moves across geographies, she documents each environment's emotive essence through altered perspectives and layered compositions, constructing imaginary mind palaces imbued with personal reflection. Her work materializes through watercolor, gouache, collage, ink, and primarily graphite on wasli, bridging traditional techniques with contemporary explorations of space and memory.
About Emaan
Emaan Pirzada is a visual artist and miniature painter currently based in Islamabad. She graduated with honours in Fine Arts from the National College of Arts, Rawalpindi in 2021, specialising in traditional miniature painting. Her work has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions across Pakistan, South Korea, the UAE and the UK. In 2019, she represented Pakistan in the ‘Painting Old Buildings’ project held in Cairo, Egypt.
Following her graduation, Pirzada dedicated her time to volunteering with MEF International Schools in Istanbul, Turkey. She later worked as an Assistant Curator (2021-2022) at Satrang Gallery, Serena Hotels, Islamabad. In 2023, she was shortlisted for the TAF Emerging Artist Award for South Asia. That same year, she participated in a residency at DRAW International in Caylus, France, sponsored by the French Embassy in Islamabad. In 2024, she secured another residency at the Jelly Studios in Reading, UK, where she explored their 2024–25 theme, ‘Impact.’
Currently, Pirzada serves as a Coordinator at Foundation Art Divvy, actively contributing to the promotion and growth of South Asian art and culture on both local and international platforms.
About the London Art Biennale:
The London Art Biennale is a leading contemporary art exhibition open to all artistic styles and disciplines, with no set theme, that selects 350 artists from all around the world. Organised in partnership with Gagliardi Gallery, the Biennale is known for its high curatorial standards and its celebration of cultural diversity. It attracts collectors, critics, and thousands of visitors to Chelsea, one of London’s most vibrant cultural districts.
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