Nurayah Sheikh Nabi
Karachi, Pakistan
Nurayah Sheikh is a practicing visual artist and an art educator. She has investigated and worked with multiple mediums but printmaking remains her forte. Her personal visual practice has deeply informed her pedagogy and has evolved into an intensive study of materials and techniques associated with the medium. Her works have been exhibited in Pakistan and Internationally, which has led to the appreciation of her experimentation in the transformation of pedagogical practices. Her recent works have been shown at KB19 –Karachi Biennale 2019, the 7th Guanlan International Print Biennial and Guanlan Forum at China Printmaking Museum 2019, the KB17, DECK Gallery Singapore 2016 and at the Sharjah Museum where she represented Pakistan on the panel discussion for “Trajectories”: 19th-21st century; Printmaking from Pakistan and India. In 2021, she was a speaker at the workshop investigating historical frameworks in the context of printmaking, linking NCA and Slade to explore possible trajectories for collaborative research organised by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, London (PMC) in collaboration with NCA and Slade, UCL London. Sheikh has curated numerous shows in Karachi and Lahore. She has designed and led workshops at Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture (IVS) and the Koel Gallery Karachi, coordinated national & international educational exchange projects related to Printmaking, including numerous fund-raising projects, all originating at the IVS Print studio. Having worked on abundant community-building projects, Sheikh is part of the core committee for ‘Pursukoon Karachi’, an organization that comprises visual practitioners who work towards the betterment of the city through creative projects. She is also associated with the design of fundraising events for Karwan-e-Hayat, an organization active in caring for mentally ill indigent patients. She is a board member for the gallery O Art space, Lahore. Currently, Sheikh is an Associate Professor at IVS, where she has taught since 2005. She received her BFA with a distinction in Printmaking and Sculpture from the National College of Arts, Lahore in 1993. Sheikh was awarded an overall distinction for academic excellence and a gold medal for her research & dissertation towards her MA in Art Education from Mariam Dawood School of Visual Art & Design, at the Beaconhouse National University, Lahore – Pakistan.