Shahida Ahmed

Place: Lancashire

Born: 1961

Biography:

Shahida Ahmed is a third-generation British-Asian artist. She divides her time between Lancashire, in the northwest of England, where she was born, and the Middle East. Ahmed studied under the renowned American ceramicist, Jim Robeson. She holds a Double Masters, one in Community Leadership from the University of Central Lancashire since 2012 and one in Visual Arts from Leeds University since 2011. Ahmed's versatility and inventiveness with clay are manifested in the unique hints of classicism from vessels to mosaics that are simultaneously thought provoking, edgy and even confrontational in their novel beauty. Her work is very much influenced by rhythm and movement. The poems of Rumi, and Arabic culture generally, play a major role in her art, inspiring her to create whirling dervishes. She currently resides in the UK and Middle East. She Studied Visual Arts at “Bretton Hall, “Leeds University with ceramist Jim Robison and Art historian David Hill who is known for his book on Turner on the Thames . Shahida’s art is most noted for her remarkable, sometimes unconventional use of clay as a medium, but also for her running theme of exploring Islam through art. In 1996 Shahida was in receipt of a scholarship for the “Royal College Arts,” London in 1997 and was also awarded a licentiateship from the Society of Designer Craftsmen. In 2012 she received double Master’s in Community Leadership and Visual Arts from the “University of Leeds,” and “University of Central Lancashire,” in 2012. Shahida grew up with the love for culture and heritage. Her inspiration came from Rumi’s poetry and Islamic architecture and calligraphy pattern. Art school enabled her to explore, underpin ideas and utilize them in her work, to share with an audience in the West, the beauty of Islamic art and its elements. She is also known for her installations in public spaces and her contributions to the arts via media such as radio and television. She was given recognition for being the first Muslim female ceramic artist born in the UK. When the Gulf war started, Shahida felt that Art was a universal tool and a dialogue in which we saw the beauty and peace through Art and not through media’s negativity. She believes in seeing the differences and embracing the similarities and using art as a universal platform for all. Shahida’s work is always a showcase of inexpressible beauty, but not necessarily so provocative.