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Aquil Virani

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Aquil Virani
Virani in 2019
Born
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
EducationBachelor of Arts, McGill University
OccupationArtist
Websiteaquil.ca

Aquil Virani is a Canadian artist, who was born in British Columbia and is currently based in Toronto.[1][2] He is best known for his community-engaged art projects that explore social issues and often combine public participation and figurative portraiture.[1][3][4] His work includes painting, graphic design, illustration, filmmaking, writing and participatory art events.[5][6][7]

Early life

[edit]

Virani grew up in Surrey, British Columbia to immigrant parents and is the youngest of four sons.[5][8][9] His mother was born in France, and his father is a Ismaili Muslim of Indian heritage who was born and raised in East Africa, immigrating to Canada from Tanzania.[5][8] Virani graduated from Southridge Secondary School in 2008,[10] before completing his undergraduate degree at McGill University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Marketing[8] after first studying math and physics.[5] Virani is a self-taught artist and worked at L’Oréal Canada for several years, while moonlighting as an artist, before becoming self-employed in 2014.[5][8]

Career

[edit]

In 2012, Virani had a solo art exhibit at McGill University, entitled "Copycat", where he combined hundreds of participant drawings that were reproduced ‘live’ onto a collaborative painting over the course of different events.[10]

In 2014, Virani and Rebecca Jones traveled across Canada to collect stories and drawings for a project entitled "Canada's Self Portrait."[11][12][13] The project was partially crowdfunded and received over 800 responses. It was later exhibited at the Galerie Mile End in Montreal[14][7][15] and the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax.[16][17]

For his 24th birthday, Virani created 24 original works of art in the 24 hours leading up to his birthday.[18]

In 2017, Virani received a grant from the Silk Road Institute's Combating Hate, Advancing Inclusion (CHAI) digital video arts initiative for his project, "Postering Peace".[8] In 2017, at a Montreal vigil in the aftermath of the Quebec City mosque shooting, Virani also had attendees contribute to a "live painting", where they could write messages over his depiction of Muslim hands in prayer.[19][20] The painting was sent as a gift to the Islamic cultural centre in Sainte-Foy.[19]

In 2017, Virani started a series of portraits of inspiring women for his "CelebrateHer" project, which included portraits of Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Doris Bill as well as Ta'an Kwäch'än Council Chief Kristina Kane.[4][21] The project was unveiled in a series of art exhibits in Montreal, including one at McGill University.[4][22]

In 2018, Virani won the "Artist for Peace" Award.[4]

In 2020, Virani received a $5,000 Canada Council Digital Originals grant.[23]

For his 30th birthday in 2021, Virani mailed 30 letters to people who had inspired him in some way for his “30 letters” project,[6][5] which was the focus of an episode of The Doc Project.[24] This included his childhood martial arts instructor, a friend's mother, Roberto Luongo, Ron Maclean, Kent Monkman, among others.[6] He received responses from "about a dozen" people.[6]

In 2021, he designed and produced a bilingual art anthology of Ottawa-based Muslim artists and writers called “Ottawa Inshallah” with the theme, “Ottawa Inshallah: Dreaming of a better future” with financial support from the City of Ottawa.[25][26][27]

In 2021, he was also named “Artist-in-Residence” at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.[28][29] At the end of his residency at the museum in 2022, he unveiled a collaborative animated film, a series of six participatory visual artworks, and a book compiling 100 immigrant stories submitted from participants across the country.[30][31][32]

In 2022, Virani also unveiled six commemorative portraits of the victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting, created in accordance with the wishes of the victims’ families.[33][1] The artworks, measuring 30 x 65 inches each, were shipped to the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec to be exhibited for the 5th anniversary commemoration of the attack on January 29, 2022, before being gifted directly to the families.[34][35][3]

In 2023, Virani presented the “50 Years of Migration” exhibition that debuted at the Aga Khan Museum.[36] The travelling exhibition integrates family photographs, first-hand accounts, historical documents, and personal interviews with Canadian Ismaili Muslims from Uganda, Afghanistan, Syria, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan and beyond. According to an interview published on the museum’s website, Virani’s goal is to "showcase the courage and resilience of the countless Ismaili Muslims who fled their homelands in search of refuge.”[37] He says he "spent hundreds of hours over several months researching, writing, gathering, corresponding, interviewing, editing, photo editing, designing panels, editing text, and producing the audio play [...] in service to the community.” The exhibition was presented in Vancouver, Toronto, Brampton, Kitchener, Pickering, Edmonton, Calgary, Brossard and Ottawa at the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, with various political figures like NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, and Senator Mobina Jaffer attending different local launch events, including one event co-hosted by the Vancouver Art Gallery.[38][39][40][41][42][43] Later, in a separate project, he collaborated with the Royal Ontario Museum and curator Justin Jennings on a collaborative art project titled “Things will get better” where he "integrated hundreds of these sticky notes into a multimedia artwork, commemorating our collective early pandemic experiences and amplifying the diverse voices of participating community members."[44]

In 2024, Virani was invited to give an artist talk at Queen's University for the National Day of Remembrance to Honour the Victims of the Quebec City Mosque Attack.[45] In April, he also created a collaborative artwork using picket signs from the OPSEU Local 535 strike by workers of the Art Gallery of Ontario. His intention is to gift the artwork to the workers.[2]

Personal life

[edit]

Virani is an Ismaili Muslim.[5][8] He also identifies as a feminist.[8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Clément, Éric (2022-01-25). "Attentat de la grande mosquée de Québec | Aquil Virani rend hommage aux victimes". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  2. ^ a b Ricci, Talia (April 26, 2024). "This Toronto artist repurposed AGO picket signs for his art". CBC News.
  3. ^ a b MacLellan, Ainslie (January 29, 2022). "Portraits honour Quebec mosque shooting victims, as community marks 5th anniversary of attack". CBC News. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Clément, Éric (2018-06-21). "Aquil Virani célèbre la diversité des femmes". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Ottawa artist writes 30 letters to mark his 30th birthday". Ottawa Citizen.
  6. ^ a b c d "This artist wrote 30 thank-you letters for his 30th birthday, some to complete strangers". CBC Radio.
  7. ^ a b "De l'art comme outil pacifiste au MBAM". Le Devoir (in French). 17 February 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Daigle, Chelby. "Postering Peace: An Interview with Visual Artist Aquil Virani". muslimlink.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  9. ^ Feireisen, Camille (January 29, 2022). "" On ne vous oubliera pas " : les portraits des victimes de l'attentat de Québec exposés". Ici Radio-Canada Télé (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  10. ^ a b "Southridge grad solos with McGill exhibit". Peace Arch News. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  11. ^ "Our Home and Creative Land: Canada's self-portrait". CTV News Winnipeg. 2014-07-30. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  12. ^ "Winnipeggers wanted for national art project". CBC Winnipeg.
  13. ^ "Un Vancouvérois traverse le Canada pour le dessiner | Boulevard du Pacifique". Ici Radio-Canada Première. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  14. ^ "Crowdsourced art on Canadian identity". Canadian Geographic. 2015-07-27. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  15. ^ Clément, Éric (2015-07-01). "Esquisse de l'identité canadienne". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  16. ^ Mullin, Morgan. "Consider your Canada at Pier 21". The Coast Halifax. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  17. ^ "Temporary Exhibits | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21". pier21.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  18. ^ "Montreal artist creates 24 pieces in 24 hours". CBC News.
  19. ^ a b "Canada wraps its arms around victims of mosque attack". CBC Montreal.
  20. ^ "The Quebec City mosque attack: What we know so far". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  21. ^ "Yukon chiefs' personalities 'shine through' in colourful paintings". Yahoo! Canada. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  22. ^ "CelebrateHer: Twelve inspiring, everyday women". Global News. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  23. ^ "Canada Council Digital Originals supports artists with $5,000 pandemic relief grants". CBC Arts.
  24. ^ "A 30th birthday, and advice to your 30-year-old self". CBC Radio.
  25. ^ "A new art anthology features work from local Muslim artists and reflects on possible futures – Apartment613". apt613.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  26. ^ Harewood, Adrian (October 8, 2021). "CBC Ottawa News at 6: October 8, 2021". CBC Ottawa. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  27. ^ Sharma, Anchal (November 7, 2021). "Local Muslim artists, writers dream of a better future in new art anthology". CBC. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  28. ^ "Sharing stories through art". CTV Atlantic. 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  29. ^ "About the Artist-in-Residence Program | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21". pier21.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  30. ^ "Rattrapage du samedi 26 février 2022". ici.radio-canada.ca (in French). Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  31. ^ "Immigrant Heroes and the Art of Everyday Activism | Pier 21". pier21.ca. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  32. ^ Almeida, Ana (2022-03-11). "Artist Aquil Virani on his collaborative project". CTV Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  33. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Société-. "Un artiste rend hommage aux victimes de la grande mosquée". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  34. ^ Francis, Angelyn (2022-01-28). "'Show them as people': Portraits of Quebec mosque shooting victims mark tragedy's fifth anniversary". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  35. ^ Beauchemin, Genevieve (2022-01-29). "Portrait series honours victims of Quebec mosque shooting". CTV News. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  36. ^ "50 Years of Migration". Aga Khan Museum. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  37. ^ "The Making of 50 Years of Migrationz". Aga Khan Museum. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  38. ^ Puri, Roha (March 15, 2023). "Exhibition showcasing contributions of the Ismaili Muslim community in Canada to be on display in Brampton". Brampton Guardian. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
  39. ^ "A reunion story to remember". The.Ismaili. 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
  40. ^ "Exhibition touring BC showcases contributions of Ismaili Muslim community". North Shore Daily Post. 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  41. ^ Mills, Stu (2023-05-11). "Travelling storytelling exhibition on Ismaili migration comes to Ottawa". CBC Ottawa. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  42. ^ Long, Christine (2023-07-02). "Stories and music shared in new Ismaili exhibition on Montreal's South Shore". CTV News Montreal. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  43. ^ Nelson, Dr. Charmaine. "Scholar's Couch: Aquil Virani". Black Maple Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  44. ^ Virani, Aquil. "Artist Aquil Virani's collaboration with the ROM". aquil.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
  45. ^ Neal, Alan (January 31, 2024). "Visual artist reflects on anniversary of Quebec City mosque shooting". CBC News. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
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