Taslim Samji is a Canadian interdisciplinary artist, writer and curator based in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Life and education

Born in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, Taslim Samji immigrated to Canada at a young age and now lives and works in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. She was educated at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

(Bachelor of Arts, Asian Studies),

British Columbia Institute of Technology The British Columbia Institute of Technology (also referred to as BCIT), is a public polytechnic institute in Burnaby, British Columbia. The technical institute has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with its main campus in B ...

(marketing diploma) and

Emily Carr University of Art and Design Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co ...

(Fine Arts Certificate program).

Exhibitions

As an artist, Samji has participated in exhibitions, including ''Change – Contemporary Ismaili Muslim Art'', held at the Surrey Art Gallery in 2014 and Kaleidoscope Fest in 2016. As a curator, she is known for bridging cultural barriers among Ismaili Muslims and highlighting the work of women artists. Samji curated ''Discovery: A Slice of Diversity'' at the Deer Lake Gallery (Burnaby Arts Council) in 2014, featuring the work of Canadian Ismaili Muslim artists with origins in East Africa. In November-December 2015, she curated ''Odyssey: Past Meets Present'' at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre in the

Yaletown Yaletown is an area of Downtown Vancouver, Canada, bordered by False Creek and Robson and Homer Streets. Formerly a heavy industrial area dominated by warehouses and rail yards, since the 1986 World's Fair it has been transformed into one of the ...

neighbourhood of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, in which 15 artists with geographically diverse backgrounds were invited to contribute artworks exploring how their past experiences influence their current work. The exhibition ''"Commonality"'' which was held at the Newton Cultural Centre in January 2016, illustrated the common ground among nine female Ismaili Muslim artists from East Africa, India and Pakistan."Ismaili Muslim women's art exhibit in Surrey celebrates diversity"
''CBC News'', Jan 17, 2016

Writing reference

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samji, Taslim Living people Artists from British Columbia Canadian women artists Canadian contemporary artists Canadian Ismailis Tanzanian emigrants to Canada People from Burnaby Canadian people of Gujarati descent Year of birth missing (living people)