Sheherezade Alam Explained

Sheherezade Alam (19 June 1948 – 19 May 2022) was a Pakistani-Canadian ceramist.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Early life and education

Alam was born in 1948 in Lahore, Pakistan to Mahmoud Alam, a Pakistani former tennis player and his wife, Surayya, in Lahore.^[4] She had two brothers, Asad and Shaban. Brought up in Lahore, she completed her FA from its Kinnaird College.^[4] She went on to obtain her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Design with a distinction in ceramics from Lahore's National College of Arts (NCA), where she studied under the country's first ceramist, Salahuddin Mian. She later became an artist-in-residence at Yale University. She taught at the NCA, as well as at Bilkent University (Ankara, Turkey).^[4]

Personal life

In 1971, she married Zahoor ul Akhlaq (1941–1999), a painter, and the couple had two daughters, Jahanara (1974–1999) and Nurjahan (b. 1979). Zahoor and Jahanara were murdered in their home in Lahore in 1999 by a visiting acquaintance, Shahzad Butt, a roti merchant of the city. The killer could give no reason for having turned his gun on them.^[5]

Career

Shows

Group

• 1980: Sultan Art Gallery, Kuwait
• 1983: Group Show, British Council, Islamabad
• 1983: Group Show, Rohtas Gallery, Islamabad
• 1988: Joint exhibition, Yale University, New Haven, USA
• 1995 to 1999: Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (yearly)
• 2009: Group Show, Vogue Art Gallery, Islamabad.^[6]

Solo

• 1990: Chawkandi Arts, Karachi
• 1993: Ish Gallery, Ankara, Turkey
• 1994: Bismillah, Arcadia Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 1996: Clay Continuum, Gardiner Art Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 2004: Offering Bowls, Arcadia Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 2005: Laali, Ceramic Installation, Private Residence, Lahore
• 2006: Laali, The garden of Imran Mir, Karachi

Notes and References

1. News: Pakistani-Canadian ceramicist channelled joy and grief into her work. The Globe and Mail . 8 June 2022.
2. Web site: Sheherezade Alam: A Soulful Life of a Kooza-Gar (Vessel-maker) . Haroon . Shuaib.
3. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2357315/acclaimed-ceramist-sheherezade-alam-passes-away Acclaimed ceramist Sheherezade Alam passes away
4. Web site: Bio . Sheherezade Alam . 26 October 2010.
5. https://www.dawn.com/news/965512/chariya-zahoor-again Circumstances of murders of Zahoor ul Akhlaq and his daughter, Jahanara
6. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\11\21\story_21-11-2009_pg13_11 Group exhibition opens at Vogue Art Gallery