MuralFest 2017
Artist Aquil Virani creates live painting at Mural Festival in Montreal.
Why is it important to support underrepresented artists?
At Montreal’s Mural Festival on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, hundreds of public participants answered the question, “Why is it important to support underrepresented artists?” The goal was to draw attention to the predominantly white and male roster of artists being featured. Artist Aquil Virani collaged these multilingual responses into the background of a live painting, depicting Montreal-based actor and comedian Sehar Manji.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Artist Aquil Virani creates live artwork at Toronto Symphony Orchestra
For “Love letters to the TSO,” artist Aquil Virani asked event attendees to write a message about why they love music.
The live, collaborative artwork was created at Roy Thomson Hall during the evening finale of the New Creations Festival at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, incorporating hundreds of personal notes into the acrylic and spray painting. The artist was visited post-performance by Neil Deland, the Principal Horn player of the TSO. Special thanks goes to Sam Jacobs for the invitation and to Jordana Weiss for her help during the event.
Homa Hoodfar
Artist Aquil Virani creates portrait of Iranian-Canadian Professor Homa Hoodfar.
The acrylic paint was applied using a toothbrush, referencing Hoodfar’s ordeal in Evin prison where she took notes using the same tool. The geometric backdrop remixes the colours of the Iranian flag with Hoodfar’s likeness symbolically detached, as explained in the video. The portrait was unveiled in Professor Hoodfar’s presence at a fundraising event for the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ).
#LawNeedsFeminism
Artist Aquil Virani creates art at the #LawNeedsFeminismBecause national forum.
We asked over a hundred attendees what concrete steps all of us can take to further the cause of feminism. I transcribed these responses throughout the day onto a portrait of Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, the first appointed black judge in Quebec history.
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Artist Aquil Virani paints portrait of his mother.
Underneath her portrait are sketched details of her past and present passions. The four of us boys (my three brothers and I) signed the artwork in the bottom-right corner and presented it to her over the holidays.
Paul Smith’s College (Year 5)
Artist Aquil Virani creates collaborative artwork with Paul Smith’s freshmen.
For the 5th year in a row, Paul Smith’s College invited me to visit the campus in upstate New York to create a collaborative art project with the incoming freshmen during Welcome Week 2017.
Click here to check out the 2016 video.
Ela é mulher incrível
Ela é uma mulher incrível
That’s Portuguese for “She is an incredible woman.” While in Lisbon, I visited LX Factory to spray-paint the phrase alongside a quick stencil of my friend, Sara Meleika, onto bright yellow balloons, sticking them to poles and railings in an artsy area of the city. I watched how the public engaged with the balloons with kids who pummelled them before stopping to read and young women who posed for a picture or a selfie, playfully pointing towards themselves.
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26 adjectives that describe inspiring women
In January 2017, I asked the public what adjectives describe inspiring women, selecting one word for every letter of the alphabet (A-Z) to create a set of 26 spray-painted prints. The subject of the image smiles at the viewer and doubles as a resilient, narrative-changing response to sexism and islamophobia. Many of the prints were donated to feminist causes throughout Montreal; some were auctioned off at events or given away for free at the Manif des femmes à Montréal. The McCord Stewart Museum in Montreal acquired the remaining prints in May 2018.
Canadian Museum
Artist Aquil Virani creates Canada Day artwork at Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax.
Complete the phrase, “My Canada…”
Artist Aquil Virani visited Halifax’s Canadian Museum of Immigration on Canada Day to ask participants to complete the sentence “My Canada …” The artist re-wrote their responses onto the live painting, honouring answers that were both positive and negative, celebratory and critical.
