CelebrateHer

CelebrateHer Trailer 1: Kama La Mackerel CelebrateHer Trailer 2: Dorothy Dixon Williams CelebrateHer Trailer 3: Zébida Benjeddou [in French] CelebrateHer recognizes 12 publicly-nominated women with large-scale portrait paintings from artist Aquil Virani, presented with a verbatim sound play crafted by playwright Erin Lindsay and directed by Imago Theatre’s Micheline Chevrier. Presented as a visual installation […]

Here is a gift

Aquil Virani’s Artist-in-Residence video: Here is a gift. The film highlights a few projects created during the 3-week residency at Arts Underground.

Arts Underground

Arts Underground Artist-in-Residence: Aquil Virani Upcoming Artist Talk: Friday, July 28, 5:30 – 6:30pm, Hougen’s Heritage Gallery, Arts Underground. Admission free. 305 Main St #15, Whitehorse, YT Y1A 2B4. (867) 667-4080. Click here to read more.

Géopoétique

Artist Aquil Virani exhibited Canada’s Self Portrait at Stewart Hall Art Gallery in Pointe-Claire. Curated by Kasia Basta, the Géopoétique exhibition showcased over a dozen artwork exploring Canadian identity in collaboration with the Canada 150 initiative.

MuralFest 2017

Artist Aquil Virani creates live painting at Mural Festival in Montreal. Hundreds of public participants answered the question, “Why is it important to support underrepresented artists such as women?” These multilingual responses were collaged into the background of a live painting, depicting Montreal-based actor and improviser Sehar Manji.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Artist Aquil Virani creates live artwork at Toronto Symphony Orchestra I spent the full day preparing for the evening painting event, a Toronto Symphony Orchestra finale of the New Creations Festival. I had the pleasure of meeting Neil Deland, the Principal Horn player of the TSO. Special thanks goes to Sam Jacobs for the invitation […]

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 […]

#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.

Canada’s Self Portrait

Canada’s Self Portrait is a collaborative artwork about Canadian identity. Here’s the trailer: …and here’s the official documentary. What is Canada’s Self Portrait? Canada’s Self Portrait is a collaborative art project about who we are and what we stand for as Canadians. We (Rebecca Jones and artist Aquil Virani) asked over 800 participants from all […]

Canadian Museum

Artist Aquil Virani creates Canada Day artwork at Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax. As shown in the video, the museum flew Rebecca and I out to open the official two-week Canada’s Self Portrait exhibit. I asked people to complete the sentence “My Canada …” and re-wrote their responses onto the live painting. Similar to […]

Special Olympics Canada

Artist Aquil Virani paints at Special Olympics Canada fundraising gala. I was invited by the Idea Hunter – a leader in the Canadian events industry – to paint a live artwork at the Limitless Gala in downtown Toronto at the Fairmont Royal York. The image we developed with the client features 3 Special Olympics athletes […]

WCDP2017

Artist Aquil Virani creates collaborative artwork at #wcdp2017 At #wcdp2017, Aquil Virani integrated participant responses into a collaborative artwork. The award-winning artist asked over 800 delegates, “What is the most impactful action taking place in your country or community?” He created a 5-by-9-foot painting that was unveiled at the closing ceremonies of the World Conference […]

Paul Smith’s (Year 4)

Artist Aquil Virani creates collaborative artwork with Paul Smith’s freshmen. Last year (2016), for the 4th 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 about 300 incoming freshmen during Welcome Week 2016. This year, the latest 4 x 6 […]

NHL’s Ottawa Senators

Artist Aquil Virani creates live painting for NHL’s Ottawa Senators. The Senators invited me to their 2016 Fan Fest to produce an interactive painting. We asked fans, “What do you love most about your Ottawa Senators?” and re-wrote their responses into a section of the acrylic and aerosol painting. The artwork features #9 Bobby Ryan, […]

TEDxMontreal

Artist Aquil Virani creates collaborative painting at TEDxMontreal. TEDxMontreal invited over 600 people to watch the inspiring talks and take part in the festivities. Attendees answered the open-ended question, “What defines your perspective?” and watched as their responses were integrated into the painting. The artwork was sold minutes after the unveiling with 5 winners of […]

Shawn & Mitch’s Wedding

Artist Aquil Virani creates collaborative artwork at Shawn & Mitch’s wedding. Friends and family wrote their best advice for a happy marriage, watching as it was integrated into a live painting of the couple. I tried my best to do justice to the beautiful faces of the newlyweds. From Mitch: “We reached out to Aquil […]

TEDxHEC Conference

What makes you feel at home? A collaborative artwork from TEDxHEC. My goal was to juxtapose the participants’ responses – things like family, warmth, food, and feelings of acceptance – with the stark reality of many First Nations children throughout history and today, especially those who were forced into Canadian residential schools up until the […]

100 Artworks in 1 Week

After creating 24 pieces in 24 hours to celebrate his 24th birthday, Virani is taking things one step further, challenging himself to create 100 works of art in only 7 days. Big paintings, small drawings, quirky illustrations, colourful collages, and even fabricated photographs – anything is possible in this 7-day art challenge. The final pieces, […]

Ronald McDonald House

Artist Aquil Virani creates collaborative painting at Ronald McDonald House Charity fundraiser. I was invited to Mississauga, Ontario by The Idea Hunter (a leader in the Canadian events industry) to create a live artwork. We asked participants about what concepts they associated with “home” and asked them to write them out on stickie notes. These […]

Lucas Commission

I made a couples painting for elephants… sort of. Lucas asked me to create a birthday gift for Katie that included personal details and inside jokes. I’m fairly happy with how the styles work together in the artwork and I’m happy to report that things went well with the gift-giving. I also think I might […]

MAC Cosmetics

Artist Aquil Virani creates “Art of the Lip” painting at MAC Cosmetics launch in Montreal! When MAC Cosmetics was launching their new flagship store on Ste. Catherine’s Street in Montreal, they asked me to create some live art inspired by their colourful visuals. It was a great experience and I met so many cool and […]

The Babadook

Artist Aquil Virani creates artistic reproduction of “The Babadook” poster. A good friend of mine is really into horror movies. He wanted to live with “The Babadook” in his den, so I painted and I splattered until the official poster had been reproduced. Thanks so much to Darren for the opportunity (and to Thais, for […]

Anna and Francois Wedding

Aquil Virani creates commissioned portrait painting in Montreal. I was commissioned by the couple to create a portrait of them, based on photos from their wedding, their very sweet wedding vows and some illustrations they liked. It was actually a surprise birthday present from Anna to Francois, so we had to keep it secret during […]

Paul Smith’s (Year 3)

Paul Smith’s (Year 3)   PAUL SMITHS, NEW YORK – On the busy calendar of artist Aquil Virani, there is always a week at the end of August that is circled months in advance with a big green marker. For the third year straight, Paul Smith’s College has invited artist Aquil Virani to create a […]

Babson Forum

Babson Entrepreneurship Forum Art Project During mid-November 2015, I was invited by a former colleague and friend from McGill University to create a collaborative artwork at a 1-day conference near Boston, Massachussets. Bryanne Leeming, an MBA student at Babson College, had seen my work many years before and wanted me to infuse some artistry into […]

The 24 Project

The 24 Project Below is the full CBC News segment! I gave myself 24 hours to create 24 diverse works of art. Painting, drawing, illustration, animation, and even “visual poetry” – it was all fair game in this 24-hour challenge leading up to my 24th birthday. This is what I created. 1-3. The CBC in […]