Sana S. Burney
I am a visual artist and art educator from Pakistan living and working in Preston, UK. Recently, I finished my Master in Fine Art from the University of Central Lancashire, UK. Pursuing my passion for history and finding connections between post-colonial capitalist societies and the legacies of colonialism, I explore various opportunities to expand my art practice in the UK and otherwise. I am motivated to grow as an artist, an art educator, and a researcher. I have been conducting projects, teaching, publishing, and studying short courses to fulfil my passion for art. I have worked on several art projects, published five research papers and taught for over 12 years. The two significant projects I have completed include a project for the government: the FTC Flyover beautification in Karachi, Sindh and a community outreach project for Karachi Biennale 2017: ‘Reel On Hai’. In the FTC project, I worked on a large flyover at ‘Shahrah-e-Faisal’ by imagining, designing and coordinating the ambient lighting, murals and columns under the flyover. My team was comprised of technicians, painters, government officials and traffic police wardens. The project was hugely successful and was given coverage in national newspapers, including DAWN and TRIBUNE. I painted two huge cable reels in the project ‘Reel on Hai’. The theme of the two reels was ‘Celebrating Karachi’. In the first reel, I showed the historical building of Empress Market, surrounded by the nest of electric wires and birds resting on them, representing the true essence of the metropolis. In the second reel, I depicted the sea as the most significant feature of Karachi. It was inspired by ‘The Great wave of Kanagawa’ by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. The work was designed to acknowledge the heritage, focus on iconic buildings, and highlight the culture through familiar symbols. The piece spoke about celebration, festivity and togetherness. These reels were launched in March 2017 and placed in Safari Park, Karachi. I have taught for over a decade at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVSAA) and different institutes in Karachi. I have taught Basic Design to Foundation Year students at IVSAA, Foundations of Design at Iqra University and Szabists and other courses such as Fundamentals of Photography, Digital Techniques, History of Photography and Darkroom techniques at Karachi University.
As an instructor, I inspire hundreds of young boys and girls to use art to help others by engaging them in community-driven projects. I also motivate them to respond to civic issues through art and design. For instance, I conducted community outreach projects at Garage School, a non-profit organisation looking after the educational needs of the underprivileged, and Aas Trust, a rehabilitation centre to alleviate addiction suffering. The team revamped the living spaces through various murals painted to make the area colourful and pleasing in these projects. In another project called ‘Creative Crosswalks, ’ I engaged students of IVSAA to respond to a civic crisis around the campus building. The problem was due to the absence of traffic signs, speed indications and zebra crossings. They responded by designing zebra crossings for three sides of the building, each of which accounted for the social context and the location of the building. I have also published five research papers on Public art in Pakistan. My research explores the recent widespread popularity of Public art, specifically in the metropolis of Karachi.
