FILZA ALI
Age: 26
Location: Dallas, Texas—USA
Heritage: Karachi, Pakistan
Instagram: @artbyfilza_a
Website: artbyfilza.com
Filza Ali is a Dallas native with a background in creative arts while she is a full-time healthcare professional. She's currently pursuing nursing school while actively participating in exploring the creative arts from her love of painting. She has discovered different styles of art that express her heritage and faith. Filza strives to use her art to dispel misconceptions about her culture and religion while using her medium as an escape. In these times of struggle, Filza hopes to use her art as a way to bring color and light into peoples lives.
How did you begin creating art/illustrations?
I was always drawn to the arts when I was young and while trying different types of medium, painting was the one that spoke to me the most. At the time, I didn't have any professional artistic lessons so I used YouTube as a means to get started and learn the basic skills. I was able to pick up painting quite easily and developed my own techniques and style.
What motivates you to create art inspired by Pakistani culture?
Pakistan is a country rich in culture and beauty. That beauty stems from the food, people, language, and the overall feeling of being at home. The smell of ripe mangoes and colorful spices bring back nostalgia of summers spent in Pakistan during my childhood. It is this nostalgia that I wants to portray in my paintings so that people can get a glimpse of Pakistan and the beauty that it entails.
What is your goal with your work as an artist?
My goal is to provide people with comfort whether is through the beautiful words of the Qur'an or the colors of Pakistan. Art is my way of showing what the world looks like through my eyes, and I paint to describe feelings and things that words can't.
What would you like to see more of in the online creative Pakistani space?
I would like to see more collaborations of different artistic mediums, and art that romanticizes Pakistan without making it unrealistic.
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Filza's illustration
available from 11/10–12/31!
