Sameer Farooq
Sameer Farooq is a Canadian artist of Pakistani and Ugandan Indian descent. With a versatile approach that shifts between sculpture, photography, documentary film, and anthropological methods, he investigates strategies of representation to expand the ways through which museums have looked at the past through traditional forms of collection, interpretation and display. Farooq foregrounds community-based models of knowledge production and an array of contemplative practices in order to suggest new ways of narrating our cultural histories. The result is often a collaborative work which counterbalances how dominant institutions speak about our lives: a counter-archive, new additions to a museum collection, or a buried history made visible.
Sameer Farooq has held exhibitions at institutions around the world including the Venice Architecture Biennale (2023), Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden (2023), Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff (2023), Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax (2023), Fonderie Darling, Montréal (2022); Susan Hobbs, Toronto (2022); Koffler Gallery, Toronto (2021); Patel Brown, Toronto (2021); Lilley Museum, Reno (2019); Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (2017); Institute of Islamic Culture, Paris (2017); Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2016); The British Library, London (2015); Maquis Projects, Izmir (2015); Artellewa, Cairo (2014); and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2011). Reviews dedicated to his work have been published by Art Forum, Canadian Art, The Washington Post, BBC Culture, Hyperallergic, Artnet, The Huffington Post, and C Magazine. He is an alumni of the prestigious Bemis Center Residency.
Recent exhibitions
Cheek by Jowl
From October 19 to November 18, 2023
Art Toronto 2023
From October 27-29, 2023
Selected Artworks
+ CV
EDUCATION
2012 – 2014 Rhode Island School of Design, MFA, Providence (RI)
2001 – 2005 Gerrit Rietveld Academie, BFA, Amsterdam (NL)
1996 – 2000 McGill University, BA, Montreal (QC)
RESIDENCIES
2022
- Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha (NE)
- WPR Creative Fellowship / Harvard University, Cambridge (MA)
2021
- T.S. Eliot House, Gloucester (MA) (upcoming)
- Fool’s Paradise: Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence Program, Toronto (ON)
2019
- Het Wilde Weten, Rotterdam (NL)
- Scarborough Museum, Toronto (ON)
2018
- University of Nevada Reno Galleries, Reno (NV)
2017
- Open Studio, Toronto (ON)
2016
- Art Gallery at York University, Toronto (ON)
2015
- Maquis Projects, Izmir (TUR)
2015
- Field House, Contemporary Art Gallery Vancouver, Vancouver (BC)
2014
- Trankat, Tétouan (MAR)
2013
- Artellewa, Cairo (EG)
2013
- Jiwar, Barcelona (ES)
2010
- Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture, Istanbul (TUR)
2009
- Quebecor Documentary Fellowship, Toronto (ON)
2008
- IDFAcademy, Amsterdam (NL)
COLLECTIONS
TD Canada Trust Art Collection
The British Museum
EQ Bank
University of Toronto Hart House
Private collections
GRANTS AND DISTINCTION
2021
- Ontario Arts Council, Visual Artists Creation Projects Grant
2020-2022
- Canada Council for the Arts, Composite Grant: Concept to Realization
2019
- Canada Council for the Arts, Research and Creation Grant
2018
- Sobey Art Award, Longlist
- Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2017
- Sobey Art Award, Longlist
- Canada Council for the Arts, Concept to Realization, Grant
- Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG), Best Public Program
- Ontario Arts Council, Visual Artists Grant
2016
- Toronto Arts Council, Visual Artists Grant
- Chalmers Arts Fellowship
2015
- Canada Council for the Arts, Visual Artists Grant
2014
- Canada Council for the Arts, Visual Artists Grant
- Toronto Arts Council, Visual Artists Project Grant
2013
- Graduate Studies Grant, Rhode Island School of Design
- Winner: Best Canadian Film, The Silk Road of Pop, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Toronto (ON)
- Winner: Audience Award, The Silk Road of Pop, CinemAsia Film Festival, Amsterdam (NL)
- Winner: Echoes of the Earth Award, The Silk Road of Pop, Rhode Island International Film Festival, Providence (RI)
2012
- President’s Scholarship, Rhode Island School of Design
2010
- Canada Council for the Arts, Production Grant to Media Artists
- Ontario Arts Council, Production Grant for Media Artists
- Canada Council for the Arts, Travel Grant to Visual Artists
2009
- Sichuan TV Festival, Special Jury Award/Golden Panda: I Want to Grow Old in China
- Europe Media Fund, Research Grant
- Canada Council for the Arts, Scriptwriting Grant to Media Artists
+ Solo & Two-Person Exhibitions
2022
- ≠, Susan Hobbs, Toronto (ON) (with Beth Stuart)
2021
- A Heap of Random Sweepings, Koffler Centre of the Arts, Toronto (ON)
2019
- Tandoor, Scarborough Museum, Toronto (ON)
- A bag is a veil is a pillar, Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto (ON)
- BOOP Museum, Clarington Art Centre, Bowmanville (ON)
- Terma, The Lilley Museum, Reno (NV) (with Jared Stanley)
2017
- Behind The Eyes, Open Studio, Toronto (ON)
2016
- Behind The Eyes, Art Gallery of York University, Toronto (ON)
- White, Steel, Slice, Mask, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (BC)(with Mirjam Linschooten)
- Bear Claws Salad Hands, Yaletown Roundhouse Skytain Station, Vancouver (BC) (with Mirjam Linschooten)
- Blind Forms, Sheppard Contemporary, Reno (NV)
2015
- Centuries, Maquis Projects, Izmir (TUR)
- The Figure in the Carpet, Blackwood Gallery, Mississauga (ON) (with Mirjam Linschooten)
2014
- Faux Guide, Trankat, Tétouan (MAR) (with Mirjam Linschooten)
2013
- Something stolen, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, Artellewa, Cairo (EG) (with Mirjam Linschooten)
2011
- The Museum of Found Objects Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (ON) (with Mirjam Linschooten)
2010
- The Museum of Found Objects Istanbul, Sanat Limani, Istanbul (TUR)(with Mirjam Linschooten)
+ Group Exhibitions
2022
- Tu m’enveloppes et je te contiens, Fonderie Darling, Montréal (QC)
2021
- Artifacts of the Horzon, Patel Brown, Toronto (ON)
2021
- Stories We Tell Ourselves, The Foreman Gallery, Sherbrooke (QC) (with Mirjam Linschooten)
2021
- Vessel, Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington (VT)
2019
- Days of Reading: Beyond This State of Affairs, Plugin ICA, Winnipeg (MB) (with Jared Stanley)
2018
- Making Art / Making Community, Vicki Myhren Gallery, Denver (CO)
2018
- Hay El Iraqia, Iraqi Canadian Society, Mississauga (ON)
2017
- HERE: Locating Contemporary Canadian Artists, Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (ON)
2017
- Vacancies, Towards Gallery, Toronto (ON)
2016
- Form Follows Fiction, Art Museum at the University of Toronto, Toronto (ON)
2016
- Tomorrow Never Happens, SAMEK Art Museum, Lewisburg (PA)
2014
- Dead Low, High Water, Gelman Gallery, Providence (RI)
2013
- Arc of Alchemy, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence (RI) (with Mirjam Linschooten)
+ Screenings
The Museum Visits a Therapist
2022
- Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (ON)
The Silk Road of Pop
2019
- KLEX: Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film + Music Festival, Kuala Lumpur (MYS)
2017
- Institute of Islamic Culture, Paris (FR)
- Urban Nomad Film Festival, Taipei (TW)
2015
- Images Festival, Toronto (ON)
- Asia House, London (UK)
2014
- The British Library, London (UK)
- Contemporary Art Gallery Vancouver (BC)
- Internationales Film Festival, Innsbruck (AUT)
- Cornell University, Ithaca (NY)
- DC Chinese Film Festival, Washingto (DC)
- Harbourfront Centre, Toronto (ON)
2013
- Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Toronto (ON)
- Rhode Island International Film Festival, Providence (RI)
- CinemAsia Film Festival, Amsterdam (NL)
- Pacific Rim Film Festival, Santa Cruz (CA)
- World Music and Independent Film Festival, Washington (DC)
- Cines del Sur Film Festival, Granada (ES)
- Passing Clouds, London (UK)
- RISD Museum Chase Centre, Providence (RI)
- Canadian Embassy Beijing, Beijing (CH)
I Want to Grow Old in China
2011
- Somnio Filmfestival, Alkmaar (NL)
- Knowledge Network, Canada
2010
- Het Glazenhuis, Amsterdam (NL)
2009
- DOXA Vancouver Documentary Film Festival, Vancouver (BC)
2008
- Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, Guangzhou (CH)
- Cinecycle, Toronto (ON)
- Antwerp Filmmuseum, Antwerp (BEL)
- MAX/Nederland2, the Netherlands (NL)
In Between There Were Cities
2008
- Nieuwe Vide, Haarlem, the Netherlands (NL)
2006
- Innis Town Hall, Toronto (ON)
2005
- Schule Fur Gestaltung, Basel (CHE)
- Beograg Nekad Sad, Belgrade (CS)
- Motel Nooitgedacht Artist’s Initiative, IJmuiden (NL)
+ Lectures & Performances
2022
- Orion Visiting Artist, University of Victoria, Victoria (BC)
2021
- Inward Outward Symposium, Amsterdam (NH)
- Artist Talk, Koffler Centre for the Arts, Toronto (ON)
2020
- 3 Works: Fragments, Gardiner Museum, Toronto (ON)
2019
- Post Colonial Hot-Ones, OCAD University, Toronto (ON)
- The First Meeting for Non-Dualistic Thinking, Mercer Union, Toronto(ON)
- Respondent Series, Plugin ICA, Winnipeg (MB)
- Artist Talk, Nevada Humanities, Reno (NV)
2018
- Objects of Affection, Koffler Centre of the Arts, Toronto (ON)
2017
- Suspension of Disbelief, South Asian Visual Arts Centre, Toronto (ON)
- Presenting Stories about Objects from Peripheral Histories, Gardiner Museum, Toronto (ON)
2016
- To Keep (Something) in Position: Props in Contemporary Photography, Gallery 44, Toronto (ON)
- Decolonizing the Archive, Blackwood Gallery, Toronto (ON)
2015
- Artist Talk, Sierra Nevada College, Lake Tahoe (CA)
- Artist Talk, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver (BC)
- Artist Talk, Wheaton College, Norton (IL)
2014
- Artist Talk, The Museum of Modern Art, Tétouan (MAR)
- Artist Talk, Parsons The New School, New York (NY)
- Artist Talk, Sierra Nevada College, Lake Tahoe (CA)
+ Press & Publications
2022
- BEACON/The Blurry Hole and Other Stories (with Jared Stanley), Ed: Bopha Chhay (Artspeak);
2019
- Geopoetics in Practice, Journal contribution (with Jared Stanley), 2019. Eds: Magrane, Russo, de Leeuw, Santos Perez (Routledge)
- C Magazine, 2019. Artist Project (Ed. Merray Gerges)
2017
- Here: Locating Contemporary Canadian Artists, 2017. Ed: Swapnaa Tamhane (Aga Khan Museum)
2014
- Document. Document. Document., 2014. Sameer Farooq, Anne West (Rhode Island School of Design)
- Something stolen, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, 2014, Sameer Farooq, Mirjam Linschooten (Artellewa)
2011
- The Museum of Found Objects: Toronto, 2011, Sameer Farooq, Mirjam Linschooten (Art Gallery of Ontario, South Asian Visual Arts Centre)
2010
- The Museum of Found Objects: Istanbul, 2010, Sameer Farooq, Mirjam Linschooten (Turkish Ministry of Culture)