Premio Combat Prize

Shafaq Ahmad was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She left Pakistan at age 20 and lived in the United Kingdom, Iran and Denmark before settling down in the United States.She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia in 1991 and a Master of Fine Art degree from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas in 2011. Ahmad worked as an art glass designer from 1995 to 2003 and collaborated with several art glass studios in Czech Republic and Sweden. Her art glass designs are in private collections in many countries. Presently, she works as a multimedia artist. She paints, and also works in 3D, digital media and mixed media to express her vision. Ahmad is an international artist and has participated in many prestigious international exhibitions. The message of multicultural awareness is central in Ahmad’s work. In her work she is intrigued and inspired by mysticism, which is to believe in the all-encompassing unity of the Creator. This belief influences both the conceptual and formal aspects of her work. Her mystical thought manifests in the physical reality of the work as it relates to our existence in the Universe. It attempts to convey the realization and acceptance of people of diverse backgrounds and cultures and bridge the disparity to convey the message of sameness and equality.Images: These images were taken during my recent visit to Islamabad, Pakistan where scores of Afghan refugees have taken shelter for the past several years and continue to live and work there, while trying to manage some form of normalcy.