Aquil Virani - Visual Artist

Aquil Virani is an award-winning visual artist who blurs the line between art and activism, often integrating public participation into his socially-conscious art projects. He is the 2021 Artist-in-Residence at the Canadian Museum of Immigration.

As curator Celine Le Merlus of the Stewart Hall Art Gallery explains, “his approach, which aims not simply to assert a personal point of view on a pressing social issue, but also to facilitate opportunities for others to express themselves freely – to speak and be heard – is characteristic of all of Aquil’s work.”

He exhibited his award-winning “Canada’s Self Portrait” project at the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax and the Stewart Hall Art Gallery in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. In 2020, Aquil was awarded “Artist For Peace” by the Quebec-based artist collective “Les artistes la paix”. He has won an award from the Michaelle Jean Foundation to produce his “Postering Peace” art documentary that premiered at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. His collaborative artwork honouring Québec City Muslims was delivered as a gift to the Centre culturel islamique de Québec. His commemorative portrait series of the 6 Muslim men killed in Quebec City was supported by a grant from the Silk Road Institute and a community service grant from TakingITGlobal and the Government of Canada. His collaboration with Montreal’s Imago Theatre produced larger-than-life portraits and an immersive sound play featuring 12 inspiring, everyday women, thanks to a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. His creative projects – whether drawing, painting, film or installation – have been exhibited regionally, nationally, and internationally, in cities such as Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Quebec City, Halifax, Whitehorse, New York, Boston, Punta Cana, Sofia, Lisbon and Copenhagen.

Aquil's work has been supported financially by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council and the City of Ottawa, in addition to the Silk Road Institute, the Michaelle Jean Foundation, the International Centre of Art for Social Change, TakingITGlobal and the Government of Canada.

“Aquil Virani could not be more Canadian,” says visual arts journalist Éric Clément in La Presse. It is his culturally diverse upbringing that informs his focus on social issues. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to two immigrant parents; his Catholic mother was an early childhood educator from northern France and his Ismaili Muslim father was a chartered accountant of Indian descent, originally born in Tanzania in East Africa. He is driven by a desire to communicate socially relevant ideas in an accessible, interactive and engaging way.

Check out Aquil's website for more information on him and his work.

Instagram @aquilvirani