Aleena Akbar Khan (b.1999) is an interdisciplinary artist working between Islamabad, Pakistan and Pittsburgh, USA.
She works across media, moving between sculptural installation, drawing, publication, sound and video. Aleena is currently pursuing her MFA at Carnegie Mellon University, USA.
Her work often appropriates scientific methodologies to probe the authenticity of shared universal experiences and truths. She intends to articulate and translate her own proximity to systems of information dissemination and institutional power, such as artificial intelligence, built environment(s) and various virtual or fictive interlocutors.
Her practice lies on the edge of irony, humor and improvisation to build a language broader than personal, cultural and geographical specificities. The work plays with different translations of shared universal experiences.
She graduated from National College of Arts, Pakistan in 2022 and has since completed residencies at Digital Art Studios, Belfast (2022), and Misk Art Institute, Saudi Arabia (2023). In 2022, she received a year-long grant from the Vasl Artist Association and was most recently the recipient of the Prince Claus Seed Award in 2024.
Academics, residencies and grants
2024 Prince Claus Seed Award, Netherlands
2023 Artist in residence, Misk art Institute, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2022 Artist in residence, Vasl artist's association, Karachi, Pakistan
2022 Year-long research grant, Vasl artist's Association
2022 Artist in Residence, Digital Arts Studios(DAS), Belfast
2022 BFA with Distinction, National college of Arts, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Exhibitions
2023 '4 days', part of LDF, Lahore, Pakistan
2023 Masaha residency showcase, Misk art Institute, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2023 Lahore Digital festival(LDF), group show, Pakistan
2022 'Museum of Blue', a two person show at Vasl artist's association, Karachi, Pakistan
2022 'Anticipated Nostalgia', at Golden thread gallery, Belfast, UK
2022 'Zine scene', at CFAW, Karachi Pakistan
2022 'Playground', BFA thesis show, NCA Rawalpindi, Pakistan
2019 'In-house', Storia art studio, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Publications
2022 'Blue Noise', artist's book published by Vasl artist's association, Karachi, Pakistan
2021 'Things on the ground', self published
2020 'MAKESHIFT', self published