Student

Simeen Anjum

Simeen is a social practice artist hailing from New Delhi, India. She was raised in post-liberalization India, a transformative period that reshaped the urban landscape and neighborhoods. While on one hand, this world presented a sense of freedom in the ways of being; particularly for young women, the stratification across class, caste and religion created tensions that manifested in everyday life of women in many ways. Simeen’s creative practice represents a conscientious effort to grapple with these tensions, offering personal insights that comment on the broader political context.

Her approach involves the intentional integration of everyday fragments from ordinary life. Through mediums such as installation, wall murals, and community art projects, Simeen endeavors to initiate conversations that can facilitate new possibilities of being, becoming and belonging in a time of repression. Her work intersects at both personal and political junctures; it is, at large, an attempt to represent lived experience of systemic oppression and collective healing in/of community. 

Simeen’s involvement extends to numerous community-based art projects addressing gender issues and marginalized identities in public spaces. Her works have been featured in the past two editions of the Students Biennale within the Kochi Muziris Biennale. Notably, she is currently engaged in an upcoming project, a photo essay slated for release in Spring 2024. This essay, which delves into the utilization of tarp sheds in India as an anti-authoritarian strategy, is set to be featured in a book titled ‘Beyond Molotovs—A Visual Handbook on Anti-Authoritarian Strategies’. 

Simeen currently lives in Portland and is working on a project that seeks to document safe spaces and spots of leisure for women in the city, further contributing to her commitment to social engagement through art.

Instagram: @loadingwaitt