Afghanistan My Love

Featuring the work of art collective ArtLords and Afghan-Canadian artist Shaheer Zazai, Afghanistan My Love is a contemporary exhibition that demonstrates how art can be used as a powerful medium for connection during times of adversity. It offers visitors a glimpse into an Afghanistan which is more than a physical place — it is a home, a memory, and an identity.

Visit Afghanistan My Love in 3D

See additional carpets designed by Shaheer Zazai and ArtLords in 3D

Strength in Creativity

Embark on a journey through ArtLords’ past community murals painted all over the world as well as paintings transferred from their gallery in Kabul.

Visitors can participate in the exhibition by painting a community mural designed by the collective. Filled with imagery inspired by the people, culture, and nature of Canada and Afghanistan, the collaborative mural shows us how art has the unique power to unite people and inspire empathy and understanding. It shows us that creating something beautiful together can bring about peace.

Mural showing various colourful illustrations, such as a girl in a walking position to the right, a girl with wings in the center, and to the left a smiling woman’s face with a pink rose below her and an ancient statue in the background

Layers of Identity

Conceptualized in Microsoft Word, Shaheer Zazai’s mesmerizing patterns and designs explore the many layers of his complex cultural identity. A selection of Zazai’s digital works and carpets which are inspired by these designs will showcase the artist’s unique processes and his contemplations around what it means to be an Afghan away from their homeland.

Zazai’s carpets are the result of a collaboration with Afghan women weavers who not only transform his designs into a new medium but in the process, add their own individual voices. Through this creative conversation between the artists, flourishes such as flowers and colour changes were woven in to create new and unexpected artworks. The subtle changes in Zazai’s pieces are a testament to the unifying power of art created within the context of community and rich cultural histories.

Special Projects Curator: Marianne Fenton