Maliha Abidi

Meet Maliha Abidi: The Bold Artist Fighting for Social Justice

“Come for the art, stay for the cause.” – Maliha Abidi

Maliha Abidi is a Pakistani-American multidisciplinary artist and author living between London and Los Angeles. Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, she migrated to California, United States at the age of 14. As a South Asian immigrant, her experiences play a huge role in her work. Her art focuses on advocating for social justice including women’s rights, girls’ education and mental health. Using bright and bold colours, Maliha hopes to get people interested in complex issues that impact our societies.

Maliha is also the founder and creator of Women Rise NFT, a Web 3.0 initiative with the focus on women’s rights and girls’ education through using art as a tool for advocacy. Maliha’s work includes illustrations, animations, NFT art and illustrated books.

This talk from artist Maliha Abidi will explore the online engagement cycle that makes creatives feel that they have to put content or artwork out there to stay relevant, taking away from the creative process and pressuring them to produce work that doesn’t speak to their soul. The talk will also touch on burnout and how the ever-evolving algorithms leave artists feeling depleted and unable to create art simply because they want to.
 

Maliha will speak at the Forward Festival Berlin in September. Next to her, you will be able to hear Creatives like Simone Cihlar, Aurelia Durand and many more.