Rabia S. Akhtar is a Pakistani visual artist. She received her BFA from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in 2015, with a focus on Miniature painting. Akhtar’s practice examines the fluid, transformative relationship between humans and the natural world, exploring how bodies, minds, and identities can merge with landscapes and non-human life. She imagines hybrid beings and ecosystems where psychological, physical, and emotional boundaries dissolve, revealing cycles of change, ferality, and renewal. Her work investigates metamorphosis, interconnection, and the shifting flow of consciousness between humans, animals, and the environment.
Solo Exhibitions include Salon, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL (2025); Infinite Patience, 0 Art Space, Lahore, Pakistan (2025); Nothing in the Sunshine, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2024).
Group exhibitions include (Upcoming) Myths, Dreams, and New Realities, in collaboration with Bagri Foundation, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (2025); S18, Abu Dhabi Art Fair, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2024); Where Wild Roses Grow, Schloss Goerne, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Germany (2023); The Emperor's New Clothes, Numaish Gah, Lahore, Pakistan (2023); Internal Landscapes, duo exhibition with Rabia Farooqui, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2023); All Things Shall Perish, 0 Art Space, Lahore, Pakistan (2022);Gradens at Rest, duo exhibition, Canvas Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2022); The Body and Beyond: Movements in Pakistan, LBF Virtual Museum, Lahore Biennale Foundation, Pakistan (2022); Dar-Aamad, O Art Space, Lahore, Pakistan (2022); What is a Good Painting, Art Chowk Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2022); Khat-o-Kitabat, Koel Gallery, Karachi, and O Art Space, Lahore, Pakistan (2021); Breathing Light, Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2021); The Architecture of Being, AAN Art Space & Museum, Karachi, Pakistan (2021); Microcosm 4, AAN Art Space & Museum, Karachi, Pakistan (2021); Past, Present, Future, Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2021); Pretty Art for Pretty People, Sanat Initiative, Karachi, Pakistan (2020); Being Human, 0 Art Space, Lahore, Pakistan (2020); Every Road is a River, Ministry for Gozo, Malta (2020); Echoes of the Walls, Vasl Artist's Collective, Karachi, Pakistan (2020); Artist Statement 5, Czong Institute of Contemporary Art (CICA) Museum, Gimpo, South Korea (2020); Rehai, VM Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2019); Rhythms of Resurgence, Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2019); Not Just the City, Space B, Spazju Kreattiv, Vlletta, Malta (2018); Beneath the Surface, Canvas Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2017); We Ate the Birds, Koel Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2017); Who Killed Shumaila, Sanat Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2017); Ibtidaa, Studio Seven Gallery, Karachi, Pakistan (2016); Carte Blanche, Fomma Trust, Karachi, Pakistan (2016); Awaken Our Legacy, Standard Chartered Bank, Karachi, Pakistan (2016); Pelli Manzil, Karachi, Pakistan (2016); Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture Thesis Show, IVS, Karachi, Pakistan (2015).
Highlights
In 2023, she received the Nigaah Art Award in the category of ‘Emerging Artist’. In 2020, her artist book Bogus Villa Buds was displayed at Focal Point, an annual art book fair by the Sharjah Art Foundation. Rabia has taken part in residencies including a collaborative AiR program by the Valletta 2018 Foundation and Fondazzjoni Kreattività, as well as Locating Word 2020 and Taaza Tareen 12, initiated by Vasl Artists’ Collective. She has also written and researched for various platforms, including ArtNow Pakistan and the Karachi Biennale Trust.