Education
- MPhil in Art and Design — Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi
- BFA in Fine Arts (Major: Miniature Painting; Minors: Printmaking and Photography) — National College of Arts, Lahore
Academic Leadership & Teaching Roles
- Adjunct Faculty, Communication and Design — Habib University (2023–2025)
- Visiting Faculty, Department of Visual Studies — University of Karachi (2005–Present)
- Discipline Lead, Fine Arts Program — University of Karachi (2007–2022)
- Board of Studies Member (Fine Art) — Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (2018–2021)
- Visiting Faculty — Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (2008–2010)
- Adjunct Faculty — Beaconhouse National University, Lahore (2007)
Courses Taught
- Materials and Practices
- Ideation and Processes
- Forms of Inquiry
- Visualising the Imaginary
Biography
Mahreen Zuberi is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and researcher with over two decades of experience in creative practice, teaching, and academic leadership. Her work spans art, illustration, pedagogy, and artistic research, with a focus on creative inquiry beyond function and aesthetics.
She has been serving as Adjunct Faculty in Communication and Design at Habib University since 2023, where she teaches core undergraduate courses and actively engages with the university’s intellectual and pedagogical environment. Her teaching emphasizes participatory learning, critical thinking, and collaborative knowledge-making.
From 2007 to 2022, Zuberi served as Discipline Lead for the Fine Arts program at the University of Karachi, and has been teaching in the Department of Visual Studies since 2005. Her long-term engagement with public-sector art education has shaped a pedagogy rooted in adaptability, critical engagement, and resourcefulness. She views the classroom as a shared space for making, inquiry, and exchange rather than a hierarchical structure.
Alongside teaching, she has curated major exhibitions and public art initiatives and has exhibited her work widely in Pakistan and internationally, with works held in prominent public collections.
Research Interests
- Artistic Research and Pedagogy
- Creative Inquiry and Process
- Integration of sacred-secular paradigms
Workshops & Residencies
- Art and Cultural Studies Workshop (Zahid Chaudhry & Iftikhar Dadi) — 2015
- South Asian Artists Camp, Puducherry Blue, India — 2010
- Krishnakariti Art Festival, Hyderabad Deccan, India — 2008
- International Artist Workshop, Shatana, Jordan — 2007
- Vasl International Workshop, Gadani — 2006
- Local Connections 1, VASL Artists Residency — 2005
- British Council–VASL Workshop (“Intercultural Transformation”) — 2004
- Video Art Workshop (“Shot to Edit”) — 2003
- Calligraphy Workshop (“Fun-e-Khatati”) — 2002
- Pin-hole Photography Workshop — 2002
Selected Exhibitions
- Mapping the Invisible — AAN Art Space and Museum, Karachi (2025)
- Anti-Colonial Maps for Lost Lovers — American Arts Centre, Casablanca (2025)
- KB24: Risk/Rizq — Karachi Biennale, Karachi (2024)
- Mathematics of Composing Pretences — Kaleido Contemporary, Lahore (2024)
- Olive Branch — Koel Gallery, Karachi (2024)
- Exercising the Border — solo presentation, Anita Rogers Gallery, New York (2023)
- Artist-Book Artchowk — Karachi (2023)
- Karachi Art Fest ’23 — Karachi (2023)
- Mukhammas — Chawkandi Gallery, Karachi (2023)
- Archival Memories — AAN Gandhara Art Space, Karachi (2021)
- Karachi ki Khoj — International Public Art Festival (2020)
- Art for Education: Contemporary Artists of Pakistan — Museo Diocesano Carlo Maria Martini, Milan (2018)
- Stop Play Pause Repeat — Lawrie Shabibi Gallery, Dubai (2012)
- Reprise — Aicon Gallery, New York (2011)
- Invisible Cities — Aicon Gallery, New York (2010)
- Resemble Reassemble — Devi Art Foundation, India (2010)
- Who’s Afraid of Theory — Poppy Seed Gallery, Karachi (2010)
- Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan — Asia Society Museum, New York (2009)
- A Thousand and One Days — Honolulu Academy of Arts, Hawaii (2005)
- Contemporary Miniature Paintings from Pakistan — Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan (2004)
- Full exhibition record available upon request.
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