Talk #23

Rana Begum

Alnoor Mitha, Senior Research Fellow (Asian Cultures) and Michael Pinchbeck (Reader in Theatre) at Manchester School of Art interview visual artist, Rana Begum. Begum’s work distils spatial and visual experience into ordered form. Through her refined language of Minimalist abstraction, Begum blurs the boundaries between sculpture, painting and architecture. Her visual language draws from the urban landscape as well as geometric patterns from traditional Islamic art and architecture. Light is fundamental to her process. Begum’s works absorb and reflect varied densities of light to produce an experience for the viewer that is both temporal and sensorial. Born in Bangladesh in 1977, Begum lives and works in London. In 1999, Begum graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design and, in 2002, gained an MFA in Painting from Slade School of Fine Art. Begum has received the Jack Goldhill Award for Sculpture (2012) and Abraaj Group Art Prize (2017).