ART
Islamic Artist Rida Fatima Designs a New Life in Wisconsin Waiting for the pandemic to end to share the joys of creativity BY SANDRA WHITEHEAD
A
rtist Rida Fatima’s professional life has a pattern: move to a new city, create a studio and work schedule, develop her business and then move and start over – a consequence of her husband’s path from medical school to residency to fellowship to professional opportunities. Along the way, the 32-year-old artist has paved a trail of success. Since moving from Pakistan to the U.S. 11 years ago, her architectural drawings and calligraphy have been exhibited in galleries in New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Richmond, Columbus, Portland, New Brunswick (New Jersey) and Laguna Beach (California). Her work won “Best in Show” at an exhibit at St. Louis’ The Old
Orchard Gallery. A company chose one of her designs for its logo. CAIR displayed her work at its annual banquet in Cleveland for three years running. Now in Wisconsin, it looks like Fatima, her husband and two children will stay put, for, she remarks, he’s working at the Milwaukee College of Wisconsin and “likes it very much.” In an interview from her studio in their new home in suburban Milwaukee, Fatima shared her journey as an artist.
IN HER MOTHER’S STUDIO
It began in her mother’s studio in Islamabad. “I was born into a family that appreciated art. I am the youngest of my siblings and was
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Islamic artist Rida Fatima
the lucky one who spent a lot of time with my mother,” she says. “There was always a lot going on in her studio and I was always there. She loves to sew and do carpentry, making wooden furniture.” Fatima’s mother also moved about every two years, following her husband, an air force officer. In each new house, she found space to make her studio. “It wasn’t fancy, sometimes a storeroom, sometimes a space under the stairs. She made amazing stuff in those small spaces,” Fatima reminisces. “For me, the seed was always there. I knew from an early age I wanted to do something with art.”
