Ms. Sara Aslam MDSVAD - BNU

Sara Aslam is a visual artist and educator based in Lahore. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in 2016 and her Master of Art and Design Studies (MA ADS) in 2020, both with distinction from Beaconhouse National University (BNU). Over the years, she has actively participated in various notable events, projects, and exhibitions, solidifying her presence in the contemporary art scene.

Her creative practice revolves around an expanded notion of home—an evolving space that is continuously in progress. She often explores this idea through an ecological lens, questioning the conditions of urban living and the ways in which individuals interact with their environments. Through her work, she challenges conventional understandings of space and habitat, inviting deeper reflection on sustainability and co-existence.

Aslam employs a diverse range of mediums, including plantation, earthwork, installation, sculpture, mixed-media drawing, and audio-visual art. By integrating these elements, she constructs narratives that reimagine both individual and collective utopias, offering alternative perspectives on community and belonging.

Her research on South Asian plant species has earned her the prestigious International Artist Residency: Ecologies of Diversity – Plants, Art, Film, a collaborative project by Koel Gallery, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), and Edinburgh Napier University’s School of Arts and Creative Industries (ENU SACI). This initiative, generously supported by the British Council, highlights her commitment to ecological discourse within artistic practice.

Currently, Sara Aslam serves as an Assistant Professor at the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts & Design (MD SVAD), BNU, where she continues to contribute to academic discourse while fostering new generations of artists.

• Master of Art and Design Studies (MA ADS), Certificate of Distinction, Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design, Beaconhouse National University
• Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Certificate of Distinction, Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design, Beaconhouse National University

• Assistant Professor, Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design (MDSVAD), Beaconhouse National University (BNU), Lahore, Pakistan (2023 – Present)
• Guest Juror, Final Critique – Studio Arts, Department of Media, Art and Design Studies, Lahore School of Economics (LSE), Lahore, Pakistan (2024)
• Thesis Advisor, Master of Art and Design Studies (MA ADS), Department of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies (DGIS), MDSVAD, BNU, Lahore, Pakistan (2024)
• Project Lead and Coordinator, Segment – Performance and Sound as Design, Design Summit Team, Design Summit 01, BNU, Lahore, Pakistan (2024)
• Supervisor, Hackathon: Programmatics, International Conference: Mikro Politics of the Machine (MikroPOM), BNU, Lahore, Pakistan (2023)
• Lecturer, MDSVAD, BNU, Lahore, Pakistan (2022 – 2023)
• Thesis Supervisor, Master of Art and Design Studies (MA ADS), Department of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies (DGIS), MDSVAD, BNU, Lahore, Pakistan (2022)
• Teaching Associate, MDSVAD, BNU, Lahore, Pakistan (2020 – 2021)
• Juror, 12th Toyota Dream Car Contest, Toyota Motors Pvt. Ltd., Lahore, Pakistan (2018)
• Teaching Assistant, MDSVAD, BNU, Lahore, Pakistan (2017 – 2018)
• Research and Design Artist, Sapphire Retail Limited, Lahore, Pakistan (2017 – 2018)

• International Artist Residency Award, Ecologies of Diversity: Plants, Art, Film – Collaborative project by Koel Gallery, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), and Edinburgh Napier University’s School of Arts and Creative Industries (ENU SACI), supported by the British Council (2024)
• Merit Scholarship Award, UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institute of South Asian Arts (UMISAA), Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design (MDSVAD), Beaconhouse National University (BNU), Lahore, Pakistan (2018)

• Atlas of Elsewhere, UNESCO Chair Ceremony and Exhibition, Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design (MDSVAD), Beaconhouse National University (BNU), Lahore, Pakistan (2024)
• Datum 2.3, Project Development, Installation, and Exhibition, IAPEX 23, Expo Centre, Lahore, Pakistan (2023)
• The Day After, Group Exhibition, 9th Islamabad Literature Festival, F9 Park Art Gallery, Islamabad, Pakistan (2023)
• Co-Exist, Co-Exit – The Future Was Today, Group Exhibition, School of Tomorrow (SOT), Lahore, Pakistan (2022)
• Letters to Pakistan, Group Exhibition, ArtSoch Contemporary, Lahore, Pakistan (2021)
• MA ADS Degree Show, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Pakistan (2020)
• Exit Strategy, Group Exhibition, Islamabad Art Fest, The National Art Gallery, PNCA, Islamabad, Pakistan (2019)
New Works, Two-Person Exhibition, Alhamra Art Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan (2018)
• Fuse Protogenesis: The First Sino-Pak Youth Artists Tour Exhibition, China (2017)
  The exhibition tour included:
  
  • Opening Ceremony | Sozhou Station
  • ‘Hot Spring’ Suchow University Art Expo
  • Qi Cultural Festival, Shandong Station
  • OBOR Summit, Deyang Station
  • Dosti Art Painting Expo, Chengdu Station
  • Suzhou Culture Expo and Confucius Cultural Festival, Qufu City
• Lines in the Sand – Contemporary Art from Pakistan, Group Exhibition and Featured Artist, Book Publication, Imago Mundi, Luciano Benetton Collection (2016)
• BFA Degree Show, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Pakistan (2016)
• Collection and Distribution, Group Exhibition, School of Tomorrow (SOT) Conference, Karachi, Pakistan (2015)

• Faculty Development Workshop, Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan (2023)
• Wood Carving Workshop, led by Shafqat Karim, Hunzo-e-Hayan, Karimabad, Hunza, Pakistan (2021)
• Wood Carving Workshop, led by Moh. Matloob, Spic Macay Convention, Bombay, India (2015)
• Ceramic Workshop, led by Nabahat Lotia, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Pakistan (2013)

• A Breakthrough Cross-Disciplinary Exhibition – Sousan Qadeer, The News International, December 17, 2023.
• The Notion of the Unprecedented – Aarish Sardar, The News International, November 20, 2022.
• Long Lost Letters – Quddus Mirza, The News International, September 5, 2021.
• Exit Strategy at IAF 2019: A Nest of Non-Conformity – Rabeya Jalil, Art Now Pakistan, January 1, 2020.
• Home Mathematics – Rabeya Jalil, Art Now Pakistan, October 1, 2018.
• The Garden of Art – Faizan Javed, The Nation, September 19, 2018.
• Display of Works on Found Material Begins – The News International, September 18, 2018.

• Email Address: sara.aslam@bnu.edu.pk