IEDAs | A Journal of Transdisciplinary Practices in Art & Design | Annual

Prof. Salima Hashmi

Prof. Salima Hashmi is an artist, curator and contemporary art historian. She was founding Dean at the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design at Beaconhouse National University, Lahore in 2003. She taught at the National College of Arts, Lahore, for 30 years and was the Principal of the College for 4 years.

She is the recipient of multiple awards including the President's Medal for Pride of Performance for Art Education, the Sughra Rababi Lifetime Achievement Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the LLF. The Australian Council of Art and Design Schools nominated her Inaugural International Fellow in 2011, and in the same year she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Bath Spa University, UK.

Mr. Justin Cook

Justin W. Cook is the Founding Executive Director of the Center for Complexity at Rhode Island School of Design and Design Critic at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. His work focuses on developing novel organizational architectures to address systemic challenges in healthcare, sustainability, and education. Previously, he spent a decade as Senior Lead for Strategy at the Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra, advancing strategic design for social impact.

Dr. Anzar Khaliq

Dr. Anzar Khaliq is the founding Chief Learning Officer at San Francisco Bay University, leading the Center for Empowerment and Pedagogical Innovation. With a PhD in Experimental Physics from Sorbonne, he specializes in design thinking, transdisciplinary education, and AI-driven educational innovations. He has held key leadership roles in innovative academic programs and was a founding faculty member of Habib University, where he founded Pakistan's first design research lab.

Dr. Faisal Khan

Dr Faisal Khan is a neo-biologist leading an interdisciplinary research lab that works at the intersection of biology, data, medicine and the humanities. His Lab is spearheading precision medicine and synthetic biology research in Pakistan as well as in emerging areas including digital health, space biology, bioart and the bioeconomy. Dr Khan won several awards and honors for his Masters and DPhil at the University of Oxford.

Dr. Ijlal Muzaffar

Dr. Ijlal Muzaffar is Professor of Architectural History at the Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He is the author of Modernism's Magic Hat: Architecture and the Illusion of Development without Capital (University of Texas Press, 2024) and the co-editor of the volume Architecture in Development Systems and the Emergence of the Global South (Routledge, 2022). His work has been published widely in academic journals, museum and biennale catalogues and edited volumes.

Aarish Sardar

Aarish Sardar is a design educator & an interdisciplinary creative practitioner, and the Head-VCD (Visual Communication Design) at MDSVAD, BNU. With an MA from Kingston University London (2006), Aarish has worked as a communication designer & a multimedia consultant with clientele internationally from the USA, UK to Pakistan and beyond. He has exhibited his interdisciplinary works in various group shows within and outside of Pakistan. Aarish also writes about arts and culture for The Dawn and The News on Sunday, The Karachi Collective, Friday Times, The Iconica Magazine in Pakistan, and Arte Morbida.

Zahra Mirza

Zahra Mirza is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator based in Pakistan and Austria currently teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. She initiated and managed project Artversation, facilitating interdisciplinary projects, research, and discourse at the intersection of arts, sciences, outside disciplines and curious technologies.

Madyha Leghari

Madyha J. Leghari (b. 1991) is a visual artist, writer and educator working between Lahore and Washington DC. She earned a BFA at the National College of Arts, Lahore (2013) and an MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (2018) through a Fulbright Scholarship. Her practice revolves around the possibilities and limitations of language, and is often positioned in the indeterminate spaces of translation, cultural friction, and semantic lacunae.

Prof. Quddus Mirza - Editor in Chief
Professor, MDSVAD, BNU

Prof. Quddus Mirza is a painter, art critic, an independent curator and a Professor at MDSVAD, BNU, Lahore. He has trained several generations of artists in Pakistan. As a practicing painter, he has shown extensively in exhibitions held around the world and contributed to collections including the British Museum. Mirza is also recognized as an art curator and critic, writing columns regularly for The News, and contributing and publishing extensively in multiple mediums. He is the editor of online art magazine Art Now Pakistan.

Rohma Khan - Editorial Director
Associate Professor and Program Head IEDA, MDSVAD, BNU

Rohma Khan is a multi-disciplinary artist, educator, researer, Associate Professor, and Program Head- IEDA (Interdisciplinary Expanded Design and Art) at MDSVAD, BNU. Rohma has had affiliations with local and international institutions, development-sector organizations and advertising industry, spanning across disciplines with areas of investigation ranging from deep-historical to abstract futuristic ideas, artifacts and practices.

Manal Abdullah - Editorial Manager
Multidisciplinary Architect

A multidisciplinary architect with ten years of experience in academia, Manal has been associated with various conferences, conversations and panels as a participant and an organizer. Extensive experience in mentoring for creative learning has exposed her to multiple research and innovation platforms within and outside Pakistan, including the Self-Learning Resource Centre at BNU. As a licensed architect from PCATP, Her creative research and practice revolves around posthuman worlds and democratic design.

Durre Shehwar - Editorial Research Lead
Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator IEDA, MDSVAD, BNU

Durre is a multidisciplinary designer and educator, currently an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator for the IEDA (Interdisciplinary Expanded Design & Art) program at SVAD, BNU. As an Industrial Designer and Design Researcher, she has collaborated with organizations globally to address critical social and healthcare challenges. Her research delves into the complex dynamics of power, politics, and neocoloniality in design practice and pedagogy, exploring their impact on democratic systems. She is also a member of the Social Design Network (SDN).

Aarish Sardar - Branding & Design
Associate Professor & Head of Visual Communication Design Department, MDSVAD, BNU

Aarish Sardar is a design educator & an interdisciplinary creative practitioner, and the Head-VCD (Visual Communication Design) at MDSVAD, BNU. With an MA from Kingston University London (2006), Aarish has worked as a communication designer & a multimedia consultant with clientele internationally from the USA, UK to Pakistan and beyond. He has exhibited his interdisciplinary works in various group shows within and outside of Pakistan. Aarish also writes about arts and culture for The Dawn and The News on Sunday, The Karachi Collective, Friday Times, The Iconica Magazine in Pakistan, and Arte Morbida.

Dr. Anosh Butt - Senior Editor

Dr Anosh Nadeem Butt is a Tutor at Glasgow International College, University of Glasgow whose research focuses on sustainable buildings, design education, urban resilience, and interdisciplinary collaboration. He has published in leading journals and reviewed over 80 scientific articles. Information about research outputs and professional activities is available at:

Ibrahim Tanweer - Senior Editor

Ibrahim Tanweer is a writer and cultural industries educator with a Master of Arts degree in the Global Creative and Cultural Industries programme at SOAS, University of London. His work and research is related to the political economies of the various fields of cultural production as well as the visual, aesthetic, and political issues of representation. His work has appeared in Dunya Digital, Border Movement, The Aleph Review and Lakeer Magazine. Ibrahim has also worked as an independent music critic and has served as managing editor for The Lost Aux, a Pakistani music content publication. Ibrahim Tanweer currently teaches at the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Art & Design at Beaconhouse National University.

Mehr Hussain - Proofreader & Copywriter

Mehr F. Husain is a British–Pakistani journalist, author, publisher, and sustainability consultant based in Lahore. With over 16 years of experience in media, her writing spans human rights, culture, sustainability, and economic development, appearing in national and international publications. She is the founder of two influential social ventures. ZUKA Accessories (est. 2018), a social enterprise that collaborates with rural artisans—especially women—to rejuvenate indigenous textiles like muslin and khaddar through ethical, sustainable production. ZUKA Books (est. 2020), Pakistan’s first independent publishing platform championing sustainable printing, freedom of expression, and cultural heritage, produced Pakistan’s first fashion-focused cultural history (Pakistan: A Fashionable History), mental health poetry, and graphic novels—and was shortlisted for the 2023 IPA Prix Voltaire Award. She also co-founded ZUKAST, Pakistan’s first sustainability podcast, tackling fast-fashion waste and environmental responsibility. Mehr’s work extends into media consultancy, where she works to foster rural digital literacy and gender equity. Her efforts have earned recognition from UN Women Asia-Pacific, the International Publishers Association, and been appointed as a sustainability advocate for the Swarovski Foundation Creatives For Our Future.

Ariza Abbas - Proofreader & Copywriter

Ariza Abbas is a graduate of the BA (Hons) Interdisciplinary Expanded Design and Arts program at the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design (MDSVAD), Beaconhouse National University. Currently working as a Graphic Designer at HireGummy, she is a talented visual artist with a strong command of visual storytelling and brand communication. Her creative practice is rooted in design research and explores intersections of visual communication, branding and identity, illustration, and cultural anthropology. Ariza brings a thoughtful, research-driven approach to design that reflects both aesthetic clarity and cultural relevance.