Shahzia Sikander: Collective Behavior

The definitive publication on internationally acclaimed artist Shahzia Sikander, one of the most influential feminist artists working today

Born in Pakistan and active in New York since the 1990s, Shahzia Sikander navigates the interplay of multiple identities, encompassing a range of artistic disciplines in her work and critically reinterpreting South Asian material history. Sikander’s distinctly feminist iconography focuses on the narratives of immigrant women to challenge Eurocentric art histories and counter Orientalist scholarship. This volume, published to coincide with a major mid-career retrospective that premiered during the Biennale Art in Venice and will be held concurrently at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art, is the first comprehensive exploration of Sikander’s ideas and art. With hundreds of images, many presented as a full page or an entire spread, the richly illustrated book immerses readers in Sikander’s vibrant and subversive art.

Shahzia Sikander was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and since 1993 has lived and worked in the United States. Her primary residence is New York City.

Ainsley M. Cameron is the Curator of South Asian Art, Islamic Art and Antiquities at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Emily Liebert is the Lauren Rich Fine Curator of Contemporary Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Manan Ahmed and Rosalind C. Morris are authors and professors at Columbia University.

Aruna D’Souza is an independent art writer and critic.

Bhanu Kapil and Fred Moten are poets, authors, and theorists.

Victoria Sung is the Phyllis C. Wattis Senior Curator at Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive.