FAWZIA KHAN
Fawzia Khan is a multidisciplinary visual artist who creates socially conscious bodies of work that engage viewers, opening space for dialogue and reflection. Working in a variety of media, she uses art to examine societal conflicts. To see the “other’s” point of view acknowledges our shared humanity and creates the opportunity for understanding and resolution.
Khan is an active member of two national multiethnic artist collectives, the Habibtis and the Paglees, and the Interfaith Artists Circle in the Twin Cities. She is the recipient of Minnesota State Arts Board grants (2020 and 2024), and was a 2022 McKnight Fiber Artist Fellowship finalist. Khan holds a BA/MD from the University of Missouri (1987) and a BFA from the University of Minnesota (2005). Born in Nigeria to Pakistani parents, she emigrated to the U.S. at the age of twelve and currently lives and works in Hopkins, Minnesota.
Artist Statement
The images shown here are taken from a recent solo exhibition titled, Endemic, about school shootings, gun violence and the loss of civility in society. After the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, I created the work titled, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave. Since then, there has been another school shooting, this time in Nashville, TN. Tumbling Down refers to the loss of civility in society. The toddler’s “baby blanket” is inscribed with advice we give children to get along with others and live a good life. The quilt pattern is called “Tumbling Blocks.” Child’s Primer consists of 10 digitally drawn pages of a child’s picture book dealing with school shootings. And How Many? asks the question, “How many balls are there in the ball pit?” As an immigrant woman of color, a physician and a mother, I am concerned with issues of marginalization, gender inequities, and the balance between safety and freedom. We have to decide, as a society, where the balance lies between safety and liberty. How much of our individual freedom are we willing to give up to ensure the safety of our children, or do we accept a certain number of preventable deaths each year in order to preserve a limitless right to bear arms?
