We’re hosting an exhibition celebrating the work of queer South Asian artists exploring themes of intimacy, connection, and community!
Curated by visual artist and our Communications and Marketing Assistant, Vivika Chugh, the exhibit will be on display for a week (Wednesday 2 April to Wednesday 9 April) at the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre.
As part of the showcase, there will be a launch party with Desi snacks, henna art and lots more! The launch is sold out but you can sign up to the waiting list.
Read on to meet the artists exhibiting their work.
Meet the artists
Mazahir Hussain
Instagram
Mazahir Hussain (he/they) is a Pakistani-Kashmiri digital artist based in Birmingham, U.K.
With an educational background in creative writing, they merge their passions for mythology and fairytale with visual arts to create a romantic representation they often never found in their formative years.
Mazahir’s work centres around brown bodies in states of sensuality, connection and intimacy. As well as disjointing the aggressive fetishisation of body hair into a place of sweetness.
Trish
Instagram
Trish (they/them) is a queer and non-binary multi-disciplinary creative of mixed cultural heritage.
Their socially-engaged practice is informed by their experiences and interactions with the world and people around them. Bold, playful and emotive, their work explores identity, community and the everyday.
Safa Mirza
Instagram
Safa Mirza (she/her) is an experimental photographer and visual artist whose work explores themes of intimacy, connection, and belonging through a layered, multidisciplinary approach.
Weaving together image and narrative, her practice is deeply informed by an intimate engagement with film—drawing from cinematic language to further enrich personal and collective stories.
As a South Asian artist, her perspective is shaped by a fluid and evolving relationship with queerness – one that is not a fixed definition but a continuous journey of self-understanding.
Her work resists singular narratives, instead embracing the complexity of intersectional experiences and offering space for nuance, reflection, and dialogue.
Sofia Barton
Instagram
Sofia Barton (she/her), a multidisciplinary artist from the North East, explores themes of nature, heritage, and her rich Punjabi background in her vibrant work.
Founder of Rainbow Jalebi, she also served as the Northern Pride Artist 2022, collaborating with organisations like Curious Arts.
Advitha Harini
Instagram
Advitha Harini (she/they) is an artist exploring identity and connection through fine art and animation. While she works in visual effects and post-production, her passion for traditional mediums remains a vital outlet for her inner world.
Her work, often lighthearted and somewhat bittersweet, captures moments of culture, introspection and human connection.
Vivika Chugh
Instagram
Vivika Chugh (she/her) is a London-based visual artist whose work explores queerness, intimacy, and domesticity through a feminist and decolonial lens.
Inspired by the works of artist Amrita Sher-Gil, she focuses on capturing the quiet, intimate moments shared between women, presenting them through a female gaze perspective that challenges traditional male-centred portrayals of women.
Her practice delves into the intersectionality of identity, exploring themes of self-expression, community, and representation.
Tarrine Khanom
Instagram
Tarrine Khanom (they/she) is a queer disabled Bengali British creative based in London, working in photography, art direction, and visual arts.
Their work challenges societal norms, amplifying the voices of women and marginalised communities while exploring their own intersectionality as a queer South Asian Muslim.
Through their art, they aim to preserve cultural history, empower the overlooked, and celebrate autonomy, strength, and beauty.
Nikita Aashi Chadha
Instagram
Nikita Aashi Chadha (they/them) is a queer disabled multidisciplinary artist: a poet, writer, editor, singer, and creative facilitator.
They have recently started producing (a short film), as well as creative directing and modelling on projects that are very close to their heart, like this one.
Nikita believes in the necessity of an intersectional lens and approach, with their work dedicated to spotlighting the “other.” They are particularly interested in the power of creativity and how it intersects with identity and disability, but also in how we can harness play, imagination, art, and other creative mediums to create space for healing and enact radical change.
Iya Mistry
Instagram
Iya Mistry’s (they/them) practice centres on the intersection between queerness, gender, race, internet culture, and disability.
Since studying graphic design, they’ve been working as a designer and creative in London with clients like Monzo, V&A East Storehouse, and the UK’s first LGBTQ+ museum, Queer Britain and Transkaters.
Most recently, Iya has completed a residency at Fabrica Research Centre in Italy exploring ageing, time and transness.
Nahal Hashir
Instagram
Nahal Hashir (she/her) is a queer Pakistani visual artist, who uses digital illustration to explore her South Asian and queer identities.
The feminist movement in Pakistan, Aurat March, is what motivated her to make political art, and it is the reason she engaged with pro-Palestine activism in the UK.
She is constantly inspired by the feminists around her who work to platform marginalised voices and advocate for collective liberation, and this inspiration is what fuels much of her work.
She believes that activism is a labour of love, and art is her love letter to the global solidarity movement.
Abhigya Barthwal
Instagram
Abhigya Barthwal (she/her) is a London-based mixed media artist and writer whose work explores the intersection of visual culture and social commentary, finding profound meaning in overlooked everyday moments.
A Goldsmiths University MA graduate, her practice challenges hierarchies of what deserves attention in our daily lives.
Through her multidisciplinary approach, Barthwal exposes the intersection of gender, economic inequality, and the poetry of everyday life.
Intimacy as Resistance artworks will be displayed at the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre from Wednesday 2 April to Wednesday 9 April.