Kanza Naheed is a self taught artist with a background in corporate marketing. Having always been creative at heart, she is now exploring illustration and traditional painting as a medium of self expression. Her work focuses on reimagining oneself, redefining stereotypes, while examining the toll that outer expectations (particularly active discouragement from society) have on mental health, especially for south asian women.

Her first installation titled ‘Kyoun’ (why) was an interactive thought experiment conducted at TEDxWomen in Lahore where she encouraged participants to question the status quo while penning down their thoughts on an interactive wall. This paved the way to ‘Kyoun Nahi’ (why not), -the creation of her Instagram handle which then went on to further encourage her to start having conversations on societal issues through art.

Her work on patriarchal violence for Aurat March has been featured in BBC Urdu along with many South Asian Blogs.

When she isn’t busy with the corporate sector or art, she dabbles in stand up comedy, YouTube or writing and reimagining a better world.

Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, she currently resides in Berlin, Germany.