Raniverse: Women in the Digital World
In this exciting collaboration, Lahore Digital Arts Festival* has curated a special exhibition of seven femme artists to display multimedia digital artworks as part of the Women of the World Pakistan Festival. The theme of the festival is “Rani,” a term that is interpreted in complex ways but stands for leadership, and calls for the celebration and inclusion of all women. Here, the theme is depicted in the “Raniverse,” where women finds themselves in the digital and navigates through. The works represent a variety of viewpoints and backgrounds, mixing video, digital painting, animation, and much more. While the ‘metaverse’ so often remains the world of the elite, the male, the cisgender, in this Raniverse the woman, in all her forms, reigns.
How to Navigate in the Exhibition:
1- You can explore the space on a mobile phone or desktop computer, but the experience will be better on a larger screen.
2- You can ‘walk through’ the exhibit by navigating with a mouse or by clicking the arrows. Or, you can click directly on the artworks, and you’ll be taken directly to them.
3- A lot of the works are audiovisual – make sure you have your speakers plugged in or headphones on! If the videos don’t autoplay, look for the play symbol.
4- A few of the artists have recorded their own artistic statements as part of their bios. You can click on the bio to hear their thoughts.
5- The exhibition will be available from March 4th to 30th.
Participating Artists
Saria Saeed
Artist

Saria Saeed
Artist
Saria is a London based architectural designer. She finished her master’s degree in architecture from University College London in 2020 and currently practices as an architect. Saria was born in Pakistan and moved to the UK at the age of 10 with her family. Her dual identity and the complexities it creates in her life inspires her work. She experiments with innovative technologies and challenges cultural norms through her architectural and art works.
Rohama Malik
Multidisciplinary Artist

Rohama Malik
Multidisciplinary Artist
Rohama Malik is a multidisciplinary illustrator and teacher. She is a Fulbright scholar and graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Arts MFA Illustration Practice program where she was also the recipient of the Nancy Lee Rhodes Roberts Graduate Fellowship. She works in various mediums including digital and traditional illustration, sculpture, sewing, and animation. She explores diverse topics from science fiction narratives and folk lore to mental health. She has given talks on Islamicate Science Fiction at MICA Illustration’s Worldbuilding course and has moderated a talk on science fiction for The Desi Collective’s The Writer's Block Party. Her work has been featured at the Lahore Digital Arts Festival, at Tomorrow, a group show at PressMatter in Shanghai as well as VM Gallery’s group show Days of Light and Darkness.
Jannat Ali
Executive Director, Track T

Jannat Ali
Executive Director, Track T
Jannat Ali is an MBA Gold medalist Trans woman and has a performing arts research archive degree. She is the first transgender Artivist (Artist + Activist) in Pakistan and Executive Director of Track-T (Trans Lead Community based organization) working for Trans Rights ' advocacy and capacity building. She has organized First Ever Trans Pride in Pakistan in Dec 2018. She is a professional Kathak dancer with more than 6 years experience and is one of the 6 transgender women who worked as an actress in a theater play “The Third Tune”. She has represented Pakistan in 24 countries including United States. She has conducted lectures and workshops in Denmark and has sensitized 400 students and teachers on Gender diversity, norms and Performing Arts. She was one of the key people who presented the bill which has been passed and become Transgender Rights Law 2018 and now active part of Transgender Rights Bill which is going to be presented in Punjab Province. She was recently nominated for South Asia most famous award Hero Asia Award for Transgender Hero category. She is elected as Vice Curator for Global Shapers Community – Lahore Hub associated with the World Economic Forum. She is the Region 18 Representative, Human
Rights and Diversity Committee Co-Chair and Global Advisory Council Member in InterPride.
Jannat Ali was recently selected as Dignity Network Canada's global Advisory Committee
Member.
Emil Hasnain
Artist

Emil Hasnain
Artist
Emil Hasnain is an artist based in Lahore. She has made an illustration for the short story In The Ruins of Mohenjo-Daro published for Crawford Award winner Usman T. Malik's short story collection Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan. She has worked on projects with LUMS, EdJam Network, Johnny and Jugnu and Wabii and made the campaign posters for Aurat March Lahore (2021 and 2022) and Climate Impact PK. Her work has been exhibited by Lahore Digital Arts Festival for "Post Reality" and Lahore Design Festival. Emil is currently working and illustrating at The Last Word Bookshop in Lahore and is working on a graphic novel.
Ayesha M Ali
Artist

Ayesha M Ali
Artist
Ayesha M. Ali is the first Pakistani Fusion-tech artist combining Digital and tangible mediums. Her practice explores hybrid models, mixed media, digital fabrications, 3d Renderings, and wearables. This allows her to effortlessly switch between manual and emerging tech mediums like AI, machine learning, emotion mapping, etc. Ali’s work is pumped up with pop-cultural satire and investigates identity politics at the intersection of Alternate reality and fiction. Her characters and narratives exist in a Hyper-real world evoking the sense of familiar-strange. She is currently focusing on 3D & Visual Art Direction projects and also running her design initiative "Oshii Brownie" to create custom wearable art designs.
Ayesha Kamal
1

Ayesha Kamal
1
Ayesha Kamal Bhatti is an Assistant Professor of Multimedia Arts at the Department of Design, School of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Gujrat. She is also a former Visiting faculty member of National College of Arts, Lahore where she procured her degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts (Printmaking) and Masters in Multimedia Arts. As an academician and a practicing artist her work ranges from Art Plastique to animations, video installations and interactive exhibitions. Winner of the Puppet Prize at the National College of Arts Lahore, Ayesha Kamal Bhatti has maintained her practice in Puppetry and works in multiple media for her Puppetry production. Ayesha has interests in research related to art, design, culture and eco ethology, which she uses in her artistic endeavours to create an informed narrative.
*Disclaimer: Lahore Digital Arts Festival is an initiative of REARTS PVT LTD and takes no responsibility for the views and perspectives presented by the artists. All copyrights of the artworks remain with the artists. Any unauthorized downloads or copies of the artworks or screenshots of the gallery are strictly prohibited.