Aquil Virani

Title: Artist, Designer

Expert Overview

Aquil is an expert on issues of art, graphic design, painting, collaborative art, representation, identity, social justice and diversity.

Awarded as the 2018 “Artist For Peace” by the Quebec-based artist collective “Les artistes pour la paix,” Aquil Virani is an award-winning visual artist, graphic designer and filmmaker who blurs the line between art and activism, often integrating public participation into his socially-conscious art projects. In November 2021, Aquil produced a bilingual art anthology titled Ottawa InshaAllah featuring 25 artworks from Ottawa-based Muslim artists who dream of a better future.

A son of immigrants, Aquil is a mixed-race, millennial, Ismaili Muslim and a visual artist of Indian and French descent who was born and raised in Canada.

He exhibited the “Canada’s Self Portrait” project at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax. He won an award from the Michaelle Jean Foundation to produce his “Postering Peace” art documentary that premiered at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. His collaborative artwork honouring Québec City Muslims was delivered as a gift to the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec with support from the Silk Road Institute. In collaboration with Montreal’s Imago Theatre, he produced 12 larger-than-life portraits and an immersive sound play featuring inspiring, publicly nominated women, thanks to a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. He is presently working on a commemorative portrait series and collaborative book project honouring the 6 Muslim men killed at a terrorist attack in Quebec City on January 29, 2017, according to the wishes of the widows and their families; the community-driven arts initiative is supported by grants from the Silk Road Institute, TakingITGlobal and the Government of Canada.

Virani also works as a graphic designer. He has worked with a wide range of brands and organizations such as the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, L’Oréal Canada, Maybelline, Dessange, McGill University, Concordia University, the McConnell Foundation, Just For Laughs, and Shoppers Drug Mart. His creative projects have been exhibited regionally, nationally, and internationally, in cities such as Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Quebec City, Halifax, Whitehorse, New York, Boston, Punta Cana, Sofia, Lisbon and Copenhagen.

To learn more, visit aquil.ca.