Soul Of Kutchh 1
Soul Of Kutchh 2
Acrylic on canvas
Soul Of Kutchh 3
Soul Of Kutchh 5
Silver on black, abstract expressionist art
with an ethnic flavor. Traditional subject presented in a
contemporary style.
Siddiqua Shahnawaz Sabuwala, formerly known
by her maiden name, Siddiqua Ali Hirji, is an artist from
India, currently settled in the U.S. Siddiqua was born in
Bangalore, India. She completed her 'O-levels' at 'St. Mary's
School', Pune, India; she later traveled to Nicosia, Cyprus
to complete her 'A-levels' at 'The American International
School in Cyprus' (AISC).
During her student years at AISC, Siddiqua was
inducted into the 'National Honors Society' (NHS) and was
awarded with the 'Ralph Waldo Emerson Award for integrity
and perseverance when challenged by life at school and beyond'.
She was also awarded a gold medal as the class Valedictorian.
Having always been an admirer of nature and having a keen
sense of artistic observation, She decided to dedicate her
life in the learning and pursuit of fine art.
Earthen Expression 4
Acrylic paint on stretched canvas
Earthen Expression 1
Acrylic paint on stretched canvas
In order to seek further direction in her education
of fine art and to gain an insight of the rich cultural history
of Indian art, Siddiqua returned to India. She enrolled at
the 'Roerich Institute of Art' which was affiliated to the
'Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat' in Bangalore, India. Here,
she obtained a diploma in fine arts at the completion of the
two year foundation course.
For the next two years, following her graduation
from the 'Roerich Institute of Art', Siddiqua continued her
studies at the 'College of Fine Art' at the 'Karnataka Chitrakala
Parishath'. She chose Painting as her subject of specialization,
and worked mostly in acrylics and soft pastels. During her
years in Bangalore, she was also an illustrator and a writer
for a monthly newspaper called 'Islamic Voice'. She has contributed
articles, poetry, and short stories for children and was eventually
given charge of the children's page for this newspaper.
Kashkol
Acrylic paint on stretched canvas
Earthen Expression 7
Soft pastel on paper
In Bombay, India, Siddiqua was married to Shahnawaz
Sabuwala and moved with him to the United States. Since then,
she has been working as a freelance artist; her endeavors
include commissioned portraits, landscapes, still lives and
abstract works of art. Among her other activities, she has
been a Vice President of the Rochester International Association
(RIA) during the 2000-2001 term. During this term, she had
developed an art project on behalf of the International Association
for its annual 'World Festival', 2001.
The project included getting together students
from different parts of the world, to create works of art
which illustrate the unique architectural features of different
countries. The result was a collection of paintings which
were displayed during the 'World Festival' in April 2001.
At present, this collection is on display at the Civic Center
Library of Rochester, Minnesota. She has also been the judge
at an art competition for children, organized by the Indian
Cultural Association of her city.
Siddiqua was on the advisory board of the RIA
till 2002. She has designed their literature as well as created
traditional ethnic artwork for their Book Fair on November
10th, 2001 at the Barnes & Noble bookstore. This series
of artwork is featured in the section titled 'The Soul of
Kutchh'.
Soul Of Kutchh 2
Soul Of Kutchh 5
Earthen Expression 4
Kashkol 
Matka 3
Matka 5