Nura Ali | Calgary, Alberta
Nura Ali is a visual artist, writer and curator, living and working in Calgary, Alberta. She received a BFA in Visual Art from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, a BA in English Literature, Art History and Italian from the University of Leicester and a BA in History from Goldsmiths College, University of London. Her wide-ranging practise investigates the linguistic scaffolding upholding the assumptions we bring to the act of reading and writing. Alongside her visual arts practise Nura is also a prolific writer, a lifelong learner and has participated in various national and international residencies. Her work has been shown nationally and received numerous awards and grants; most recently from the Calgary Arts Development, the Rozsa Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts. When she is not curled up with a book or puttering around her garden, Nura is dreaming up ways to dismantle oppressive structures and for this reason became one of the founding members of the Vancouver Artists Labour Union; a unionised workers cooperative whose mission it is to transform labour practises in the arts sector and create fair, equitable and sustainable working conditions for artists and cultural workers.
![Artworks on the floor and wall of Nura's studio at Banff Centre](https://www.banffcentre.ca/sites/default/files/styles/content_feature/public/Visual%20Arts/Residencies/nuraali_studio.jpg?itok=UgrDiJfS)
Photograph by Rita Taylor
![Two dimensional artwork created by Nura during the residency](https://www.banffcentre.ca/sites/default/files/styles/content_feature/public/Visual%20Arts/Residencies/nuraali_detail.jpg?itok=QfWJh8Ge)
Photograph by Rita Taylor
![Artworks assembled on a table in Nura's studio at Banff Centre](https://www.banffcentre.ca/sites/default/files/styles/content_feature/public/Visual%20Arts/Residencies/nuraali_table.jpg?itok=N7hj3omb)
Photograph by Rita Taylor
See more on Nura Ali's Instagram.
Nura Ali's residency was generously supported by the Jarislowsky Foundation.