Roots and Wings: How Shahzia Sikander Became an Artist

Young Shahzia lives in a multigenerational, multicultural home in Lahore, Pakistan. She sees bustling crowds and vibrant energy everywhere she looks. She enjoys the food, rituals, and love of her large extended family’s Muslim traditions while soaking up the world around her through Russian fairy tales, American Westerns, and Bollywood films. She also reads poetry in Urdu, her own language, and learns the slow and detailed painting technique of Indo-Persian miniatures. Her art takes her around the world, and she brings her roots with her. Roots and Wings is a deeply personal story about how an artist grows. It is based on the childhood of Shahzia Sikander, one of the most exciting and celebrated artists working today.