When Mariam Qureshi moved from Montreal to Edmonton with her husband in 2014 to work for the federal government, she had no idea she would have an opportunity to further pursue her passion for painting. A local fan fell in love with her oil-on-canvas work on Instagram and offered her a free studio in a refurbished bungalow on 124 Street – Mariam had to pinch herself before jumping at the chance.
But Mariam wasn't content to keep the space just to herself. As an artist with no formal training, she surmised there were others in Edmonton who were self-taught, but had no outlet for their works. “I thought to myself that this would be a nice art hub, not only for me, but for a lot of other artists that need to exhibit,” says Mariam, who now curates at the hub, the Lotus Art Gallery, which opened in March 2016. “One of the things I feel as an artist is that we don't have enough spaces to exhibit.”
