Mehak Mubeen Qadri: Budding Artist
Mehak Mubeen is a budding artist from Srinagar Kashmir. She is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Applied Arts from Institution of Music and Fine Arts (IMFA) University of Kashmir. As a student of applied arts which is a form of commercial art most of her work focuses on advertising, designing logos and posters etc. Although her main subject is commercial Art but, that hasn’t restricted her from painting mesmerizing paintings of Landscapes that reflect the essence of Kashmir. As an artist she also likes to draw and paint portraits and illustrates a great interest in creating digital paintings. In a statement she said, “Through my digital art I try to express my life and try to reflect my inner conflicts and contradictions that I face in my life and I also try to show the struggles that I face as an artist and as a human being”. Adding that, “ that besides my art illustrates conflicts but it also shows hope to overcome any sort of crisis and I personally feel that hope whenever I am in any sort of contention with my inner self or my surroundings”.
From her childhood Mehak showed a great interest in painting and drawing and during her time in school her enthusiasm for this creative field further developed. She was one of the few students in her school that showed extraordinary interest and skill as far as art and craft was concerned and she was well known in her school for her artistic skill. She said, “as soon as I reached in my 9th class I was sure to make art as my profession, although when I shared it with my parents they were hesitant in allowing me to pursue a career in Fine Arts. Adding that, “in my family there are many cousins who are doctors and even my brother was interested in medical. People want their children to either opt for medical or non medical for their higher studies and it’s always difficult to persuade parents for choosing a field that does not guarantee a decent job. Adding that, “people particularly in Kashmir are not aware of 
Fine Art and that’s the reason many students who possess skill and passion for this field fail to convince their parents to allow them to pursue a career as an artist”. Mehak also faced problems in convincing her parents but she did not change her mind and ultimately succeeded in persuading her mother who is a professor by profession
For Mehak Art is a medium of expression and when words fail to describe her thoughts she uses visuals to convey her feelings. In a statement she said that she is concerned about the students who posses incredible artistic talent but lack of opportunities and minimal exposure of this field force them to submit their parents pre-determined profession. 
“I wish government would make a move to educate people about this field by introducing ‘Art’ as a subject in schools as till date most government run educational institutes do not have ‘Art’ as such in their curriculum particularly in Kashmir” she said, adding that, “ I would like to tell the students who are still in schools that please make your mind clear from the very beginning and do not hesitate to choose a profession of your own interest”.
Mehak can be reached at [email protected] .
