Masai Galore (2008) Painting by Shelina Khimji

Shelina Khimji is an award winning Tanzanian born artist and a qualifed accountant, a self taught artist drawn to art since her childhood.

Art journey

Over a decade long career, she has been featured in Citizen Tanzania newspaper after having participated in Rotaract’s Colours of Hope Exhibition. Also participated in World Art Dubai 2020, and was featured in The National UAE and Art & Lusso Magazine in Dubai while her lockdown artwork was featured on CNN Style; she has also been a two time finalist in the New York and Los Angeles Coffee Art Project, a winner and a runner up at the KSIJ local community art competitions, a participant in the sketchbook project where her sketchbook toured USA and Canada, as well as a regular participant in the EA Art Biennale to name a few. She has sold her paintings to Ahlulbait TV, an Islamic channel in UK for auctioning, Flightlink, a local airline Company in Tanzania and to a cafeteria in Australia apart from individuals and contacts around her circle.

Style and inspiration

Colour and realism is her powerful symbolism as it reflects her happy persona and her ideal world imagery. She believes art has allowed her to dip her brush into her soul and paint away her fantasies. The imaginary places and dreams that she expresses on the canvas permit her to lose herself and fulfil her inner longings by bringing them alive in a painting. She loves to do challenging concepts that give her a sense of achievement. She also has a natural knack for drawing and her style includes sketches, abstracts, impressionism, collage, portraits and figurative art, sceneries and perspective art as long as she can portray realism in them. She uses oil and acrylics. 

Some of the concepts of her artworks have been recognised internationally since she loves to depict her country Tanzania in a context that is so rich in culture, art and sceneries. Her inspiration also comes from the fact that a powerful piece of art talks to you thus she uses art to convey her strong beliefs when it comes to her country, the awareness of environment and the less privileged.

• Nationality: TANZANIA
• Date of birth : unknown date
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary Tanzanian Artists