Daily Times

Sapna Khan has been selected from over 2,000 international submissions to exhibit at the 2nd Rome edition of the prestigious Artrooms Fairs.

Sapna Khan will be taking her photography series to the Artrooms Fair Roma and join the Rooms Section.

The fair will be held in the splendour of The Chuch Village Hotel on Via di Torre Rossa, Roma from 22nd to 24th March 2019, and it sees independent artists from all over the world exhibit their work in over 40 hotel rooms that have been transformed by each individual artist showcasing their work.

Sapna Khan is displaying a body of work titled: ‘The Secret Keepers’. Of her work, she said: “Pakistan is the keeper of secrets. Be it in the majestically towering mountains or the deserts doused in silky sands, these secrets live on. You can hear them being whispered softly from the lips of the mystic whirling to the beats of the dhol, or in the silent meditation of the sage nestled deep in the Valley of Hunza, or in the Mighty Karakoram Mountains themselves, echoing furiously, demanding to be heard.”

This series of mesmerising portraits and breathtaking landscapes invite you to witness the unravelling of these long-held secrets.

Artrooms Fairs founder Cristina Cellini Antonini said: “We are delighted to have Sapna Khan taking part in our 2019 event. We have received over 2K applications among all our 2019 Artrooms Fairs editions, meaning that the selection process is always absolutely ferocious. Once again, we are very grateful to our Selection Committee and wish a great success to all selected artists!”

Influenced by literature and the cinema, Sapna Khan’s work focuses on narratives and storytelling, an approach she utilizes in the realms of portrait, photojournalistic, and travel photography.

Hailing from a family of painters, writers, and poets, Sapna developed an appreciation for all forms of art at an early age. This ode to the arts is present in her photographs, forever echoing stories of wonder, wordlessly.

A journalism graduate of the University of Westminster, London, Sapna went on to attend the Speos International Photography School in Paris.

She has exhibited her work at the ArtRooms Fair, Rome (2019), Speos Gallery – Paris (2018), Art NouMil.lenni Gallery – Barcelona (2017), Art Baho – Barcelona (2017), the Brick Lane Gallery – London (2016), and Nairang Art Gallery – Lahore (2016).

Sapna Khan is displaying a body of work titled The Secret Keepers. “Pakistan is the keeper of secrets. Be it in the majestically towering mountains or the deserts doused in silky sands, these secrets live on. You can hear them being whispered softly from the lips of the mystic whirling to the beats of the dhol or in the silent meditation of the sage nestled deep in the Valley of Hunza, or in the Mighty Karakoram Mountains themselves, echoing furiously, demanding to be heard,’ she says

The recipient of over five honourable mentions in the 2018 and 2016 International Photography Awards, Sapna is currently based in Lahore, Pakistan, and her work has been published in Forbes magazine.

Founded in 2014 by Cristina Cellini Antonini, Francesco Fanelli and Chiara Canal, since the first edition in London in 2015, at the Meliá White House Hotel, hundreds of selected artists from all over the world benefit from exhibiting in a unique environment – a luxurious hotel room, working along with emerging and established curators, meeting galleries and private collectors and gaining visibility from a global audience.

Artrooms is the first International contemporary art fair offering free exhibition space to independent artists and encouraging a warmer and more personal approach thanks to its unique format: Independent artists from all over the world are invited to exhibit their work in hotel rooms that will be transformed in their own creative and intimate space.

Artrooms Fair, which had its 5th edition in London this year, launched internationally in 2018, bringing its innovative format to Rome and Seoul. With the addition of these two cities, this format has now supported and helped launch the career of hundreds of international artists, creating a vibrant mix of trends and experiences across the world.

After the 1st Rome Edition in 2018, the Fair has become the largest event for independent artists in Italy and one of the most talked about in the Italian art’s calendar showcasing more than 100 artists in 3 days. Exceeding all expectations, Artrooms Fair has been receiving applications from 65 Countries worldwide.

Artrooms prides itself in changing its Selection Committee every year, comprising some of the most relevant names in the art world who help the Organisers guarantee the high quality of the fair. Moreover its most innovative concept is to reconnect artists and galleries and to turn the fair into a hunting ground for scouting international trends. Since 2018, the fair has indeed engaged galleries by launching a new affiliation programme.

Artrooms has became not just an innovative fair for art buyers but also a place where enthusiastic visitors can approach art for the first time and enter the artist’s universe.

Published in Daily Times, March 21^st 2019.