COVENTRY.- A film-maker from Pakistan will be inspiring art and design students in Coventry when she travels to the city as part of a major new exhibition.

Ismet Khawaja is travelling to the city to be artist in residence at Coventry University School of Art & Design as part of the Through Other Eyes: Contemporary Art from South Asia exhibition, curated by Gérard Mermoz, at The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Bayley Lane.

A selection of drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures, photographs and films by emerging artists from India and Pakistan will be shown from January 23 to April 19 in one of the city centre venue’s major exhibitions of 2009.

Ismet studied at Beaconhouse National University in Lahore, Pakistan, and her piece in the Through Other Eyes exhibition is a film called ‘Listen to me when I talk to you’.

She will take up the six-week residency and work alongside fine art undergraduate students and post-graduate Media Arts students at the School of Art & Design from early February.

John Devane, Head of the Design and Visual Arts Department at Coventry University, said the School of Art & Design had only invited a handful of artists to take up residencies of this sort in recent years.

“From the letter that Ismet presented in support of her application, I feel she and the students will get a great deal out of this opportunity,” he said.

“Ismet uses video and new media as part of her fine art practice and her work has the right feel to it.

“The students will be interested in her work and especially the fact that she hasn’t previously worked or studied in a UK art programme. Her work is wide ranging in theme but most of her ideas are personal with a strong emotional aspect to them. She uses moving image as her mode of expression and I think, on balance, she was the strongest candidate for this residency.

“She has an interesting background because, as well as being an artist, she has experience of both classical singing and dancing.

“Her film being shown in the exhibition is autobiographical and I am sure it will strike a chord.

“The art system here will be new to her and she will have the chance to travel to London to the Tate Modern and plenty of other galleries in the capital. I am sure she will be an inspiring role model and we are looking forward to meeting her.”

Rosie Addenbrooke, senior exhibitions and events officer at The Herbert, said about 30 artists had applied for the residency at the venue which has undergone a £20 million refurbishment this autumn.

“Ismet is at the stage of her career where she will benefit enormously from this and so will fine art students in the city,” she said.

“Coventry University has a strong track record with their MA media art students and this will give her a real opportunity to explore the work that she is doing.

“We are really excited about this exhibition and believe it will appeal to a cross-section of people who are interested in the arts.”