Eshan Rafi

SOLD OUT — LIMITED AMOUNT OF RUSH TICKETS AVAILABLE. My Father’s Imagination II | Eshan Rafi APRIL 11 | 12:30pm 📍The Commons | 401 Richmond St W, 4th Floor Performance 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 1950𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘌𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘙𝘢𝘧𝘪’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 1970𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘌𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺-𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. Visit our website for a full description of this program and more information! @eshanraf @artmetropole @7a11d @torontodancetheatre Presented in partnership with Art Metropole Co-presented with 7a*11d and Toronto Dance Theatre Image: My Father’s Imagination II | Eshan Rafi | 2026 | Performance | 40 min | English and Urdu [ID: Overhead shot of an image featuring a landscape with a white building surrounded by trees. The image is laid on top of a light blue surface.]

​RÉSIDENCE RADIALE RADIAL RESIDENCY __ 📣 Nous accueillons tout au long de l’année 𝐄𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐢 en résidence dans les studios de LA SERRE 📣 . Les 𝐑𝐞́𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 permettent à une cohorte d’artistes émergent.e.s de profiter d’un espace de conversation multimodal et d’un accompagnement protéiforme. En plus de temps en studio tout au long de l’année, la cohorte participe notamment à une série d’activités de soutien dramaturgique ainsi qu’un accompagnement structurel personnalisé. . Basé·e à Toronto/Tkaronto, Eshan Rafi travaille à l’intersection des pratiques temporelles, des pratiques de l’image et des pratiques chorégraphiques. Ses œuvres explorent le croisement entre événements politiques et archives personnelles, mettant souvent en scène l’impossibilité de la représentation. Se déplaçant entre textes, images et corps, sa démarche performative interroge la traduction et la transposition entre les formes. Né·e à Lahore, iel a vécu à Toronto, Montréal, Beyrouth, Berlin et Chicago. Les paysages culturels de ces différents lieux ont façonné sa pratique artistique actuelle. __ Eshan Rafi is a Toronto/Tkaronto based artist working across time-based, lens-based and choreographic practices. Their art works deal with the intersection of political events and personal archives, often staging the impossibility of representation. Moving between texts, images, and the body, their performance practice explores translation and transposition across forms. Born in Lahore, they have since lived in Toronto, Montréal, Beirut, Berlin, and Chicago. The cultural landscapes of these various places have come to shape their artistic practice today. @eshanraf + infos 👉 Bio 📸 Eshan Rafi #residence #multidisciplinaire #creation #recherches #ahuntsic #art #performance

THE EMPIRE IS DROWNING IN BLOOD: SOCIALIST POSTER ART FROM PAKISTAN -TEXT & IMAGE WORKSHOP WITH ESHAN RAFI- How to live with and through history? This workshop invites participants to collectively generate knowledge about a set of posters from a socialist archive in Pakistan. Dating from the 1970s, these posters were created by groups such as National Student’s Federation Pakistan and Muttahida Mazdoor Majlis Lahore, often with evocative headlines proclaiming international solidarities. We will translate and visually study reproductions of these posters, digesting the material through drawing and discussion. We will keep in mind imaginative and relational forms of meaning making. People with connections to the regional context and the Urdu language are especially invited, and the workshop is open to all. This material is made available through the South Asian Resource and Research Centre (SARRC). More information can be found at .pk/about. Sunday, August 17th from 16-18 at AGIT (Nansenstraße 2, 12047 Berlin) Please email [email protected] to book a spot - limited to 12 participants. //////// Eshan Rafi (b. 1986, Lahore) is a Toronto/Tkaronto-based artist working across time-based, lens-based and choreographic practices. Their work has been exhibited, performed and screened internationally including at Links Hall, Chicago; SummerWorks Lab, Toronto; Sharjah Film Platform; M:ST 9 Performance Art Biennale, Calgary and neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst, Berlin. Rafi is an alumni of the Home Workspace Program at Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, Lebanon and holds an MFA in Art, Theory and Practice from Northwestern University.

In 2016 and 2017 I participated in this beautiful program for performance artists of color, many of whom I continue to be in conversation and community with today. COLOR BLOCK RESONANCE 2025 is taking place this summer at Performing Arts Forum, in St Erme, France (2 hours from Paris). Dates are July 21st to 31st, 2025. Cost is sliding scale, ranging from 245€ to 370€ per week (includes food and accommodation). Applications are open, and they still have spots available. All info can be found at: /colorblock-2025 COLOR BLOCK is for artists of color to share space and community. It is a space held by and created for people of color to work/play/experiment around movement, improvisation and activism. Posting on behalf of Joy Mariama Smith, curator/facilitator/host of this program!

CLOSING today 4-7 PM featuring a 5 PM solo performance — Eshan Rafi: 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 at 1224 W Loyola Ave. Eshan Rafi (b. 1986, Lahore) is an artist working across time-based, lens-based and choreographic practices. Their works deal with the intersection of political events and personal archives, often staging the impossibility of representation. Rafi is an alumni of the Home Workspace Program at Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, Lebanon, and has participated in residencies at Fondazioni Antonio Ratti in Como, Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art in Berlin, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, among others. Their work has been exhibited, performed and screened internationally including at Links Hall, Chicago; SummerWorks Lab, Toronto; Sharjah Film Platform; M:ST 9 Performance Art Biennale, Calgary and neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst, Berlin. Rafi’s artistic practice rests on a history of community building in queer of color communities, including working in collectives to develop decolonial and anti-capitalist pedagogies. They have participated in anti-surveillance and hacker spaces such as at the Allied Media Conference in Detroit and Chaos Computer Congress in Leipzig, informing their research into how information and images circulate. Their work has been extensively supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, as well as by the generosity of queer and BIPoC communities. In 2025, they are a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto, and a danceWEB scholar at ImPulsTanz Vienna. Rafi holds an MFA in Art, Theory and Practice from Northwestern University (2023) and a BFA and BEd in Visual Arts from York University (2013). More information at eshanrafi.com. @shnxrf #ContemporaryArt #PerformanceArt #ArtInstallation #RogersPark #ChicagoArt

Open today 2-5 PM + CLOSING Sunday 4-7 PM featuring a 5 PM solo performance — Eshan Rafi: 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 at 1224 W Loyola Ave. Eshan Rafi (b. 1986, Lahore) is an artist working across time-based, lens-based and choreographic practices. Their works deal with the intersection of political events and personal archives, often staging the impossibility of representation. Rafi is an alumni of the Home Workspace Program at Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, Lebanon, and has participated in residencies at Fondazioni Antonio Ratti in Como, Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art in Berlin, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, among others. Their work has been exhibited, performed and screened internationally including at Links Hall, Chicago; SummerWorks Lab, Toronto; Sharjah Film Platform; M:ST 9 Performance Art Biennale, Calgary and neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst, Berlin. Rafi’s artistic practice rests on a history of community building in queer of color communities, including working in collectives to develop decolonial and anti-capitalist pedagogies. They have participated in anti-surveillance and hacker spaces such as at the Allied Media Conference in Detroit and Chaos Computer Congress in Leipzig, informing their research into how information and images circulate. Their work has been extensively supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, as well as by the generosity of queer and BIPoC communities. In 2025, they are a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto, and a danceWEB scholar at ImPulsTanz Vienna. Rafi holds an MFA in Art, Theory and Practice from Northwestern University (2023) and a BFA and BEd in Visual Arts from York University (2013). More information at eshanrafi.com. @shnxrf #ContemporaryArt #PerformanceArt #ArtInstallation #RogersPark #ChicagoArt

RSVP to join us this Wed, May 14 for a 7 PM performance by Eshan Rafi and Ashwaty Chennat with live sound by Erin Thomas. #LinkInBio This free event will take place within the exhibition 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 at 1224 W Loyola Ave. We have limited space – RSVP to make sure we've got a spot for you – or drop by to see if you fit – 7 PM sharp! 📸 photo here by Michelle Reid, featuring Eshan Rafi and Ashwaty Chennat 📸 @shnxrf @shwatcat @chelliahhh #FreeEvent #ChicagoArt #ChicagoPerformance #RogersPark #PhotographyExhibition #ArtInstallation

Eshan Rafi: 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 Opening Thursday, May 8 at 7 PM 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago IL There is a point in time when I had been one of me. My personality has been detached from the other personality of mine, which is now. So you feel like you are talking about somebody else? Yes. Because, it is not only that circumstances changed me. I also changed myself, consciously. I had to see at some point that I was somewhere, some place. I could not be everywhere or nowhere. It was my declaration that when I get married, I will no longer do revolutionary politics. Although I repent it now. #Performance #Installation #ContemporaryArt #FreeEvent #Chicago #RogersPark

Eshan Rafi: 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 Opening Thursday, May 8 at 7 PM 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago IL There is a point in time when I had been one of me. My personality has been detached from the other personality of mine, which is now. So you feel like you are talking about somebody else? Yes. Because, it is not only that circumstances changed me. I also changed myself, consciously. I had to see at some point that I was somewhere, some place. I could not be everywhere or nowhere. It was my declaration that when I get married, I will no longer do revolutionary politics. Although I repent it now. ***** Eshan Rafi (b. 1986, Lahore) is an artist working across time-based, lens-based and choreographic practices. Their works deal with the intersection of political events and personal archives, often staging the impossibility of representation. Rafi is an alumni of the Home Workspace Program at Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, Lebanon, and has participated in residencies at Fondazioni Antonio Ratti in Como, Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art in Berlin, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, among others. Their work has been exhibited, performed and screened internationally including at Links Hall, Chicago; SummerWorks Lab, Toronto; Sharjah Film Platform; M:ST 9 Performance Art Biennale, Calgary and neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst, Berlin. Rafi’s artistic practice rests on a history of community building in queer of color communities, including working in collectives to develop decolonial and anti-capitalist pedagogies. They have participated in anti-surveillance and hacker spaces such as at the Allied Media Conference in Detroit and Chaos Computer Congress in Leipzig, informing their research into how information and images circulate. Their work has been extensively supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, as well as by the generosity of queer and BIPoC communities. #performance #Installation #ContemporaryArt #FreeEvent #Chicago #RogersPark

Eshan Rafi: 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 Opening next Thursday, May 8 at 7 PM 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago IL Eshan Rafi @shnxrf (b. 1986, Lahore) is an artist working across time-based, lens-based and choreographic practices. Their works deal with the intersection of political events and personal archives, often staging the impossibility of representation. Rafi is an alumni of the Home Workspace Program at Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, Lebanon, and has participated in residencies at Fondazioni Antonio Ratti in Como, Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art in Berlin, and the Banff Centre for the Arts, among others. Their work has been exhibited, performed and screened internationally including at Links Hall, Chicago; SummerWorks Lab, Toronto; Sharjah Film Platform; M:ST 9 Performance Art Biennale, Calgary and neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst, Berlin. Rafi’s artistic practice rests on a history of community building in queer of color communities, including working in collectives to develop decolonial and anti-capitalist pedagogies. They have participated in anti-surveillance and hacker spaces such as at the Allied Media Conference in Detroit and Chaos Computer Congress in Leipzig, informing their research into how information and images circulate. Their work has been extensively supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, as well as by the generosity of queer and BIPoC communities. In 2025, they are a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto, and a danceWEB scholar at ImPulsTanz Vienna. Rafi holds an MFA in Art, Theory and Practice from Northwestern University (2023) and a BFA and BEd in Visual Arts from York University (2013). More information at eshanrafi.com. #ContemporaryArt #StorefrontResidency #Performance #Installation #RogerPark #FreeEvents #Chicago

Eyes on Beginnings: Spring 2025 Edition 🌱 Join us this Saturday, March 29 at 2PM at Winchester Street Theatre for an afternoon of discovering choreographic propositions in our Works-In-Progress series, where audience members are invited to experience works at their beginning stages. Three local artists, Eshan Rafi (@shnxrf ), Cassandra Toutou (@txutxuen ), and Kala Dance Collective (@kaladancecollective ) with choreographer Rachana Joshi (@rxchjoshi ) will share 10 minutes of new material, followed by a guided feedback session led by Andrew Tay. Play an important role in the development of these works This is a free community gathering! RSVP now via the link in bio ✨ Photos by Michelle Reid, Nancy Thavaruban. #TDT #TorontoDanceTheatre #EyesOnBeginnings #WorksInProgress #freegathering #freeevent #thingstodoinToronto #torontodance #torontoartists

This Spring, TDT’s Eyes on Beginnings is back with... ✨ Eshan Rafi (@shnxrf ) ✨ Cassandra Toutou (@txutxuen ) ✨ Kala Dance Collective (@kaladancecollective ), Choreographer Rachana Joshi (@rxchjoshi ) On Saturday March 29th 2025, come and discover fresh chorographic propositions from these artists in this informal, casual sharing event at the Winchester Street Theatre. From 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, you can play an important role in this works-in-progress series when 10 minutes of new material is shared, followed by a facilitated feedback session led by Artistic Director Andrew Tay. This is a free gathering ‼️ RSVP is Recommended ✔️ Refreshments will be served ☕ Click our link in bio to RSVP now 🌐 #TDT #TorontoDanceTheatre #worksinprogress #EyesonBeginnings #thingstodoinToronto #freeevent #freegathering #torontodance #torontoartists