Shafina Jaffer contributed a special artwork for the coronation concert of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. After graduating with a postgraduate diploma and an MA in painting from the Royal College of Art in London, she, alongside fellow students, was confidentially invited to create an artwork for the event. Buckingham Palace selected her painting from numerous submissions, bringing pride to Tanzania. Projected on a vast LED screen at the concert and onto Windsor Castle during the 7th of May, 2023 concert, her creation, centered on themes of love, unity, and a new dawn,  served as a striking backdrop for the combined performance of Romeo and Juliet, blending music, dance, art, and theatre.

Shafina is a Tanzanian artist, who was born in Dar es Salaam and spent most of her formative years in Dubai and Karachi. She completed her Graduate Diploma in Art & Design and Masters in Painting at the Royal College of Art, United Kingdom. Additionally, she has completed specialist training at the Ruskin School of Art (Oxford University), Slade School of Art (UCL), and The Prince’s Foundation of Traditional Arts, UK. Her works have been featured in several international exhibitions and publications such as the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, and the Venice Biennale (2021), London Art Fair, (2022), Genesis, New York (2021) and the London College of Psychic studies (2022). She was recently also shortlisted for the Hyundai Awards for Excellence in Sustainability and Creative Practice 2023.

Shafina’s inspiration is to continue the long-lived tradition and journey of all art. Art, as society travels through time, has always played an integral role in providing a reflection upon which people can gaze and see parts of themselves. Indeed, each artwork is only a fractured mirror to the spectator, who sees through their eyes what it means to them.  Her practice embodies an aim that does not simply present the outward appearance of things, rather; her art aims to show their inward significance. Particularly, Shafina’s observations about faith, myth, and secularism inspire her art in a deep way. These themes are often the ones articulated in her work where she aims to intermingle spiritual, philosophical, and naturalistic themes in creative ways. The cyclical motions of life, creation, and deconstruction are expressively significant in the themes of her art.

Another core tenet of her work is sustainability, inspired by her home country of Tanzania. She has produced a major series of works within the genre of sustainable art. Her use of bark cloth and natural pigments made by herself comes from crushing bones, and crystals, grinding flowers, using food items, soil, and other naturally occurring pigments. Shafina has created a unique form of art that combines her Indian and East African heritage onto one surface, expressing the identity of the Indian diaspora who reside in East Africa – a community that has embraced the African culture and integrated it with their own.

Moreover, Shafina creates large public space installations in Dar es Salaam with single-use plastic bottles to create awareness about the harmful effects of plastic on our planet.  These have been very successful and have been featured in the media, newspapers, and prime-time news stations, with schools also attending live presentations. She intends to continue this to create awareness, especially amongst the youth, who must rectify the mistakes of our generation.  In today’s world where humans are struggling with the stresses of modern lives, Shafina has made it her mission to make paintings about “Gratitude”. She believes that what we see is what we consume and if we consume peace and gratitude these feelings will mirror themselves in our lives.

Shafina is a Tanzanian artist, who was born in Dar es Salaam and spent most of her formative years in Dubai and Karachi. She completed her Graduate Diploma in Art & Design and Masters in Painting at the Royal College of Art, UK. Additionally, she has completed specialist training at the Ruskin School of Art (Oxford University), Slade School of Art (UCL), and The Prince’s Foundation of Traditional Arts, UK. Her works have been featured in several international exhibitions and publications such as the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, and the Venice Biennale Architettura 2021. More recently her painting, Take Me Away, was selected by Buckingham Palace and the BBC to be shown at the Coronation Concert (2023), of their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle. She was also shortlisted for the Hyundai Awards for Excellence in Sustainability and Creative Practice 2023.

Shafina’s inspiration is to continue the long-lived tradition and journey of all art. Art, as society travels through time, has always played an integral role in providing a reflection upon which people can gaze and see parts of themselves. Indeed, each artwork is only a fractured mirror to the spectator, who sees through their eyes what it means to them.  Her practice embodies an aim that does not simply present the outward appearance of things, rather; her art aims to show their inward significance. Particularly, Shafina’s observations about faith, myth, and secularism inspire her art in a deep way. These themes are often the ones articulated in her work where she aims to intermingle spiritual, philosophical, and naturalistic themes in creative ways.

Another core tenet of her work is sustainability, inspired by her home country of Tanzania. She has produced a major series of works within the genre of sustainable art. Her use of bark cloth and natural pigments made by herself come from crushing bones, crystals, grinding flowers, using food items, soil and other naturally occurring pigments. Shafina has created a unique form of art that combines her Indian and East African heritage onto one surface, expressing the identity of the Indian diaspora who reside in East Africa – community which has embraced the African culture and integrated it with their own.

Moreover, Shafina creates large public space installations in Dar es Salaam with single-use plastic bottles to create awareness about the harmful effects of plastic upon our planet. These have been very successful and have been featured in the media, newspapers and the news, with schools also attending live presentations. She intends to continue this to create awareness, especially amongst the youth, who must rectify the mistakes of our generation.