Varda Nisar

Varda Nisar (b. 1986) is a mother, daughter, and sister and holds a doctorate in Art History from Concordia University. She was the Scholar-in-Residence at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (2024-25), the Social Justice Fellow (2024-25) and Concordia’s Public Scholar (2022-23). Her research examines the intersection of cultural and visual production with military regimes in Pakistan, specifically the role of museums in perpetuating a two-tiered citizenry.
Her work diverges in several directions, including art education and community outreach, as well as art activism. During her time in Montreal, she has consistently tried to foreground the work of artists from Pakistan and South Asia. In 2021, she organized and convened a speaker series titled ‘(Art+Micro)History: Contemporary Artistic Voices from the South,’ which highlighted the specific concerns and artistic modes of resistance in Pakistan. In March 2022, as part of her Public Scholar fellowship, she organized and moderated the discussion, The Logic of Postcolonial Museums: South Asia Edition, featuring four speakers representing the diversity of perspectives and concerns in South Asian museums. She also developed a conceptual, critical space titled ‘The Concise Museum,’ which critiqued the ways the nation-state of Pakistan maintains a colonial gaze toward its citizens.
Her current research interests include the weaponization of culture by military regimes, postcolonial museums, and counterarchives.