Rahela Khan is a multi-disciplinary artist who delves into painting, textiles, printmaking, and uses innovative techniques such as AI. Her work often revolves around themes of diversity, identity, and the experiences of female Muslim identity within diaspora communities. As a community artist, Rahela engages with various groups to explore and express these themes collaboratively.
Rahela is a member of the Studio Art Group at Littleborough’s Ebor Studios, where she had solo exhibitions at Gallery Frank. During the COVID-19 lockdown, she contributed to the studio’s online exhibition, From The Edge, which was featured on Rochdale’s Touchstones website.
Her collaborations include working with Turner Prize-winning artist Helen Cammock on Concrete Feathers and Porcelain Tacks and with Jasleen Kaur on Gut Feelings, Meri Jaan for exhibitions at Touchstones, Rochdale, between 2021 and 2022.
In addition to her artistic endeavors, Rahela has been involved in community projects. She contributed to Action Together’s Radical Kindness project, which celebrated the everyday acts of kindness by people and mutual aid groups during the pandemic. This project culminated in a public artwork in the centre of Rochdale. She currently works with Cartwheel Arts on the Zinda Dil (Deeplish) Women’s Art for Wellbeing project.
She’s been nominated and shortlisted for the Artist of the Year (Rochdale) award. She’s also won the prestigious the Create 2023 - Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity Engagement award and has been recognised nationally and internationally for this award.
Currently, Rahela is pursuing a PhD at the University of Salford, where her research focuses on Women in Art, Creativity, and Islam.