TRIBUTE | Artist by Day and ‘Daku’ by Night, Hanif Kureshi (1982-2024) Brought Art and Creativity to the Masses

Street artist, designer, and creative entrepreneur Hanif Kureshi lost his life to lung cancer in September. The 41-year-old co-founder of India’s first street art organisation made his mark in Indian cities and abroad with his ingenious use of public space as a canvas. A student of art and visual design at Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, he started his artistic journey as a graffiti writer in 2008. Previously, he also worked as a Senior Creative at Wieden+Kennedy and Senior Art Director with Ogilvy & Mather. Kureshi’s art practice hinged conceptually around a democratising critique of the art world. For him, art did not need to be restricted to the gallery or the museum and was not only for the elite but instead for all, a motto he adopted as the tagline for his brainchild, the St+Art India Foundation. Owing to his creativity and entrepreneurial acumen, he was often referred to as an Indian Banksy by journalists and colleagues, a comparison he admittedly found mildly offensive to his distinctive Indian aesthetic and sensibilities. Reflecting on his untimely passing today, one is compelled to think anew about the fleeting nature of life, but also of the very form of art he practised and...