Born in Norwich and raised in the east of England, Anmar Mirza spent a year of his childhood living with family in Pakistan, an experience that continues to inform his practice. During his teens, he explored a range of creative disciplines, developing a particular aptitude for drawing and painting. While studying graphic design at Norwich University of the Arts (NUA), he began painting murals across his hometown, laying the foundations for a practice that moves between urban art and contemporary painting.

Drawing on visual traditions from the Middle East and Asia, Mirza brings personal and cultural references into his work, developing a distinctive visual language through layered compositions and narrative imagery. His paintings explore the relationship between memory, identity and belonging, inviting viewers to look beyond the surface and engage with the stories embedded within each piece.

His first solo exhibition, M’Lady, opened in autumn 2015 to widespread acclaim and sold out shortly afterwards. The following year, he was commissioned to create murals across Europe, including in Amsterdam and Antwerp. These projects expanded his practice, challenging him to work in new contexts and further develop his approach to scale, composition and public space.

At the heart of Mirza’s practice is a desire to bring the immediacy of urban art into conversation with contemporary painting. His works unfold through layers of imagery and storytelling, shaped in part by the stories and imagination of his mother. Painting offers Mirza a way to reconnect with the freedom of childhood, creating imaginative spaces in which memory, cultural identity and personal experience converge. This sense of openness extends to the viewer, inviting them to find their own points of connection within each work.