Music has always played a big role in Ameera Nimjee’s life. At the age of four she began taking piano lessons and that marked the beginning of a love affair that would eventually see her pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Music.

“[I] decided to pursue my Bachelor of Music in piano. From there, I became interested in Kathak dance because I was keen in pursuing graduate [studies] in ethnomusicology,” explains Ameera.

Being both dancer and musician, Ameera is keenly aware of the role the Arts play not only in our community, but in society at large. She takes inspiration from the ability of artistic endeavours to connect human beings with each other.

“Art inspires dialogue, and the creation of art is usually done as some sort of social commentary. So, dialogue about art is really dialogue about society, culture and politics. This dialogue is what inspires people to connect, to grow, to gain world awareness and to learn about how people relate to the world around them,” notes Ameera.

Because of this, Ameera is excited for artists in the worldwide Ismaili community to be able to showcase their talents and creativity; she’s also hoping that Jubilee Arts will continue to illuminate, encourage and support the immense passion and skill that artistic members of our community possess.

“I hope that Jubilee Arts will provide the opportunity to artists from across the world to pursue their artistic work. Artists must know they can fall back on an international community that might support informal apprenticeships, knowledge of educational, exhibition, and performance opportunities, and most importantly, that the pursuit of art is a worthwhile endeavour,” says Ameera.