Fine Art (Sculpture), Gwent College of Further Education, Wales Shaheen Merali (born 1959) is a Tanzanian writer, curator, critic, and artist.

[4] The collection provided research material aimed to illustrate the link between modern and contemporary art and activism through archival practices focused on the work of South Asian, Black and issue-based artists in the United Kingdom and internationally.

After graduating, Merali continued to live in Newport for a further year during which he worked with young adults on community based projects, focusing on housing estates.

Another convention that Merali battled with was one of batik's decorative functions: his artistic practice consistently revolved around personal, social and political narratives.

[4] Eventually, with support of Haringey Arts Council, he organised a flexible workshop and gallery called One Spirit Batik Centre in Wood Green specialising in working with young adults with disabilities who had English as the second language.

In early 1989, Merali met the curators and the directors of the forthcoming 3rd Havana Biennale, including Geraldo Mosquera and Liliane Llanes.

[9] They implemented Merali's proposal of participation of five Black and Asian artists, living in Britain but coming from a global diaspora, to be included in what was, until then, the dedicated Southern World biennale.

Merali's commitment to the community education presented itself with further opportunities: in 1988 he became involved with a group of artists, Bhajan Hunjan, Symrath Patti, Allan de Souza and Shanti Thomas, who initially met at the Slade School of Art to discuss the possibilities of an organisation in a self-funded way.

Panchayat focused on the growing connection of Black and Asian artists with a globalising art world, as well as documenting their expression relating to intersection between race, class, gender, policed sexualities and (dis)ability.

Merali further curated Extreme Unction, HIV/AIDS, RACE/ ETHNICITY, the first exhibition of artists, including Paul Pfeiffer and Ken Chu, from the US and Canada who were exploring both activism and cultural framing of HIV/AIDS.

In 2000, same year as when Panchayat won an open call for the Rich Mix Project,[4] Merali co-curated Slow Release at Bishopsgate Goodsyard, London, which included new commissions by Edwina Fitzpatrick and installations by Dinh Q Le and Simryn Gill.

Upon relocating to Berlin, Merali initially worked with a devolved programme of two large-scale exhibitions: DisORIENTation curated by Jack Persekian; and Body City with Geeta Kapur and Jyotinder Jain.

[11] In 2008, after his contract with HWK ended, Merali was asked to design and facilitate a new gallery in Berlin for the Bodhi Group, which had spaces in Mumbai, Singapore and New York.

[13] He has started writing his debut fictional novel in 2019, as well as co-editing for the first volume (of six) in a series contingently titled Artefacts of Solidarity— Critical Pasts, Impending Futures, for London-based MAPT (Merali and Pachkhédé Texts).