From Pixels to Public Art: An Interview With Shaheer Zazai

In Community We Grow (2026) is the first public art project by the Toronto-based Afghan-Canadian artist Shaheer Zazai for the City of Edmonton. Measuring three meters tall by fifty meters across, the work is mounted on the exterior façade of the Gerry Wright Operations and Maintenance Facility and uses flora as a metaphor for the interconnected nature of people and their environs. The public art project, which grew from the artist’s painting and Microsoft Word–based art practice, incorporates the artist's pixelated aesthetic in the design. Initially conceived as a mosaic, the project evolved over the course of two years as it underwent a number of conceptual and material changes during production. Through an online conversation between the artist and the Edmonton-based curatorial advisor Nadia Kurd, this interview looks at the artist’s foray into public art, the importance of community connections, and the material challenges in creating work that pushes the artist’s practice.