Kay Shah is a British-Pakistani digital painter and installation artist based at DMZ Studios in Manchester, UK.
Their work explores identity, belonging, and liminality through surreal environments that merge Pakistani motifs with Western minimalism. Drawing on cultural heritage, geometric patterns, and architectural forms, they create spaces that feel both familiar and estranged, inviting viewers into moments of reflection where boundaries between cultures and selves blur.
Shah is part of the Manchester-based artist-led collective DMZ and has exhibited at Castlefield Gallery, HOME Mcr, Portico Gallery, Saul Hay Gallery, and Bury Art Museum.
Studio holder at DMZ Studios.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025: 40 Years of the Future: Degrees of Duality, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK.
2023: Betwixt and Between: A Romance of Many Dimensions, Granada Foundation Gallery, HOME Mcr, Manchester, UK.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025: 10 Artists 10 Years, HOME Mcr, Manchester, UK.
2024: Manchester Open, HOME Mcr, Manchester, UK. (Castlefield Gallery: Artist Professional Development Award)
2024: AWOL Comme Ca Open, Awol Studios, Manchester, UK.
2024: Manchester Open, HOME Mcr, Manchester, UK.
2023: Open, Bury Art Museum, Bury, UK.
2023: DMZ, Air Gallery, Altrincham, UK.
2023: TEES, Rogue Studios, Manchester, UK.
2022: Beyond Landscapes, Saul Hay Gallery, Manchester, UK.
2022: AWOL Comme Ca Open, Awol Studios, Manchester, UK.
2022: Manchester Open, HOME Mcr, Manchester, UK.
2021: Immersion, Virtual Exhibition.
2021: Alone, Together, Virtual Exhibition.
2020: Talking Sense, The Portico Gallery, Manchester, UK.
2020: Manchester Open, HOME Mcr, Manchester, UK.
2019: State of The Arts, Selfridges (The Trafford Centre), Manchester, UK.
2017: Open Art, Cass Art Islington, London, UK.
2017: You Made It, Degree Show, Manchester School of Art, Manchester, UK.
2017: Art Meets Science, Renold Building, Manchester, UK.
2017: Look, Read. Go!, Grosvenor Gallery, Manchester, UK.
2017: Interim 17, Link Gallery, Manchester, UK.
2016: Flux, Goodstock, Manchester, UK.
2016: Fine Art Auction, Manchester School of Art, Manchester, UK.
2015: Appropriation, Federation House, Manchester, UK.
2014: Foundation, Coleg Llandrillo, Rhos-on-Sea, UK.
COMMISSIONS
2025: 40 Years of the Future: Degrees of Duality, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK.
2021: Velvet Shakes EP cover
2019: Gorilla, Manchester, UK.
2019: State Of The Arts, Selfridges & co. the Trafford Centre, Stretford, UK.
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
‘DMZ x Short Supply’ Manchester Contemporary 2024, Manchester, UK.
Made It 2024, Seesaw, Manchester, UK.
AWARDS
2024: Castlefield Gallery: Artist Professional Development Award (Manchester Open 2024, HOME)
2024: At Home with Jerwood Residency (Shortlisted)
2023: Commended Artwork Award & Mentorship Award (Bury Open 2023, Bury Art Museum)
2020: Granada Foundation Award (Shortlisted - Manchester Open 2024, HOME)
TALKS
2025: Breezy Artist Talks, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK.
2024: Conversations with History: Past, Present and Futures of Manchester’s Art Ecology, Castelfield Gallery, Manchester, UK.