Dinar Shakirov

Many people forced into exile have to reinvent themselves. New jobs, new people, a host of problems and complications with documents, housing, and so on. Emigration is especially emotionally difficult if it's connected to war. It's hard to realize that your country is an aggressor, and you can't do anything about it. In such a situation, you have to reinvent yourself.

I've always had a passion for art, and I've always been drawn to pastel drawing. I started drawing to relieve stress, to express my emotions, and that's how the "Faces" series of drawings was born. Witnesses of Our Time." Then I began capturing the places my family and I lived in exile in pastels on paper: Rovinj, Prague, Belgrade.

The attempt to understand myself in a new environment became a trigger for my creativity. A passion for pastels, especially oil pastels, became a catalyst for development. I began buying different sets from different brands, comparing them, mixing colors, and finding my own style. And recently, I realized that I wanted to share my work with anyone who might be interested.

I am a journalist by education

In 2025, I had my first solo exhibition. It was held in a small art bar in Novi Sad, Serbia.