Jarnail Singh Artist

Date of Birth:
1956
Birthplace:
Zira, District Ferozpur, Punjab
Current City:
Surrey, BC

Jarnail Singh, known as Jarnail Singh Artist by the larger Punjabi community because of his profession, was born in Zira in the district of Ferozpur in Punjab, India, in 1956. He is a freelance artist and completed his education in Delhi and Chandigarh.

Jarnail Singh had never thought about immigrating to Canada. He had traveled prior to coming to Canada when in 1991, he went to England for the first time for a project. He went again in 1992. In 1995, he first came to Canada as a visitor. He didn’t want to go through the process of getting a visa in order to come to Canada so he applied for immigration. In 2000, he immigrated to Canada. Since Jarnail Singh had many clients that were from Canada, he didn’t face many problems when he came here, socially or financially. He also didn’t find it very different because he had already been to England and he also traveled a lot in India. He settled down in Surrey because it felt like a second Punjab. From 2004 to 2005, he concentrated on opening a space where people can come and learn how to paint, dance, and play music.  This artistic space has been continuing since then.

Jarnail Singh goes to visit India almost every year. He believes that art is a bridge between two cultures and religions and it is thus everyone’s responsibility to share their culture with other people. Jarnail Singh and his team have had a few large exhibitions in Surrey with the first one being in 2004. After that they had two more. Last year’s exhibition (2017)  showcased the artwork of South Asian artists.