Maria Qamar (b. 1991, Karachi, Pakistan) is a first-generation Canadian from a traditional South Asian family. She moved to Canada at the age of nine in 2001 and was forced to endure bullying and racism as a young girl in a post 9/11 Toronto.
Qamar found her artistic voice through Instagram, where her illustrations resonated with the Desi community, particularly the second generation. Art became a means for her to handle realities of being brown and South Asian in North America in the early 21st century. Her work is collected by Mindy Kaling and was featured on The Mindy Project. Qamar is also is the author of “Trust No Aunty”, published in 2017. Her artwork has been shown in the AGO in Toronto, Mumbai Comicon, and the Oxo Tower Wharf in London, England. She has been featured on NPR, CBC, HarpersBAZAAR.com, and in The Toronto Star, FLARE Magazine, Bon Appetit and several other publications.