Please see details below regarding Karenjeet’s Extraordinary Portraits episode which was shown on BBC1 on Monday night. Karenjeet was selected as one of 12 people across the country to have their portrait painted and an artist was flown in from the US to do this for her.
“Karenjeet Kaur Bains is a record-breaking British powerlifter and Team GB’s first female Sikh Champion. Amar Stewart is a British artist based in North Carolina’s vibrant art scene.
Famed for his paintings of hip hop stars depicted as royalty, Amar is self-taught and doesn’t play by the rules, and this masterpiece will be no different. In his exploration into the woman behind the powerlifter, Amar meets her mother, who was denied the same athletic opportunities, and her father/trainer, who is proud that his daughter is smashing stereotypes as well as records.
Amar Stewart explores his own heritage as he paints Karenjeet, who summons the power of her ancestors to gain strength before she competes, smashing through gender stereotypes in the Asian community and celebrating her Sikh faith.”
To watch this fascinating episode about Karenjeet and to see the final portrait, please follow the link below:
BBC iPlayer – Extraordinary Portraits – Series 2: Episode 4
Click here to return to the current newsletter