Key to the City of New York

To appreciate the honour of receiving the Key to the City of New York, former recipients have included physicist Albert Einstein, designer Ralph Lauren, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Laila Shahzada was presented with the prestigious Key to the City of New York and Bicentennial Gold Medallion by the Mayor of New York in 1975. Her recognition followed a highly successful solo exhibition at the Runyon Winchell Gallery in New York City. Her work, particularly her "Mohenjodaro" series inspired by the Indus Valley Civilization, was said to have "taken the town by storm".

"The Mayor of the city has been so impressed with Laila Shahzada's cultural contribution to the city that he has awarded her the Key to the City of New York and the Bicentennial Medallion and Citation – the first time this award has been given to a Pakistani."

June LeBell, WQXR

"Know ye by these presents that I, Abraham D. Beame, Mayor of the City of New York, do hereby present this Certificate of Appreciation to Laila Shahzada, the first woman artist from Pakistan to exhibit her paintings in the United States. It is fitting in International Women's Year since in Pakistan women are beginning to gain the freedoms of women in our country. I welcome her on behalf of all our citizens. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City of New York to be affixed this fourth day of December, 1975."

Abraham D. Beame, Mayor's Office, New York