Amanda Ahmed completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (painting) at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University, in 1994. Upon graduating, she was a sessional lecturer at VCA in the painting and drawing departments for two years. She had an installation-based art practice and exhibited regularly in artist run initiatives, as well as commercial and state galleries. She was a committee member of First Floor gallery and the Women’s Art Register, curated a project for the Next Wave Festival and worked at a commercial gallery. In 2003 she completed her Bachelor of Letters (Hons) at the Centre of Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, Monash University. It was during this time she became interested in botanical illustration and began attending classes at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. In 2011 Amanda completed her Master of Fine Art by Research at Monash University. The title of her MFA was Botanical illustration: drawing in the space of nature which was a study of the flora of the foreshore between Mornington and Mt Martha and its historical relationship with the landing of Matthew Flinders and his team from the HMAS Investigator in 1802. Her submission included a thesis and solo exhibition.
Since then, Amanda has worked on projects such as The Eternal Order in Nature: The Science of Botanical Illustration, which coincided with the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne. She has also been a regular exhibitor at The Art of Botanical Illustration in Melbourne (biennially), Botanica in Sydney (annually), and Inspired by Nature in Geelong (biennially). Other notable exhibitions include Capturing Flora: 300 Years of Australian Botanical Art and Vignettes at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, Flora of Australia: A Botanical Art Worldwide Exhibition 2018 Canberra, and Flora 2023: The Art and Science of the Plant Holmes à Court Gallery in Perth.
Since 2016, Amanda has been teaching at the Geelong School of Botanic Art in the Geelong Botanic Gardens, covering graphite, watercolour, and coloured pencil. Since 2021, she has also run watercolour, coloured pencil and graphite courses at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. Amanda has developed a strong emphasis on drawing as the foundation of her teaching, while fostering artistic growth in a supportive and encouraging environment.