Imran Qureshi at work on his new series of paintings for the festival. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Lahore has long been the cultural hub of Pakistan; deeply entrenched in various expressions of art. Yet, the city remains obscure on international forums when it comes to engaging artistic practice with diverse publics. Given the limited representation of Pakistan in global media, and the relative scarcity of regional dialogues within South Asia, there is a real urgency to foster a deeper and multifaceted dialogue between Lahore, the region, and the rest of the world.
The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) was established in 2015 in part to serve this urgent need. Engagements that the Biennale Foundation serves to create can further energise new relationships between Lahore’s residents and visitors such that the past can be reflected upon, the present debated in new ways, and the future anticipated in a progressive direction.
The LBF is proud to announce its inaugural Lahore Biennale 01 (LB01). The two-week festival, which will take place between March 18th to March 31st, will be held at seven major venues that engage with the city’s Mughal, colonial, and modern layers.
While the concept of a 14-day long cultural programme is appealing, even more exciting is that the event will engage over 50 artists from Bangladesh, India, Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, as well as from Europe and the United States.
Encapsulating the uniqueness of Lahore as a location, artist projects will be exhibited at venues across the city that have strong cultural and historical references. The renowed sites of Lahore Fort, Shahi Hammam, Mubarak Haveli & Tehsil Park, Lahore Museum, Alhamra Art Centre, Bagh-e-Jinnah, and the main Canal road will be turned into sites for compellingvisual display.
People of Lahore will be able to view works from prominent names in art, including Amar Kanwar, Naeem Mohaiemen, Shahzia Sikander and Shirin Neshat.
Art and public spaces: Promoting experiments in visual expression
Artists presenting major new commissions will include Ali Kazim, Awami Art Collective, Aisha Khalid, and Imran Qureshi. In addition, there will be talks and performances that will discuss the subject matter in great detail, while keeping visitors enthralled. Musician Ali Sethi and composer Du Yun will perform on the opening day, while a performance by Salima Hashmi along with a performance reading by Naiza Khan will close the event.
The LB01 will feature several public programs that include the Academic Forum and Commissioned and Curated Exhibitions.
The Academic Forum will be a fourteen-day programme organised by Iftikhar Dadi that will bring in curators, critics, and scholars to Lahore as an integral dimension of the Lahore Biennale 01. The forum will include public lectures, panel discussions, and workshops presented by artists and academics who work on Asia and the global South.
artSPEAK is a public programme, first initiated by the Lahore Biennale Foundation in 2015 to provide a platform for critical discourse on diverse topics of interest to creative practitioners. For LB01, artSPEAK will continue this ethos by engaging with practitioners whose work is part of the Biennale.
The Youth Forum, Lahore, aims to create artistic engagement for youth from all over the country, across various economicspheres. Its main aim is to expose children and young adults between the ages of eight to sixteen to contemporary and public art.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2018.
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