ACP’s World Culture Festival kicks off in Karachi with a call for peace and cultural exchange

Opening night featured Balochi folk dances, Amin Gulgee’s visual art, and performances by Bangladeshi artists

The World Culture Festival 2025 kicked off at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi on Friday, and from the first note, it felt like the city was hosting the world. Bringing together artists from 141 countries, the 39-day festival celebrates music, film and performance under the themes of peace, climate awareness and cultural exchange.

According to Arts Council Pakistan, Karachi President Ahmad Shah, the festival aims to “remind the world that art can still speak where politics fails,” and in that spirit, the opening night featured a homage to Gaza which he called “the greatest genocide of the 21st century.” The second theme highlights other global challenges such as climate change through short films and performances.

The opening night was a mix of folk and contemporary performances. Pakistani visual artist Amin Gulgee opened with a visual arts performance titled The Game, while the traditional Balochi 'Leva' dance drew loud cheers with its rhythmic beats.

The lineup included French santoor player Zakaria Haffar, Pakistani flutist Akbar Khamiso Khan, and performers from Nepal, Belgium, Syria, and Bangladesh. American dance troupes Ballet Beyond Borders and Chrome Louie shared the stage with artists from Italy, Romania, and the Congo.
Two short films, Plastic from South Korea and Love Note to an Island from Kiribati, reflected the festival’s environmental focus.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, inaugurating the event, described Karachi as “unpredictable, vibrant and alive: the cultural heart of Pakistan.” He noted that what began last year with artists from 44 countries has now expanded to include over 140 nations and more than a thousand participants. “It shows what happens when you let culture lead diplomacy,” he said.

The event also celebrated Sindh’s own heritage, honouring poets like Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and showcasing traditional Sufi music. Shah reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting the arts as a meaningful form of soft power for Pakistan.
The opening ceremony drew a full house, attended by diplomats from Australia, France, Japan, the UAE, Türkiye, Sri Lanka, Russia, and Bangladesh.
Muhammad Ahmed Shah said the festival’s aim is to build empathy in a divided world. “Artists everywhere have condemned war and violence,” he said. “Through art, we’re trying to remind people that unity isn’t a distant ideal, it’s a possibility we aim to work towards.”
Murad Shah echoed the sentiment. “In Sindh, culture isn’t just policy,” he said. “It’s identity, from Bhittai’s poetry to our cinema. Our artists remain Pakistan’s best ambassadors of peace.”