This article will draw on recent PhD research on design education for handloom weavers. It will draw primarily on findings from one of two focus case studies: Somaiya Kala Vidya (SKV) in Kachchh, western India, which provides a year-long curriculum…
On October 1st 2021 the much awaited Expo 2020, hosted by Dubai opened its doors to visitors with great fanfare and a spectacular opening ceremony. The aim of the Expo was to promote “an exhibition of culture, technology and architecture…
Pakistan has seen a growth in the ever-evolving state of photography, especially after the ‘Digital Boom’ that exploded in the country, in the beginning of the twenty-first century. Along with this expanse came a great influx in the variety of…
This comprehensive two-part essay has been authored by Dr Suneela Ahmed and Laraib Asdaf respectively. While Ahmed’s writing engages with the swift transformations of the city’s public architecture, with a design language evolving from global influences and local aspirations along…
An Asian Art department was created at the Rijksmuseum37 in 1952, when the Royal Asian Art Society donated their collection to the Museum.41 Today, a number of objects from the Asian Art department are still on display in the main…
In lieu of the growing and expansive culture of product (and profit)-making, it can be argued that the postmodern experience of consumerism for the average individual is increasingly becoming a manufactured necessity. Consumers are inevitably confronted with mass-produced goods that…
The Indian subcontinent in 1947 was divided into two countries and three parts: India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan. My essay aims to look into the development of the film industries of the subcontinent, with a focus on Pakistan. Moreover,…
The growth of inter-cultural encounters in the Africa-Asia region of the world have instigated the creation of socially, politically, and ethnographically diverse spaces. The waters of the Indian Ocean, carrying remnants of the coast of Africa and the Middle East…
In the recent past, there has been an influx of counterfeit art of Pakistani modern masters; M.A. Chughtai (1894-1975), Ustad Allah Bux (1895-1978), Sadequain (1930-1987), Ahmed Parvez (1926-1979), Ismail Gulgee (1926-2007), Bashir Mirza (1941-2000) and Eqbal Mehdi (1946-2008), just to…
In 1990 Arjun Appadurai wrote a seminal article called “Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy”; expanding upon the ramifications of a global village within a cultural context, Appadurai introduced readers to the dynamic diasporic strands of globalization that…