The South Asian perspective of womanhood is an almost clandestine lived experience that is challenging to narrate to those who have not witnessed it first-hand. Although unity can be found in the universal female struggle of women worldwide, the nuances…
People, cultures and ideas have constantly reshaped our understanding of the world. Their creative impulse, cultural and intellectual legacy remains inextricably tied to, and visible in our lived experiences, environments and even urban spaces. Cities may be seen as artificial…
Faceless, the mid-career retrospective of Khadim Ali’s work at the COMO Museum of Art feels like a much-awaited homecoming. Living and working between Sydney, Kabul and Quetta, Ali studied at the National College of Arts (NCA), graduating from the esteemed…
The works of Sumaira Tazeen are a visual soliloquy of her life, lived experiences and observations of the society she lives in, delivered in a garb of symbols and metaphors. Trained in the traditional South Asian art form of miniature,…
Being an artist is difficult. In South Asia, it can be discouraging due to poor state funding, perplexed parents, and opaque market prospects. Talented, committed artists have set examples in the past--- but women, especially from marginalized ethnic backgrounds, face…
Karachi’s Architectural Heritage is slowly disappearing. This includes many reasons, ranging from a lack of initiatives by the Sindh Government, a lack of knowledge or desire to conserve what remains, and collective amnesia. The response to buildings of historic character…
A group of multidisciplinary artists and a studious curator convene at Barkat Ali Islamia Hall, opposite Mochi Gate, along a circular road in Lahore. They investigate indigenous knowledge systems and their intersections with ecology, ancient history, mythology, and mysticism, thoroughly…
Achara--- reimagined as a vibrant medium for narrative and spatial exploration in the exhibition Folding/Unfolding- The Achara Chronicles, curated by Arshad Faruqui. The curator focuses on highlighting principles of repurposing, thereby reflecting on the recurring nature of artistic creation. Within…
In Delhi was the true arch. Not the semblance or the charlatan, but the true-blue horseshoe throwing the superstitions of the beam to the wind. All experience was this arch and the seventeen-year-old neophyte in the city a hapless Ulysses…
A solo show by Noman Bhatti opened its doors to his fine art photography series titled Evolving Selves at the IVS Gallery, Karachi on the 15th of October, 2024. In this exhibition curated by Malika Abbas, Bhatti unveils eighteen striking…