LB04

Open call for poets: Conference of the Stray Birds invites contributions from across Eurasia

Conference of the Stray Birds will present its inaugural collection of poems at Lahore Biennale 04: The Shape of Coexistence, taking place in spring 2027. The collection reflects on the legacies and possible afterlives of twentieth-century internationalism across Eurasia. Of particular importance to us are the internationalist writers’ conferences that took place across Soviet Central Eurasia in the post–World War II period. At these gatherings, writers and poets from different countries came together to share ... More

Programs

Lahore Sangat – Plaques

Sangat Lahore is paying tribute to the extraordinary women and men by putting up distinctive blue enamel plaques in their memory, at places where they lived or worked. These exceptional individuals  were painters, writers, poets, architects and master craftsmen, wrestlers, storytellers, actors, scholars, teachers, revolutionaries, philosophers, jurists, cooks, weavers, embroiderers,  designers, doctors, philanthropists, saints, mystics, musicians, singers, freedom fighters, dancers, sportsmen and women, dramatists, travelers, composers, publishers, journalists,  theatre and film personalities. The list is part of an ongoing process that is being added through additional research and contributions by the people of Lahore and beyond.

Research

LBF Research Fellowship: Building A National Film Archive

Announced in Summer 2018, the Lahore Biennale Foundation Research Fellowship was open to any individual or collective interested in researching any aspect of modern or contemporary art and visual culture of Pakistan. Award selection was based on the clear identification of the research methodology and archives used, and the relevance of the topic in contributing new knowledge and insight. A public announcement of the award resulted in many submitted applications. The final selection was made by an independent jury. Artist Hira Nabi was the recipient. The total amount awarded for the 2018 cycle was Rs. 300,000. The distinguished mentor for this ... More

Publications

Hustle Culture

Stolon Press’s Hustle Culture is a record made of the daily life around three bird baths placed under a chaste tree and a tamarind tree, in a small garden, in a small town in Malaysia. The visitors to the baths vary—sunbirds, fantails, swallows, an occasional tailorbird, maybe even a kingfisher or oriole, a toad, as well the neighborhood’s fat cat. The baths are washed and refilled regularly, sometimes there are no visitors at all, save for a floating feather; the camera is too slow or too fast, too impatient, or badly positioned. Instead of a story or plot, there is rhythm, fluttering, ... More

Programs

Zero Waste Initiative

The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) is committed to fostering sustainable practices through its Zero Waste Initiative, aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of our projects and daily operations. As part of this commitment, we have implemented a comprehensive waste management system that emphasizes recycling, repurposing, and responsible disposal methods.

Programs

Intersections : Where the Bus Stops

Where the Bus Stops is a project that carries in it the ethos of what LBF is truly about. The approach to all of our programs conducted within the public realm is to bring together diverse thinkers, practitioners and partners in such a way that outputs and outcomes generate new synergy that is collectively more effective than any isolated effort. By working with, and mobilising its partners, LBF has been able to champion this goal, as well as look out for the interests of all parties involved including those of the public. Winning proposals now mark vital spaces within Lahore’s ... More

Public Outreach

LB02 Youth Forum

The Youth Forum initiative of the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) actively engages with younger audiences that include in-school and out-of-school children, through public and private sector schools from across Lahore. The Youth Forum is a free educational resource and community building program that aims for inclusion beyond socio-economic boundaries. For this, LBF works with different institutional partners. The objectives of Youth Forum are to encourage creativity and develop critical thinking skills, as students experience art beyond their screens and textbooks. Students interact with maps, architecture, and exhibition design, and develop experiential and imaginative learning. 

Research

LBF – AAN Research Grant – 2018

Announced in Summer 2018, the LBF – Research Grant was intended for an individual or collective whose research focuses on movements and shifts in modern and contemporary art practice in Pakistan or its diaspora. Therefore, this call invited research proposals that address arts that arise from or are significant to Pakistan.

Publications

CORD OF DESIRES

CORD OF DESIRES by Miro Craemer was created during his two-months artist residency in Karachi, Pakistan, hosted by Vasl Artists' Collective, in the framework of Urbanities - art and public space in Pakistan.

Publications

Lahore Biennale Reader 02

Between Jan 26 and Feb 29, 2020, the Lahore Biennale 02 was exhibited at multiple sites across Lahore, Pakistan. Hoor Al Qasimi curated the work of over eighty artists and collectives under the theme of Between The Sun And The Moon, emphasizing participation from the Global South and with a stress on artists and works from Africa, Central Asia, West Asia and their diasporas. The multifaceted Biennale program included exhibited works, performances, participatory settings, publications ... More