Womanifesto

WeMend

Womanifesto (est.1995) organized the first feminist Southeast Asia biennale, and it has since brought together more than 150 contemporary women artists across 45 countries. A uniquely collective approach facilitated by its three founders, Varsha Nair, Phaptawan Suwannukudt, and Nitaya Ueareeworakul, has guided every Womanifesto initiative across three decades and informed its shifts from biennial exhibitions and community-based workshops to artist-led publications and online collaborative art projects.

WeMend, initiated by Womanifesto, a women-led project based in Thailand, is an ongoing social workshop inviting visitors and community groups to engage in sewing, embroidery, patchwork, and fabric upcycling. The iteration of WeMend for LB03 has been developed by BNU-SVAD at the invitation of the Lahore Biennale Foundation.

For Lahore Biennale 03, students and faculty from  MDSVAD, BNU, along with artisans from Kaarvan Crafts Foundation, Baazyaft worked together to realize Womanifesto’s WeMend as a unified communal social fabric. This project examines how fabric represents societal identity through three themes: Who, Where, and Why, each depicted by unique visual sub-themes.

 

 




In collaboration with TFA MDSVAD, BNU. 

 

Fabric as Social Identity – کون؟ کہاں؟ کیوں؟

Textiles reflect a region’s roots, history, and cultural narratives, with the YMCA in Lahore symbolizing the city’s identity as a center for creativity and inclusivity. The project It connects personal and political stories, embracing individuals as Pakistanis beyond race or religion.

Project Lead: Kiran Khan  

Co-Lead: Anam Khurram  

Advisors:

Risham Syed  

Rohma Khan

Personal Narratives

Kiran Khan, Kainat Wali, Samak Hamid, Fehreen Mujahid, Irum Naeem, Tanzeel Saeed, Fatima Ali, Samiha Safdar, Hadiqa Faisal, Ayesha Akram, Faseha Shahid, Hooraen Qasim, Aamna Batool, Abu Bakar, Maheen Bilal, Mariam Zahoor

Intergenerational Narratives

Kiran Khan, Anam Khurram, Rameez Husnain, Saima Abaidullah, Areeba Aami, Zainab Asim, Izzah Adnan, M. Ahsan Nazir, Ammara Wahid, Fatima Sarfraz, Afifa Sajid

Political Narratives

Anam Khurram, Rameez Husnain, Zunaira Raza, Zahra Jokhio, Fehreen Mujahid, Eisha Yousaf, Ayesha Akram, Suvail Maqsood, Usama Yaqoob, Manahil Faseeh, Hadiqa Faisal, Qurat ul Ain Sonia Kashmiri X Baazyaft

Kaarvan artisans

Ghazala Sattari, Humaira Nasir, Umaira Haider, Saima Mukhtar, Sadaf Sabir, Iram Imran 

Sewing Contributors 

Bushra, Rimsha, Iram, Eesha, Aroosa, Fehmeeda, Rukhsana, Javeria, Sarah, Shameen, Amir, Hamdani, Munir, Amjad, Basit, Arshad Chacha, Saima, Abid, Sana, Fakhra, Riffat, Sufyan, Amna