Kamran Asdar Ali focused on the film Saheli (1961) to open up the question of domestic life and sexuality in Pakistan by turning to an underused archive, cinema. The presentation discussed women’s representation in the popular media in Pakistan in order to create a different archive of cultural and sexual politics ... More
By new forms of participation in the Boria festival (Muharram procession), marginalised Malay communities in Penang registered their presence within the colonial port city. The performances recognised the complex urban cultural web through which the performance’s socially and economically redistributive potential resides within. This presentation connects the Boria to the ... More
This presentation surveys the history of Womanifesto, a perennial event that took place in Thailand between 1997 and 2008. Organized by the artists Nitaya Ueareewarokul, Varsha Nair, and others, the more or less biannual events for women artists over the course of its life variously took the form of exhibitions, ... More
The talk examines the model value of the Mughal period in MARG, the leading art journal of post-independence India. It discusses key historiographical questions of Indian art history, including the broader interaction of national cultural identity with global modernism.
Three scholars of film in Pakistan embark on a critical assessment of the discourse that surrounds cinema and its categories: Gwen Kirk, Momina Masood and Zebunnisa Hamid assess the widely held notion that Pakistani cinema has undergone ‘death’ and ‘revival’. In doing so, they engage in an in-depth conversation about ... More
In this lecture, Lalitha Gopalan unpacks the relationship between art cinema and festival films that shape nearly lost, independent films, and argues for an alternative genealogy of Indian narrative cinemas.
This presentation discusses the question of continuity and rupture in Pakistani cinema, by comparing two films: Susraal (1962) and Zinda Bhaag (2013). Both films are notable for marked sensitivity to their location in Lahore, and deal with desires and aspirations of non-elite everyday life. However, rather than both inhabiting a ... More
The widespread use of the Faiz poem popularly known as “Hum dekhenge” (“ہم دیکھیں گے”) in the pro-democracy demonstrations in India, despite opposition to it from Hindu nationalists, should make one thing clear: Faiz was the poet not of a single nation but of the undivided civilisation of the subcontinent. ... More
In a moment where far right nationalisms are ascendant across South Asia, it’s easy to overlook a shared past that was alive with hopes and possibilities of a more liberated and enlightened future. Few projects expressed those hopes with as much vigour as Communist Internationalism, by far the most radical ... More
Old Urdu books of all genres reflect their readership, and the cultural ethos of an era that witnessed major transformations. As well as their ‘content’, books carry personal memories, reflected in the journey of the book itself through changes in ownership. This photographic project examines the histories embedded within Urdu ... More
Women on Aeroplanes is about to touch down in Lahore. During the stopover we'll have a public editorial meeting to design and imagine the next issue of its Inflight Magazine. Experimenting with format, each edition of this international, multi-part research and exhibition project becomes a light container for research-in-progress; a ... More
By the second decade of the twenty-first century, seventy odd years in Pakistan's existence, ideals of nationhood and state have been transformed into a radically reimagined Muslimness. This is constructed within popular novels and television series authored by bestselling writers, Umera Ahmad, Nimra Ahmad, and Farhat Ishtiaq. Is this "new" ... More
The talk highlights methods of visibility and visuality that depart from treating otherness' as an essential requirement for self-perception; an approach that was largely instigated by Lacan's concept 'mirror stage'. Instead, we revisit proposals that locates the self within otherness, by perceiving the self as a reflection of everything. These ... More
Charting the history of 'Bab-e-Pakistan' memorial complex on Walton Road, the lecture opens a discussion around the idea of Pakistan and the pursuit of a monumental architecture in this context. It reflects on questions of failure, the broken promises of construction, the easy transformation of building work into ruins, and ... More
LB02 participating artists Hera Büyüktaşçıyan and Hajra Haider Karrar discuss their art practice and their collaborative film project titled 'Infinite Nectar' showcased during the Biennale.
Berlin-based, mixed-media artist Jeanno Gaussi discusses the process behind her artwork titled Peeran-e-Tombaan exhibited during LB02 at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art & Culture (PILAC).
Keynote speech delivered by Adrian Lahoud (Dean of Architecture, Royal College of London) followed by a conversation with Environmental Lawyer and LBF Board Member Rafay Alam.
Keynote speech delivered by architect and writer Adrian Lahoud during the inaugural weekend of the Lahore Biennale.
British artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah in conversation with art historian, educator, critic and curator Salah Hassan. Artist talk held as part of the talks and lectures hosted during the inaugural opening of the Lahore Biennale.
Film screenings in various locations as part of the Biennale's Film program curated by cinema theorist and researcher Ali Nobil Ahmad.
The Academic Forum is an integral dimension of the Lahore Biennale. It aims to foster broad and imaginative discussions on art, culture, and society by bringing comparative and cross-disciplinary perspectives from other locations to Lahore. The Academic Forum brings over a dozen distinguished international curators, critics, and scholars to give ... More
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 ... More