LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: The Lahore Biennale, a large-scale international contemporary exhibition ongoing in the Pakistani city of Lahore, is aiming to reclaim the historical city’s place on the international arts calendar, its curator and featured artists have said, and be a “collective and participatory” event that involved the whole city and its citizenry.
Of Mountains and Seas, the third edition of the Biennale, is curated by John Tain, the head of research at Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong, and considers the themes of ecology and sustainable futures, with special reference to recent floods and agricultural disasters in Pakistan as well as the country’s urban pollution and social, economic, political and sexual inequalities.
This will be the first edition since 2020, which had Emirate curator Hoor Al Qasimi at the helm and was displayed before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Biennale features over 60 artists representing 30 countries, presenting site-specific exhibits as well as immersive installations that draw attention to issues caused by environmental degradation, along with illuminating the city’s vernacular and indigenous heritage as transformative resources for future sustainability.
Exhibitions are being featured across a dozen venues across the city, including the UNESCO World Heritage site the Lahore Fort in the ancient Walled City and the famed Mughal-era Shalimar Gardens, a true treasure of Islamic garden design and hydrology that will be showcased for the first time in the Biennale.
“We wanted to showcase our art in a bustling public space, not art as gate-kept by colonial legacies or their bureaucracies,” Abdullah Qureshi, a Pakistani Artist who curated a show titled: ‘Decolonial Feminist Ecologies: On Body and Land’ put together by the Pakistan Art Forum (PAF) in collaboration with the Lahore Biennale Foundation, told Arab News.
“We tend to think of art as this controlled, quiet space where people are observers from a distance. [The artists in this show] think about these ideas outside the Western canon.”
A press release by the biennale management said the idea of placing historic sites in dialogue with more contemporary works was aimed at bringing to light the ways Lahore’s celebrated culture, architecture, and gardens, “generally understood to symbolize its palimpsest of connections to Asia and Europe through trade routes and the migration of people and knowledge, also connects with more recent conversations about the significance of historical and indigenous forms of knowledge and practices as necessary alternatives to the extractivism that plague modern societies.”
“Evidence of these local and vernacular forms can be abundantly found everywhere in the architecture, art, cosmology, cuisine, and literature across the city, as well as in the diversity of its inhabitants— people whose relation to local and regional ecosystems have been fine-tuned over millennia of cohabitation and adaptation,” the statement added.
Tain, who has previously served as curator of modern and contemporary collections at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, sees the Lahore Biennale as being “collective and participatory in nature.”
“One way to think about a biennale is that it’s something which is a space in time that allows for activities and programs to take place and that necessarily involves other people outside the artist,” Tain said at an event before the launch of the exhibitions last week.
“So I think what is being planned is not artists just making work and putting it on wall or putting it on a floor, but thinking about the work as something that involves other people.”
Qudsia Rahim, a graduate of Lahore’s esteemed National College of Arts and the executive director of the Lahore Biennale Foundation, said the purpose of the biennale was for the “whole city” to take part.
“To be a part of this biennial, you don’t necessarily have to be an artist,” she said. “The good thing about art is that you don’t need the wall of a drawing room or gallery but what’s important is an idea and for that an audience is important … So, the point of the biennale’s purpose is how can we connect with each other, because we are social animals and in a way we want the whole city to be a part of this biennale.”
“ART IN A BUSTLING PUBLIC SPACE”
Free and open to the public, the biennale commenced on Saturday, Oct. 5, and will run through Friday, Nov. 8, complemented by a number of collateral exhibitions and programs scattered all over the city.
One such show that took place during the opening weekend (October 5–7) was the ‘Decolonial Feminist Ecologies: On Body and Land,’ curated by Abdullah Qureshi and featuring Iranian-born artist Sepideh Rahaa and Kenyan-German collaborative artist Syowia Kyambi.
“This is a collateral event for the Lahore Biennale 03, which is taking place in the Brown House inside the Masjid Wazir Khan courthouse,” PAF founder Imtisal Zafar told Arab News, referring to a 17th-century Mughal mosque located in the Walled City.
The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that also included the nearby Shahi Hammam baths. Considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque, Masjid Wazir Khan is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
“[Art] can’t be constricted to a neat and tidy studio or a clean canvas,” Nairobi-based Kyambi told Arab News. “Art is forever moving, changing and clamoring.”
Her work showed two distinct worlds, the high-rises and apartment complexes and rural countryside and at Thursday’s event, the artist handed out maps and pictures to her audience, shared stories and painted bright colors on a mud wall. She also encouraged her audience to speak out during her performance and voice their opinions on whether they liked it and what they understood of her art.
“We want to imagine futures of solidarity, community and resistance,” she said. “Not just stay quiet at everything unfolding in front of them.”
Speaking about the experience of working in a place as richly-textured and cosmopolitan as Lahore, with its many iconic and historical buildings, Kyambi said:
“When I entered for the first time to check the space [at Masjid Wazir Khan], it had a really light energy, and the rooftop is just perfect for my practice in this particular work, because it holds the scale but it’s also outdoors so the work can also keep on changing with the environment ... It’s wonderful to be near the mosque as well and I think it’s a really special part of town.”
PAF founder Zafar said the purpose of the biennale, like the ‘Decolonial Feminist Ecologies’ show arranged by the Pakistan Art Forum, was to promote local and lesser-known artists and bring them in conversation with international, globally acclaimed ones “to show the world how much talent we have here in Pakistan.”
Stephan Chow, a Singaporean artist whose work is featured at the Lahore Biennale, said the people of Lahore and Pakistan were very open to new ideas and art.
“This is my second trip to Pakistan,” he said, “and I find the people of Pakistan to be very rich in culture, knowledge, and they embrace ideas very well.”
Lahore Biennale aims to reclaim historical city’s place on international arts calendar
https://arab.news/bbxsp
Lahore Biennale aims to reclaim historical city’s place on international arts calendar
- Biennale features over 60 artists representing 30 countries and presenting site-specific exhibits as well as immersive installations
- Artworks are featured at a dozen venues including Mughal-era Lahore Fort and Masjid Wazir Khan in Walled City, iconic Shalimar Gardens
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to Marrakech for sixth edition
- 30 exhibitors include galleries from Africa, Europe, India and for the first time, the Gulf
MARRAKECH: The sixth edition of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair has returned to the opulent La Mamounia Hotel bringing together collectors and art aficionados from across Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
The smallest of the 1-54 fairs — which are also held in London and New York — the Marrakech edition, which opened on Jan. 30, presents a more intimate, upscale experience.
There is a great focus on establishing connections between the Marrakech art scene and greater Africa and its diaspora, the Middle East and Europe.
Running until Feb. 2, the event is being held at both the La Mamounia Hotel and multidisciplinary art space DaDa, located within the famous bustling Jemaa El-Fnaa square and marketplace in the city’s Medina quarter.
The latter highlights predominantly art concepts from across Morocco whereas within the lavish halls of La Mamounia, both international and Moroccan galleries present works by local African and international artists.
“In this edition, there is a very good balance between African, international and local Moroccan galleries,” fair director and founder Touria El Glaoui, the daughter of the late celebrated Moroccan modernist painter Hassan El Glaoui, told Arab News.
“This year presents 14 galleries from Africa … in addition to a gallery from Kuwait City, Tokyo, two galleries from Milan, and the Kalhath Foundation from Mumbai, India, presenting Moroccan artist Amina Benbouchta.”
Newcomers this year include Milan-based C+N Gallery CANEPANERI; space Un from Tokyo, Japan; and GALERIE FARAH FAKHRI from Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Also represented for the first time will be Galerie Medina from Bamako, Mali; Hunna Art from Kuwait City, Kuwait; Le Violon Bleu Gallery from Sidi Bou Said in Tunis, Tunisia; and Rabat-based Abla Ababou Galerie.
On view at Le Violon Bleu from Tunisia are also paintings by Hassan El Glaoui. The display marks the first time the artist’s works are exhibited at the fair.
The Gulf is represented this year through the debuting Hunna Art from Kuwait City.
In addition, a talk, titled “AlUla a New Laboratory for Contemporary Art,” will be delivered by French curator Arnaud Morand who has staged exhibitions and residencies for several years in the ancient Saudi Arabia desert region.
Also from the Gulf will be a special performance titled “Le Miroir (Acte I)” by renowned artist Miles Greenberg, to be staged at the historic El-Badi Palace, commissioned by ICD Brookfield Place Arts Program in Dubai.
Since its launch in Morocco in 2018, 1-54 has grown into a global event bringing collectors, major art institutions and artists from across the world to Morocco.
The fair, as El Glaoui noted, is also building on Marrakech’s rich cultural and art scene which has been expanding over the years. Of note this year is the reopening of the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al-Maaden alongside numerous exhibitions and museum shows and performances.
“Marrakech has a strategic geographic location serving as a meeting point for audiences from the Middle East, Africa and the rest of the world,” said El Glaoui.
“Morocco has a vibrant art scene that has significantly grown over the years. I think between its auction houses, museums, private foundations and the various galleries we have in each city, it has become an important international contender for modern and contemporary art.”
Nadhim Zahawi reflects on his journey from Baghdad to Britain at Dubai literature festival
- Zahawi, who is a chemical engineer by background, recounted to the audience how he fled Iraq for the UK at the age of 11
- Zahawi’s father fled to the UK first, and a few months later, Zahawi, his mother and sister joined him there, seeking refuge
DUBAI: Iraqi-born British former politician Nadhim Zahawi took the stage on Friday for a conversation moderated by Faisal J. Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, during the 17th Emirates Airline Festival of Literature at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City.
The talk, “Nadhim Zahawi: The Boy From Baghdad,” shared its name with his book, in which Zahawi reflected on his journey from Baghdad to Britain, his career in business and politics, and the challenges of identity and belonging.
Zahawi, who is a chemical engineer by background, recounted to the audience how he fled Iraq for the UK at the age of 11, after his family was forced to escape their home under threat from Saddam Hussein’s regime.
He said: “At that age, you remember quite vividly, especially traumatic events … I really remember, one Sunday lunch at my aunt’s home, whose husband broke the news to my father that they’re going to come and get him tomorrow morning. Literally all he had was hours to get out of the country.”
“He packed a small bag, he wrote on the wall in our home: ‘My name is Hareth Al-Zahawi’ and a verse from the Qur’an, and that one day he will come back and see his home,” he recalled.
“We went to the airport with him; myself, my older sister and my mother. I remember vividly, the Baghdad International Airport … had a viewing platform, where in the late ’70s you would see the aircraft. There weren’t these sophisticated arms that come out. You had to walk to the plane and they put the steps up. We watched him go up the steps and we had to sort of pretend to say goodbye as if he was going on holiday because you don’t know who is watching you at the airport.”
Just before the flight took off, Zahawi recalled, an army truck sped up to the plane, and he and his family feared that his father would be taken off the flight and arrested. However, the soldiers escorted someone else instead. Zahawi later learned from his father that the person removed was seated directly in front of him.
Zahawi’s father fled to the UK first, and a few months later, Zahawi, his mother and sister joined him there, seeking refuge. He shared how these formative experiences shaped his perspective and ambitions.
He then spoke about how refugees are not necessarily a burden on society and why he refuses to call himself a political refugee.
“I sometimes feel uncomfortable when I am introduced as a refugee to the United Kingdom. What I try to say is that we are actually first-generation immigrants to the UK,” he said.
He added that this label makes him feel like an “imposter” because most people’s vision or stereotype of a refugee is someone who may have come from a less privileged background than he did.
Transitioning to his professional journey, Zahawi discussed his ventures in international business. He also provided insights into his political career, shedding light on the policies and individuals that have significantly impacted the UK’s landscape.
Zahawi said that he got into politics by accident, as he had almost no political interest growing up. “I wanted to become a show jumper,” he said, recalling how he once tried to convince his father to invest in a riding school. His father dismissed the idea, telling him, “Well, you go into university, make your own money, and then you can go to a riding school.”
It was not until his first week at University College London that an unexpected encounter shifted his perspective. At the Freshers’ Fair, he was confronted by a Socialist Workers Party member handing out magazines. “I promise you that all I did was politely say, ‘No, thank you’ — not because I didn’t respect socialism, but because I wasn’t interested in politics … He was so aggressive, saying, ‘People of your color, you should be ashamed of yourself.’”
Instead of reacting with anger, Zahawi decided to explore his viewpoint.
“I remember in 1979 or 1980, my mother saying to me: ‘Son, a grocer’s daughter has just become prime minister. You can do anything in this country.’ And she was right,” he added.
Throughout the talk, themes of identity and belonging were prominent, as Zahawi reflected on navigating life between two cultures and the evolution of his adoptive homeland, Britain.
He praised the UK’s political system for offering opportunities regardless of background, contrasting it with the US.
“I can’t name any other country that has got to this level of achievement. In America, politicians will choose particular districts where they have a large ethnic group that may be beneficial to their background,” he said.
Zahawi highlighted his own experience as an example, recalling how he was selected as a Conservative candidate despite coming from an immigrant background. “I was selected in Stratford-on-Avon in a room full of Conservative members, pretty much white. The seat is 97 percent white, affluent middle-class, farming community. This is the birth and resting place of William Shakespeare, yet they selected Nadhim Zahawi, a boy from Baghdad, as their champion, their candidate.”
He emphasized how his political success reflected the country’s openness to diversity. “They voted him in the 2010 election, and then voted him back four times after that with increased majorities. That is a country that, in my view, is truly colorblind,” Zahawi said.
He also discussed identity: “I think in many ways I am a proud Brit of Kurdish background. I am very proud of my Kurdish roots. But, ultimately, the country that has defined my life, that has given me my opportunity in life, is the United Kingdom,” he said.
Saudi-helmed Ashi Studio unveils sculptural silhouettes, intricate embroidery at Paris Haute Couture Week
- Couturier’s designs been worn by Queen Rania of Jordan, Beyonce
- First designer from region to join Federation de la Haute Couture
DUBAI: Paris-based label Ashi Studio, founded by Saudi Arabia designer Mohammed Ashi, presented its Spring/Summer 2025 couture collection on Thursday during Paris Haute Couture Week, featuring sculptural silhouettes, intricate embroidery, and detailed craftsmanship.
The collection has a range of designs that incorporate voluminous structures, textural contrasts and embellishments.
Several looks emphasize architectural shapes, including a voluminous ivory skirt paired with an embroidered cropped jacket in shades of blue, adorned with floral beading and gold detailing.
Other designs include structured corseted gowns with sheer lace panels and sculpted sleeves.
The collection also features darker tones, with black and gold embroidery on form-fitting dresses. Strapless gowns include intricate hand embroidery with landscape motifs.
Metallic fringe elements and shimmering embellishments contribute to the textural variation within the lineup.
Alongside heavily adorned pieces, the collection includes streamlined silhouettes, such as a deep burgundy velvet strapless gown and a turquoise column dress with matching gloves.
Ashi became the first couturier from the region to join the Federation de la Haute Couture in Paris as a guest member in 2023.
The couturier’s designs have been worn by celebrities including Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Kylie Minogue, Penelope Cruz, Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, and Queen Rania of Jordan.
Saudi artist Muhannad Shono to take part in California’s 2025 Desert X
DUBAI: Saudi artist Muhannad Shono has been selected to take part in the fifth edition of Desert X, the international site-specific art exhibition which will take place across California’s Coachella Valley from March 8 to May 11.
Produced by non-profit organization The Desert Biennial, the event will feature artistic talent from across Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.
Curated by artistic director Neville Wakefield and co-curator Kaitlin Garcia-Maestas, the 2025 iteration will feature themes of temporality and nonlinear narratives of desert time.
Shono’s work, “What Remains,” explores the ever-changing nature of identity and land. The piece features long strips of fabric infused with native sand, allowing them to move freely with the wind. As the wind shifts, the fabric twists and reshapes while the sand forms dunes.
“The land of Desert X is no longer the mythical and endless expanses of the American West but has come to include the effects of our ever-growing human presence,” said Wakefield.
“Artists continue to be inspired by the idea of unadulterated nature but … they have also come to recognize that this is an idea and that the realities of the world we live in now are both more complex and contested. Time, light and space permeate every aspect of this work but so too does an urgency to find new sustainable approaches to living in an increasingly imperiled world.”
The full list of participating artists is as follows: Sanford Biggers, Los Angeles, California; Jose Davila, Guadalajara, Mexico; Agnes Denes, Budapest, Hungary; Cannupa Hanska Luger, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Lakota, b. Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota, based in Glorieta, New Mexico; Raphael Hefti, Neuchatel, Switzerland; Kimsooja, Daegu, Korea; Kapwani Kiwanga, Hamilton, Canada; Sarah Meyohas, New York; Ronald Rael, Conejos Country, US; Alison Saar, Los Angeles, California; Muhannad Shono, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Huda Kattan launches ‘Huda Hotline’ — a podcast for honest talking
DUBAI: Huda Kattan, the mogul behind Huda Beauty, is breaking new ground with the launch of her “Huda Hotline” podcast.
Launched on Jan. 30, the podcast marks her first major project outside her beauty empire, offering a space for candid discussions about self-worth, beauty standards and personal growth.
Speaking about her motivation, Kattan told Arab News: “I wanted to do this for so long, it’s been a dream of mine for so many years, because I just had so many people from my community asking me to do a podcast, telling me they wanted to see a place where I could share some of my experiences.”
She added that her community has always been deeply connected by a shared passion for development and hard work, something she has learned from statistics and surveys conducted on her META platforms. They revealed a significant percentage of her followers are women striving to start their own businesses.
With “Huda Hotline,” Kattan said she was aiming to give back by being more vulnerable and open about her journey.
“I also have realized that my vulnerability and accepting that I don’t know the answers is something that people also have appreciated from me,” she said.
Initial episodes will explore topics such as entrepreneurship, overcoming fear and redefining traditional beauty standards.
Kattan also talked about the impact her beauty brand has had on diversifying the industry. She said: “I definitely think we were a big part of leading this conversation, and it was difficult at first. It was very, very difficult to be based in the Middle East and trying to break through to the US, break through Europe, and that was extremely, extremely challenging.”
As for the podcast’s future, Kattan envisions she will eventually bring in guests.
“I definitely think there may be some people, but not right away,” she said. She said she was interested in featuring experts in health, self-improvement and biohacking, giving her audience a glimpse into her personal passions beyond beauty.
“I’m so ready for this,” she added.
