KARACHI: The Karachi Bienn­­ale-22, which formally began on Oct 31 at NJV School (preceded by a preview for the media) and will conclude on Sunday (tomorrow), is the first post-Covid cultural happening in the metropolis with a big number of international participants. But the biannual programme’s real significance lies in the fact that it is a public art event.

Art galleries which hold solo or group shows, even involving artists belonging to countries other than Pakistan, usually do that in a contained environment. But the biennale has a reach that stretches from designated spots to open-for-all spaces. This means anyone from any part of Karachi, or the world for that matter, has access to exhibits mostly done in the form of installations.

In the ongoing edition of the biennale aka KB22, the organisers have chosen nine venues in the city showcasing works of more than three-dozen artists representing 13 countries.

The public art event will conclude tomorrow

Curated by Faisal Anwar, the exhibitions have been largely arranged in heritage sites in order to reach out to a wider audience because in the words of the curator, “Karachi has many cities within one city”. It’s hard to dispute that — it is truly a cosmopolitan town and demographically largest of the country.

The thoughtfully chosen nine venues where exhibitions can be seen are NJV School, Jamshed Memorial Hall, Hamid Market, NED University (city campus), the Institute of Business Administration (main campus), the Sambara Art Gallery, VM Art Gallery, Indus Valley School of Art and Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Art Gallery (Alliance Francaise). These locations have been divided into clusters. The viewers can pick and choose what spot they want to visit.

As for the artworks, from the Pakistani perspective, eminent artists such as Amin Gulgee and Rashid Rana are part of KB22. The former’s work can be seen at NJV School and the latter’s at NED University.

One interesting choice of location is Hamid Market where internationally renowned creative individuals Alecia Neo of Singapore and Nobumichi Asai of Japan have placed their works.

Austrian artist Herwig Scherabon’s talent can be witnessed at the Alliance Francaise. He is known for digital interpretations of nature.

Apart from exhibitions, during a little more than two-week-long Karachi Biennale, panel discussions were also held on important subjects related to art and its role in society.

A not to be missed event!

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2022