LAHORE: The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) has announced the schedule and theme of the third edition of the Lahore Biennale (LB03) which will open on Feb 9, 2024. Besides, it has appointed John Tain, the head of research at the Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong, as the curator of the LB03.

The theme of the upcoming edition (LB03) is ecology and sustainable future, said a press release on Sunday.

“Following the success of the inaugural Lahore Biennale in March 2018 and the second edition in early 2020, curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, the Foundation remains committed to showcasing groundbreaking contemporary art from around the world. LB03 promises to build on the legacy of its predecessors, with Tain at the helm, by continuing to foster critical practice and discourse on contemporary art in the region and beyond,” it says.

According to the statement, the Lahore Biennale has become a significant platform for contemporary art in the region, showcasing artworks from a range of disciplines and media. The appointment of Tain highlights the foundation’s commitment to promoting cultural exchange, inclusivity, and accessibility through the arts. For the upcoming third edition, scheduled to take place February-March 2024, the LBF will deepen its commitment to bringing art to the people through the placement of new art commissions and large-scale public installations at various heritage and everyday venues across the city. In addition, research into Lahore’s history will contribute to the exhibition’s emphasis on local and indigenous knowledge and practices as the resources for thinking for the future.

The LBF says that it will showcase place-making by devoting a number of projects on the Mall Road, a historical centre for public expression and cultural activity. It has been using various sites in the Walled City in its previous projects and they continue to be of interest for the LB03.

The LB03 will also integrate its discursive programming as a part of its overall offering. All of these enhancements will foster a deeper connection and understanding of Lahore by diverse communities. The LB03’s convening of emerging and established artists, scholars, and researchers addresses ecology and sustainable development, urgent topics in a country that in the past year has seen calamitous floods and degraded environment, aggravated by agricultural disasters, urban pollution, and social inequality. These problems, which now cannot be ignored, have long been in gestation.

The exhibition will foreground contributions by the artists, suggesting aesthetic, sensorial, conceptual, and collective ways to address such challenges while also underscoring resonances between the histories of Lahore and Pakistan with other parts of the world that face similar challenges.

The planned activities include curated art exhibitions, academic talks, public lectures, symposia, screenings, performances and panel discussions. A programme dedicated to youth is also part of the plans.

The upcoming edition’s curator John Tain joined the Asia Art Archive (AAA), Hong Kong, as the head of research in 2017. Prior to that, he has served as a curator for modern and contemporary collections at the Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles). Exhibitions he has curated or co-curated a number of exhibitions and art events across the world, including Asia, South and South East Asia, Africa and the US. He has lectured and published widely and has served as a series editor for Afterall’s Exhibition Histories. Since 2021, he has been serving as an adviser to the Asia Forum.

The main partners and sponsors of the LB03 include the Punjab government and its various departments, the Walled City Lahore Authority, the Culture Department Punjab, the Commissioner’s Office Lahore, the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Climate Change. The foundation’s founding patrons include Syed Babar Ali Foundation, Nayyar Ali Dada and Associates, Ferozsons Laboratories Ltd, Nighat Ali and Ambreen Zaman.

Qudsia Rahim, the executive director of the LBF, has got the support of a network of advisers, including art historian and artist Prof Iftikhar Dadi, artist Prof Naazish Ataullah, architect Raza Ali Dada, Faaria Salahuddin and environmentalist lawyer Rafay Alam.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2023