Third Karachi Biennale to open today

karachi: With the spirit of celebrating Pakistan’s 75 years, the Karachi Biennale Trust (KBT) is all set to bring forward its third iteration of a city-wide art event, the Karachi Biennale 22, which will kick off today (Saturday).

The Karachi Biennale is the largest contemporary art event in Pakistan that celebrates art across the city. Addressing a press conference regarding the Karachi Biennale 22 on Friday at the NED University, the KBT organisers said the event would explore the intersection of art and technology and showcase exciting and immersive work by artists from Pakistan and 13 different countries.

The organisers said the Karachi Biennale 22 would take place until November 13 at nine different venues across Karachi. The Engro Corporation Limited is the lead partner for this two-week long event.

A statement read that as a purpose-driven organisation committed to helping solve some of the most pressing issues of Pakistan, the Engro Corporation recognised the positive role of arts, culture and sports in shaping the society.

The managing trustee of the KBT, Niilofur Farrukh, said that art was for all. On behalf of the Karachi Biennale 22 trustees, she invited the people of Karachi to take a step into the future embracing the KB 22 theme, ‘Collective Imagination: Now and the Next’, curated by Faisal Anwar, a hybrid artist based in Canada.

The Karachi Biennale 22, she said, would provide an opportunity to venture into 26 immersive art projects exploring virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and sensory, kinetic and creative computing. “It is our pleasure to welcome the public to Karachi Biennale 22, which is free and open to all. We appreciate the partners, sponsors and supporters who have helped us connect with the art, the people and the city,” she said.

A leading Pakistani retail fashion and lifestyle brand joined the Karachi Biennale and extended a warm welcome to the artists and curatorial teams of the Third Karachi Biennale 22 at the Dolmen Mall Clifton on Thursday.

“We welcome the trustees of the Karachi Biennale Trust, the curator and artists, and acknowledge their contribution to opening art to public audiences across the city,” said founder and CEO Khaadi Shamoon Sultan.