Lahore Biennale third edition opens on Feb 9 next year

LAHORE: Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) has appointed John Tain as the curator of the Lahore Biennale third edition LB03 scheduled to open on Feb 9, 2024. The theme is Ecology and Sustainable Futures.

John Tain is the head of research at Asia Art Archive (Hong Kong). 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. 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 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, 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 resources for thinking the future. The biennale will also showcase place-making by devoting a number of projects on The Mall, a historical centre for public expression and cultural activity. LB03 will also integrate its discursive programming as part of its overall offering. All of these enhancements will foster a deeper connection and understanding of Lahore by diverse communities.

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 artists that suggest 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 issues.

The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) is a Lahore-based non-profit organisation committed to advancing cultural exchange by showcasing local and international artists and researchers and fostering social transformation through art. Through its flagship project, the Lahore Biennale, LBF provides a platform for art that encourages methodologically informed discourse and collective action in response to global and local issues. LBF is working to transform physical spaces in Lahore into discursive public spaces by elevating the relevance of contemporary art in Lahore’s vernacular, bringing together different communities and stakeholders to explore new ways of experiencing and interacting with their environment. In addition to its primary event, LBF organises workshops, talks, and other events that engage audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

The Lahore Biennale seeks to develop greater awareness of art among the public in our country and the region. All Lahore Biennale programmes are free and open to the public, which is a core value that informs all their projects.

Programmes and activities may include curated art exhibitions, academic talks, public lectures, symposia, screenings, performances, and panel discussions. A programme dedicated to youth is also planned.