Pakistani culture impresses award-winning Kazakh artist

LAHORE:Almagul Menlibayeva, an award-winning contemporary artist, has been deeply inspired by the Pakistani culture and the warmth of the people particularly the people of Lahore and the City’s rich intellectual and artistic assets.

“Pakistan’s art is very strong. I would be glad to cooperate and dialogue with local practitioners,” said young Almagul Menlibayeva of Kazakhstan, who works mostly in multi-channel video, photography and mixed media installation.

She has been recently in Lahore to participate in the highly popular mega event ‘LAHORE Biennale’. She was very excited to be in Lahore and commented, “I was impressed with where and how the projects of contemporary art were presented in locations around the City. It was very cool! Each of the artists here I engaged with was like a separate universe onto themselves. The invitation to participate in the Lahore Biennale opened up a whole new world to me since it was my first visit to Pakistan.

She continued, “Earlier, I was familiar with Pakistani contemporary art and some artists, thanks to the activities of Sharjah Biennial and some other major exhibitions in Europe. I was only a bit familiar with traditional Pakistani music and Sufism. I was impressed with where and how the projects of contemporary art were presented in locations around the City, it was very cool! Each of the artists here that I engaged with was like a separate universe onto themselves; a unique opportunity for artists through their work to give new meaning to a place, to expand and transform its meaning, to ask relevant questions and to engage in dialogue.” Almagul lives and works in Germany and Kazakhstan. Her work has been featured internationally at the Sydney Biennale, Australia; the Venice Biennale; the Moscow Biennale, Russia and the Gangwon International Biennale, South Korea. Her recent solo exhibitions include Green, Yellow, Red, and Green Again, TSE Gallery, Astana, Kazakhstan (2018); Transformation, Grand Palais, Paris, France (2016-2017); My Silk Road to You, Lexing Art, Miami, US (2016); Union of the Fire and Water, Curator Suad Garaeva, 56th Venice Biennial, Venice, Italy (2015); Transoxiana Dreams, Videozone, Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany (2014); Empire of the Memory, Ethnographic Museum, Warsaw, Poland (2013) and An Odd for the Wastelands and Gulags, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Austria (2013). A winner of the Main Prize of Munich’s Kino der Kunst International Film Festival (2013), Menlibayeva was awarded the French Ministry of Culture’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2017. She said “I was given different types of advice; some relating to the beauty of the country and other bits of information was about things to be wary of. For example, there is a stereotype that it is dangerous for young women to travel alone in Pakistan. Pakistani embassies abroad also inform about this when they give a visa. People often discuss the problem of clean drinking water in big cities. They are advised to do some vaccinations against diseases before going to Pakistan. On the positive side, a popular opinion is that Pakistanis are open and hospitable, which is really true. In terms of culture there is a lot of exquisite traditional art such as needlework in all its varieties. The cuisine is great, and I would recommend the Food Street of Lahore. A favourite landmark of mine is the Lahore Museum on Mall Road.”

About her visit to Pakistan, she pointed out, “For me, the best way to get to know people and places is to work through cultural, economic, and sociological aspects like the Biennale. Such projects involve collaboration across different areas such as history, politics and sociology. After returning from Pakistan, at some point I realizsed how this trip enriched me.”

She said, “The experience was invaluable and intense. I can say that I now recognise Lahore in its richest unique history; its modernity, and people who dream of doing the best for the City.”