ou can’t miss the energy once you enter the central courtyard of Marium Dawood School of Visual Art and Design (MDSVAD) at Beaconhouse National University’s Tarogil Campus.

In the heat and humidity of June the energy remains apparent and infectious as you visit one room after another, from ground floor to the 3^rd floor where the display of 113 undergraduates across five bachelor’s degree programmes is taking place. The event becomes extra special as the institution is celebrating its 20^th anniversary.

For many years now, MDSVAD has enjoyed the privilege of presenting new forms of visual arts through its degree shows that host multidisciplinary approached by innovative voices. The important milestone comes at a crucial time when we are increasingly turning to art to help us make sense of a complicated and incomprehensible world, Prof Rashid Rana, the MDSVAD dean said at the show’s opening on June 17. Guests at the inauguration included Dr Shaista Sohail, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) executive director and Dr Moeed Yusuf. Prof Rana escorted them through the exhibition rooms, taking pride and expressing delight in the biggest annual show in the BNU history.

An outstanding feature of the inaugural ceremony was the first graduating batch of eleven students of the Interdisciplinary Expanded Design and Arts (IEDA) programme mentored by Associate Prof Rohma Khan. As Prof Rana put it, the programme has added another dimension to the existing array of disciplines.

The projects on display draw on a variety of subjects including experimental branding and package design, and interactive works that challenge authenticity and promote open discourse around tourism, culture, subculture, sustainability and social game design.

In the rooms where the IEDA projects are displayed, the first thing that greets the spectator is the wall size portfolio of each student highlighting key features of their research areas. The information that is mentioned on the wall flex has words like Cultural Strategist, Bio-Design Innovator, Augmented Atelier, and Perceptual Autopsies.

The power of partnership is felt strongly in the works of Amna Shahzad where AR and VR are merged for immersive experience in the realm of fashion. This futuristic exploration could help the industry improve upon the customer’s engagement and experience, especially the pickier ones, boosting sales as a result. Whether it’s Nurturing Young, a project by Sarah Asif Malik, fostering emotional intelligence among instructors and students, or Zuha’s Spirulina Algae, proposing the future of breathing, the success of the programme is yet to be seen as the application of the projects essentially is outside the studio space.

Moving on one comes across diverse displays that deal with the personal and the political; the historical and the environmental; and domestic and distant. Most of the works are installations. The exceptions include Dorji Nidup’s rice panels. Both Amna Abbas and Mahvish Iqbal deal with memory, feelings, surroundings, experience and illusion. However, the resulting forms are astoundingly different.

The energy and imagination demonstrated by the VCD students is invaluable. Some 50 projects, the most among participating disciplines, are showcased here. The projects draw on a variety of subjects including experimental branding and package design and interactive works that challenge authenticity and promote open discourse around tourism, culture, subculture, sustainability and social game design.

The curricular strategy of Textile and Fashion Accessories Department is reflected in the projects exhibited in the show. From basics of surface and structure design, integration of technology, to apps for craft conservation and 3D printed works, these unveil a unique blend.

However, with this uniqueness comes a challenge of producing highly specialised subject experts in an ‘expert amongst experts’ environment that values the interactive, synergetic and ever evolving nature of textile design.

More than 100 students have showcased their works with the notable exception of architecture, which gets its own place and time. There’s a lot of inter-media across the disciplines, which makes one feel the need and importance of separated departments in a way that resembles the traditional divisions of the discipline.

Graduation shows of art colleges are always a breath of fresh air. Hard Times by Charles Dickens uses Sleary’s circus as a metaphor for the creative freedom required to overcome the depressing reality of Gradgrind. However, the Gradgrinds are once more in the field. Art schools in our country are crucial defenders of the fundamental creative freedom in opposition to them.

The show continues through June 25

The writer is a faculty member of the College of Art & Design, the University of the Punjab