Daily Times

A vibrant new addition to Karachi’s cultural landscape, The Haveli, was officially inaugurated here the other day. This groundbreaking museum, established by a private family foundation, proudly houses the internationally acclaimed textile collection of Nasreen Askari, one of Pakistan’s preeminent experts on textiles and the director and co-founder of the Mohatta Palace Museum in Karachi.

As the first museum in Pakistan dedicated exclusively to heritage textiles, The Haveli aligns with a global tradition of textile museums found in major cities worldwide. Housed in a beautiful example of modernist architecture designed by Habib Fida Ali, the museum aims to explore the fabric of Pakistan’s society through traditional textiles and share its creativity with the wider world.

The inaugural exhibition, A Coat of Many Colours, showcases approximately sixty exquisite objects that illuminate the vital contributions of minority communities to Sindh’s textile traditions. Nasreen Askari, Chairman of the family foundation, expressed her vision: “This is the culmination of a lifelong dream of mine; to be able to share with the city of my birth, the extra-ordinary creativity of the artisans of this region. It is not often recognised that Sindhi embroidery is amongst the most skillful in the world. I hope that our first exhibition – A Coat of Many Colours – will go some way towards demonstrating this reality.”

The Haveli welcomes visitors from Tuesdays to Sundays, 11 am to 6 pm, offering access to a serene landscaped garden, a gift shop and light refreshments. There is a nominal donation for admission; rights of admission are reserved.