Daily Times

LAHORE: The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) announced the appointment of Sharjah Art Foundation President & Director Hoor Al Qasimi as curator for the second edition of the Lahore Biennale.

The Lahore Biennale will be held in early 2020. It will present new commissions, large-scale installations and discursive programming that will take place at various venues.

According to details revealed by LBF, the announcement comes six months after the inaugural Lahore Biennale, held in March 2018 which was a 14-day event, showcasing over 100 artworks across seven major venues. The inaugural Lahore Biennale was invested in situating itself in the region and saw the participation of various artists and academics from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. For the second edition of the Lahore Biennale, the foundation is interested in extending its regional scope towards West Asia and the Middle East.

Under Hoor Al Qasimi’s leadership, the Sharjah Art Foundation and its core initiative, the Sharjah Biennial have both developed as major platforms for the promotion of contemporary art from the region, and internationally.

Al Qasimi has worked with artists from Pakistan and South Asia over the years, through support provided by commissions and grants awarded to artists of Pakistani origin through various initiatives of the Sharjah Art Foundation. Al Qasimi’s selection as curator for Lahore Biennale signals a further strengthening of the relationship between the two regions and their respective artistic communities.

The LBF also recognises alignment between its public arts mandate and the mission of the Sharjah Biennial established in 1993 and the Sharjah Art Foundation that has operated as a catalyst and a producer of contemporary arts since 2009. In addition to her significant contribution to the development of art infrastructures in the Middle East, North Africa & South Asia region, Al Qasimi’s experience in the curation of major exhibitions and surveys of Middle Eastern, African and global art is noteworthy.

At the occasion of Al Qasimi’s appointment, LBF Board Chairman Osman Khalid Waheed stated, “LBF is delighted to have Al Qasimi as its curator for the second edition of the Lahore Biennale. Apart from her deep knowledge and extensive curatorial experience, Al Qasimi brings a very special energy to her projects. As the driving force behind the Sharjah Art Foundation and the Sharjah Biennial, Al Qasimi has explored and demonstrated the power of art to transform narratives and transcend borders. Her work is an inspiration for the LBF and we hope that her involvement will further propel LBF in establishing Lahore as an international platform for some of the most exciting contemporary art in the region.”

LBF Executive Director and Lahore Biennale Director Qudsia Rahim in her comments said, “The selection of Al Qasimi as curator for Lahore Biennale reaffirms LBF’s commitment to creating inclusive spaces that invite collaboration and engagement through art. With her as Lahore Biennale curator, our engagement will extend widely beyond local borders, thus inviting new conversations between the local and the global to flourish.”

LBF Board of Directors member Mohsin Hamid said, “I am very excited for the second edition of the Lahore Biennale, the work for which is now underway. Expanding space for the arts is vitally important in a time of rampant censorship.”

Al Qasimi is a curator and is practising artist. She received her BFA from the Slade School of Fine Art, a Diploma in Painting from the Royal Academy of Arts and an MA in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art. In 2002, she was appointed curator of Sharjah Biennial 6 and has since continued as the Biennial director.

Al Qasimi is the president of the Africa Institute and president of the International Biennial Association. She serves on the Board of Directors for MoMA PS1; KW Institute for Contemporary Art and Sharjah Architecture Triennial. She is chair of the Advisory Board for the College of Art & Design and member of the Advisory Board for Khoj International Artists’ Association and Darat Al Funun. She is currently a member of the Prince Claus Award Committee and is a member of the jury for the 5th edition of Pinchuk Art Centre’s Future Generation Art Prize.

Al Qasimi has served on the juries and prize panels for the Bonnefanten Award for Contemporary Art, Maria Lassnig Prize, Mediacity Seoul Prize, Hepworth Wakefield Prize for Sculpture, Berlin International Film Festival – Berlinale Shorts, Videobrasil, Dubai International Film Festival and Benesse Prize.

Published in Daily Times, December 1^st 2018.