Daily Times

Showcasing artists from 16 countries, the 2nd Karachi Biennale (KB19) will be a citywide public art exhibition under the thematic Flight Interrupted: Eco-Leaks from the invasion desk.

As Pakistan’s largest international contemporary art event it recognises environmental emergency as the defining issue of our times. The theme refers to the disappearance of low flying birds of Karachi because they lost their nesting place and freedom to fly unhindered

KB19 is the second iteration of the Karachi Biennale, an unprecedented endeavour connecting art, the city and the people, held in October 2017. Conceived by the Karachi Biennale Trust as a dynamic platform to promote creativity, innovation and criticality in the visual arts, it was formed by a group of visual art professionals and educators.

To ensure the urgency surrounding ecology at this ‘green biennale’ spreads far and wide, the curator of KB19 Muhammad Zeeshan, has selected a diverse mix of participants, “I have also invited architects and gardeners and engineers and sound technicians, theatre performers and story tellers to participate. KB19 will not just be received by artists but by everyone, thus my vision has been to include people from varying disciplines and from the public, so that their di?erent voices and messages will help our universal message spread faster and more e?ectively.”

Visitors to the Biennale will navigate seven venues across the metropolis, where artists have created almost a hundred surprising and urgent projects: their ideas to embrace nature’s ‘welcoming arms’ (Kahlil Gibran). Spaces range from colonial to contemporary, public parks to concrete dwellings. Over a dozen artists are showcasing their works at the Karachi Zoo, a space with some of the city’s oldest trees that serves as the lungs of the densely populated area.

The Karachi Biennale exhibition venues are free and open to all. It will have an extensive public programming for everyone. For students, daily school tours and weekly college visits have been introduced to enhance their understanding of art and ecology. Keynote Talks by global and local scholars, discussions, guided tours for visitors promise an unforgettable cultural experience.

With a line-up of globally acclaimed artists, the public audiences will get an opportunity to see museum standard art in Karachi against the backdrop of its heritage sites. KB19 will not only unpack the city’s relationship with nature, but also celebrate it and begin a global collaboration for healing and rejuvenation.

KB19 is supported by innumerable public and private partnerships. The Mayor and the City Government has generously made available the Karachi Zoo, Frere Hall and Bagh Ibne Qasim as venues for exhibitions. Alliance Francaise de Karachi, British Council, Goethe Institut, the Consulate of Italy and ProHelvetia Swiss Arts Council have been instrumental in the participation of artists from their countries. All other venue partners are hosting KB19 in their spaces.

Generous individuals, foundations and companies are behind the five KB19 prizes that recognize outstanding works and achievement. These include the previously established KB19 Mahvesh and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation Juried Art Prize, and the Shahneela and Farhan Faruqui KB19 Popular Choice Art Prize, as well as 3 new prizes- the KB19 Peek Freans Emerging Artist Prize, KB19 Langdon-Malik Foundation Performance Art Prize, KB19 H M Habib Lifetime Achievement Award. The Performance Art Prize is one of a few in the world to honour artistic achievement in this genre and to inspire future performing artists to push their public engagement and artistic expression further.

KBT A global platform for excellence, criticality and innovation in the visual arts.

The Karachi Biennale Trust was founded, in 2016, by a group of visual art professionals and educators as a dynamic platform to promote creativity, innovation and criticality in the visual arts. KBT is a not-for-profit organization that is registered as a Trust.

This citizens’ initiative works with a wide range of cultural and educational organizations at home and abroad and it is financially supported by philanthropic organizations and the private sector.

Karachi Biennale Trust is engaged in projects that promote art literacy, an awareness of art as a tool of social change, and art in the public space.

To ensure the urgency surrounding ecology at this ‘green biennale’ spreads far and wide, the curator of KB19 Muhammad Zeeshan, has selected a diverse mix of participants, ‘I have also invited architects and gardeners and engineers and sound technicians, theatre performers and story tellers to participate’

Karachi Biennale (KB) is the flagship project of the KBT that has been designed to use art as a vehicle to discover, discuss and respond to Karachi. Local and global issues are addressed through thematics. The first KB, invited artists to respond to the theme ‘WITNESS’, and in KB19 it will focus on Ecology.

“The Trust aims at creating a strong ‘Public Art presence’ in the city and initiate conversations on its role in vitalizing the environment.”

The vision of KBT is to create a public audience for art and its projects which offer a chance to revisit Karachi’s past, recognize its contemporary challenges and contribute to an optimistic reimagining of its future. KB has been conceived as an international art forum that penetrates the city with temporary exhibition spaces where innovative art from Pakistan and overseas is showcased.

Educational interventions to engage youth with art, as a transformative experience, is a vital part of the KBT mandate. We believe in discursive exchanges, research and art scholarship to achieve criticality. The Trust aims at creating a strong ‘Public Art presence’ in the city and initiate conversations on its role in vitalizing the environment.

Art, the city and its people will always be at the core of our initiatives.