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Karachi Biennale Outreach

Educational Programming

Karachi ki Fruity Yaadein
Exploring Stories of Endangered Fruits

March – April 2024

The KB24 Educational Programming (Primary Schools) took place in March and April 2024. Its thematic focus was Karachi ki Fruity Yaadein which documented memories of the endangered fruits of Karachi through an intergenerational dialogue. The participating schools included St Joseph’s Convent School (Saddar), NJV Government Secondary High School (M A Jinnah Road), Indus Academy (Clifton), and Deaf Reach School (Gulistan-e-Jauhar). The students enthusiastically conducted audio and video interviews during the workshops and created drawings and paintings of the fruit which are no longer widely available. All this diverse material was creatively designed into a digital presentation.

The three-member jury members were Yasir Hussain (hybrid artist and eco-activist), Kulsoom Aftab (documentary maker and scriptwriter), and Tazeen Hussain (design educator and actor) went through the works and found the presentation by NJV students to be the most outstanding. The trophy was presented to them in a prize ceremony attended by all the participants.

National Foods Limited generously supported KB24 educational programming(Primary Schools)

 

PECHA KUCHA

July – October 2023

The Pecha Kucha Workshop for Emerging Artists from Sindh.
Participants came from Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Sukkur, and Naushahro Feroze.

This was a capacity-building initiative for artists under 30 years of age from all over Sindh. They focused on learning to communicate about their practice through the concise Pecha Kucha format. During the six-week journey, they were mentored by art educators Abdul Malik Channa, Saira Danish, Romilla Kareem, and Raheela Abro. The first session took place at Mehran Arts Council, Hyderabad, and continued online. This project, the first of its kind, was organized to help artists starting out in their careers to understand the vital link between art and effective communication for future success. The jury, for the final selection of the most outstanding presentations, comprised of Haider Husain, Maheen Aziz, Nimra Khan, Syeda Sheeza Ali, and Syed Yawar Iqbal.

The recipient of the winning prize was Bilal Ahmed, while four young artists Aisha Suria (Karachi), Beenish Ahmed (Hyderabad), Faisal Channa (Naushahro Feroze), Ali Murtaza (Hyderabad) were declared as the runners-up.

This project was held in partnership with the Culture Department, Government of Sindh

Research and Archival Project of Art Writings from Defunct Publications

February – May 2024

Four researchers, Tazeen Hussain and Veera Rustomji in Karachi and Mahnoor Jalal and Hira Azmat in Lahore, worked from February to May 2024, to document and critically investigate the endangered archives of historically significant publications/publishing houses, namely She Magazine, NuktaArt, Simurgh (a feminist publishing house) and the Paper Magazine. They were mentored by Mahvesh Amin, Dr Madeline Clements, and Niilofur Farrukh.

This project aimed to support young women with an interest in literary/art editing and build capacity for the conservation of endangered print archives.

A knowledge exchange session will take place at the fourth Karachi Biennale (October 2024) in which the participants will share their experiences and findings with a broader audience.

Hopefully, the session will create an awareness of the urgent need to conserve the legacy of influential publications.

This project was initiated by PAWPE (Pakistan Association of Women Publishers and Editors) and project partners were Aleph Review (Lahore), Teesside University (UK), and Karachi Biennale Trust (Karachi).

Funding for the project was provided by Teesside University, UK.

Anna Konik Visit

21st January – 2nd February

Polish Artist screens her films in Karachi and Jamshoro

Anna Konik held artist talks and screened her series of films titled “Hidden Stories with Anna Konik”, the films were “Silence Heard Loud” and “In the Same City, Under the Same Sky”. They addressed the realities of contemporary migration. The events were held at Sambara Art Gallery, Sindh Culture Department, and SABS University, Jamshoro. She also traveled to Mirpur Khas, Tando Jam, and other towns to research for her KB24 project. Anna Konik is a prominent Polish visual artist, filmmaker, and academic. Anna holds a PhD in Media Art from Media & Scenography, Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw. She is a participating Artist of KB24 and will be presenting a project based on her the relationship between domestic crafts and food culture of Sindh.

Anna’s visit was funded by the “Polish Culture Worldwide”, program of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.