Draft:Lahore Biennale Foundation

Introduction:

Draft article not currently submitted for review. This is a draft Articles for creation (AfC) submission. It is not currently pending review. While there are no deadlines, abandoned drafts may be deleted after six months. To edit or make changes to this draft, simply click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. To be accepted, a draft should: Show the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article by using multiple sources that meet four criteria. The sources should be (1) reliable (2) secondary (3) independent of the subject (4) talk about the subject in some depth. For some topics, there are alternative criteria. Be written from a neutral point of view Respect copyright and do not plagiarize. Do not copy-paste. It is strongly discouraged to write about either yourself or your business or employer. If you do so, you must declare it. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Last edited by FrescoBot (talk | contribs) 13 days ago. (Update) Submit the draft for review!

The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) (Urdu: لاہور بینالے فاؤنڈیشن) is a non-profit organisation based in Lahore, which seeks to provide critical sites for experimentation in visual expression and experience, hoping to challenge and expand the scope of both. Consequently, LBF focuses on the many stages of production, experience and appreciation of arts in all its forms. The Foundation is committed to the potential of art as an instrument of important social critique.^[1]

The Foundation develops a range of year-round programmes that support contemporary art, research, and public engagement. These initiatives include climate-focused projects such as the Afforestation Lahore Group and the Green School Certification Programme, as well as research-driven activities through its Research Unit, which offers grants, fellowships, and publications. The Foundation also undertakes public art and civic initiatives across urban spaces, alongside educational and outreach programmes such as academic forums, youth engagement platforms, and community events. Through these activities, LBF works to expand artistic discourse, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and strengthen cultural infrastructure within Pakistan and beyond.

The Foundation is best known for organising the Lahore Biennale, the largest public art exhibition in Pakistan, held every two years in the city. Since its founding, three editions of the Biennale have been held in 2018, 2020, and 2024, with Qudsia Rahim as its Executive Director. It understands inclusivity, collaboration, and public engagement as being central to its vision and is committed to developing the potential of art as an agent of social transformation.

The organisation is represented internationally, with Rahim serving on the board of the International Biennale Association since 2025.^[2] LBF is supported by government bodies and maintains partnerships with local and international institutions and sponsors.

Lahore Biennale:

The Lahore Biennale is the flagship event of the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) and is held every two years in Lahore, Pakistan. The event was postponed in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a non-ticketed public exhibition, the Biennale aims to increase awareness of and engagement with contemporary art, fostering accessibility for both local communities and international audiences. The Biennale also includes youth engagement initiatives, music and film forums, and academic forums. Partnerships with cultural institutions and government bodies play a central role in supporting these activities. Exhibitions take place across a combination of historic and contemporary venues, with a particular emphasis on public-facing sites to ensure broad accessibility and visibility of the artworks.

The inaugural Lahore Biennale, directed by Qudsia Rahim, was presented in 2018. The second Lahore Biennale in 2020 was curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, who brought her experience in curating and promoting the contemporary art of this region and her knowledge of the global contemporary art world and its institutions to Lahore. The third Lahore Biennale was curated by John Tain and took place in October 2024.

The Reader, published by Skira, is a post-biennale publication that provides critical and scholarly perspectives on the participating artists, themes, and public programmes.

LB01:

The inaugural edition of the Lahore Biennale (LB01), directed by Qudsia Rahim, was titled “Shehr O Funn.” It marked a point of departure for future editions, with a curatorial approach focused on engagement with Pakistan, South Asia, and its diaspora, while fostering regional and global connections. The Biennale activated public and heritage sites across Lahore through contemporary artworks and public programs that encouraged critical dialogue on the city’s past, present, and imagined futures. The inaugural edition of the Lahore Biennale (LB01) sought to examine the dynamics of public engagement in the arts by exploring the relationship between artistic practice and public space within both local and global contexts. It focused on developing artworks in public spaces alongside a series of public programmes and an Academic Forum aimed at encouraging critical discourse and practice.^[3]

The Biennale adopted multiple frameworks of engagement, including references to Lahore’s collective memory, collaboration with existing institutions, and the introduction of new forms of community participation. Exhibitions and events were held across seven major venues representing the city’s Mughal, colonial, and modern historical layers.

LB01 positioned Lahore within a broader regional and international context through its selection of artists and its core and collateral programming. The Biennale featured over 50 artists and collectives from countries including Bangladesh, India, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Sri Lanka, as well as participants from Europe and the United States.^[4] The first Reader was published following the Biennale.

LB02:

The second edition of the Lahore Biennale (LB02), held in 2020 and curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, was titled “Between the Sun and the Moon.” The exhibition was built on the inaugural 2018 edition (LB01) by expanding its regional scope and strengthening transnational connections. While continuing to situate Lahore at its core, the Biennale broadened its lens to include Central Asian, West Asian, and African regions, along with their diasporic ties. The curatorial theme encouraged reflection on intra-regional connections and temporal progression in relation to humanity’s place within the cosmos and a shared collective future. The edition featured more than 80 artists, presenting over 400 artworks across 13 heritage sites.^[5]

LB02 explored complex artistic trajectories that reinterpreted familiar ideas while introducing new perspectives. Several works examined the relationship between humans and the natural world, revisiting traditional conceptions of the self and their cosmological foundations. These themes drew in part on the historical significance of astronomy in facilitating cultural and intellectual exchange across South and West Asia, where celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and constellations have long informed systems of orientation and knowledge.

The Biennale also engaged with contemporary global concerns, including climate change and social divisions, by situating human experience within a broader cosmic framework. It sought to imagine alternative futures through artistic practices rooted in histories of regional mobility, exchange, and interconnectedness, including lesser-documented networks such as the movement of flora and fauna.^[6] The second edition of the Reader was published following the Biennale.^[7]

LB03

Held in 2024, the third edition of the Lahore Biennale (LB03), curated by John Tain, was titled “Of Mountains and Seas”.^[8] The theme surveyed ecology and sustainability, but specifically focused on human resilience and resourcefulness in the face of climate crises. In June 2022, a combination of torrential rainfall and glacial melt resulted in the largest floods in Pakistan’s history, with approximately one-third of the country inundated. Despite contributing less than one percent of global carbon emissions, Pakistan is ranked among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, highlighting significant global inequities.

The Biennale situates these challenges within a broader historical and cultural context, emphasizing the long-standing relationship between communities in South Asia and their environment. Lahore, like much of the region, possesses a heritage that spans millennia, reflecting sustained practices of resilience and adaptation. This is evident in several Biennale venues, including the Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Gardens, the latter included for the first time in this edition. The Biennale brings this heritage into dialogue with contemporary artistic practices through the participation of over 60 artists, showcasing more than 550 artworks, of which 14 became permanent installations in the city.

Many of the works engage with vernacular architectural and craft traditions from the Global South, exploring how historical knowledge systems may inform approaches to sustainability. It foregrounds the role of local and indigenous knowledge in shaping responses to environmental challenges and positions cultural practice as a means of rethinking relationships between human societies and the natural world.

This Biennale aimed to advance a bottom-up approach, viewing individuals as capable agents. The curator sought to shift emphasis from the consequences of climate change caused by international and regional corporations and entities to the agency and power of individuals to initiate an ecologically sensitive and sustainable praxis.

Climate Congress:

The Climate Congress, presented as the closing programme of the third Lahore Biennale (LB03), extended the research and themes developed in the main exhibition, Of Mountains and Seas. Conceived under the direction of Iftikhar Dadi and John Tain, it brought together a range of leading and emerging researchers, artists, curators, and practitioners to facilitate dialogue, particularly within South–South contexts, on the role of the arts and humanities in addressing climate change and imagining sustainable futures.

Complementing the exhibition’s focus on ecology and sustainability from Asian and Global South perspectives, the Congress emphasised the role of art and culture in shaping social and environmental consciousness. It provided a platform for trans-regional discussions on how ecological art, art history, and the humanities can contribute to cultural stewardship, generate alternative knowledge systems, and foster social transformation.

As a transnational and interdisciplinary forum, the Climate Congress prioritised local and indigenous perspectives while promoting collaborative approaches to global challenges. It aimed to model forms of international cooperation necessary for addressing the climate crisis, bringing together participants from Pakistan and over 30 countries, along with representatives from numerous institutions.^[9]

The Congress was made possible by the Getty Foundation’s Connecting Art Histories initiative, which aims to strengthen art history globally by increasing opportunities for sustained intellectual exchange across nations and regions.

(See also: Climate Programming)

LB04

The fourth edition of the Lahore Biennale is scheduled to coincide with the eightieth anniversary of Pakistan's independence and the Partition of India.^[10]

Civic and Public Initiatives:

One of the Lahore Biennale Foundation’s core principles is to work to increase civic engagement.

Lahore Sangat

Lahore Sangat - Plaques is a public heritage initiative supported by LBF, which installs distinctive blue enamel plaques at locations in Lahore where notable but under-recognised individuals lived or worked. The scheme seeks to honour artists, writers, scholars, revolutionaries, and other figures who have contributed to the city’s rich history, while raising awareness of the historical significance of different neighbourhoods. The project is ongoing; it was originally launched in 1998 and later revived by the Lahore Biennale Foundation in 2019. This project is in collaboration with the Commissioner’s Office Lahore, Municipal Corporation Lahore, and Walled City of Lahore Authority.^[11]

Intersections: Where the Bus Stops

Launched in 2016, Intersections: Where the Bus Stops is a public art initiative by the Lahore Biennale Foundation in collaboration with several civic and academic partners. The project invited creative practitioners to redesign selected bus stops along central routes in Lahore. The resulting interventions combined artistic design with functional urban infrastructure, aiming to improve commuter experience while integrating public art into the city’s transport network.

Project | Rejuvenation of JPMC Waiting Area, Karachi

The Rejuvenation of JPMC Waiting Area was the first project implemented by the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) in the city of Karachi, in collaboration with the Patients’ Aid Foundation (PAF), transformed an underutilized outdoor waiting area at JPMC into an easily accessible therapeutic space for patients.

Rooted / پیوستہ (Paivasta)

Rooted was a public art initiative that invited creative individuals and collectives in Pakistan to view Bagh-e-Jinnah (formerly Lawrence Gardens) through a critical lens and propose an on-site semi-permanent artistic intervention. Lahore-based artists Unum Babar and Matt Kushan worked with a Glasgow-based creative studio, Pidgin Perfect, to create eight permanent artworks at various locations in Bagh-e-Jinnah.

This was a public art project curated and commissioned by the Lahore Biennale Foundation and the British Council Pakistan, with support from the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Lahore.

Zinda-dil-a’an-e-Lahore – Billboard Project

Zinda-dil-a’an-e-Lahore – Billboard Project was a public initiative of the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF). The project showcased artworks by 16 artists on billboards across Lahore from 24 November to 4 December 2020, paying homage to the city and its citizens in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Curated by Qudsia Rahim, Executive Director of the Foundation, the initiative was organised in partnership with the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), and Kinetic Pakistan.

City in Context

City in Context was a four-day symposium held from 1–4 December 2016 at Alhamra Arts Council and Annemarie-Schimmel-Haus. The event featured workshops, talks, performances, and exhibitions. This program marked the culmination of multi-partner projects carried out by the Lahore Biennale Foundation, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Pakistan, Beaconhouse National University and the Danish Centre for Culture and Development (CKU).

LBF Virtual Museum | 75 Years of Cultural Histories of Pakistan

The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) Virtual Museum is an open-source digital platform launched post-COVID-19 to explore Pakistan’s cultural heritage and creative practices over 75 years. The project enables artists, practitioners, and the public to engage with historical and contemporary cultural narratives, amplifying local voices and fostering new understandings of shared heritage. The curators for the museum’s six thematic segments were Farida Batool, Masooma Syed, Tanvir Hasan, Sarmad Khoosat, Ali Usman Qasmi with co-curator Mahmood ul Hasan, and Sarah Zaman.

Climate Programming:

Afforestation Lahore Group (ALG):

The Afforestation Lahore Group (ALG), initiated in 2018, is a collaborative environmental initiative of the Lahore Biennale Foundation in partnership with the Commissioner’s Office in Lahore. It was established as a multidisciplinary platform that brings together government bodies, civil society, artists, and researchers to address climate change and ecological degradation in the city, particularly in response to significant tree cover loss and declining air quality.

The initiative promotes approaches to climate mitigation that integrate art, research, urban planning, design, and community engagement, while fostering partnerships across public and private sectors at national and international levels. Its stated objectives include increasing urban tree cover through the plantation of indigenous species, improving biodiversity, restoring ecological habitats, and encouraging public participation in environmental stewardship.

Collaborators include District Education Authority (DEA), School of Education, Lahore University of Management Sciences (SOE. LUMS), World Wide Fund for Nature – Pakistan, Environment Protection Department Punjab, School Education Department, LCI Pakistan Limited / Terylene Clean, Aabroo Foundation, and Nayyar Ali Dada and Associate.

Green School Certification Programme (GSCP – precursor)

The Green School Certification Program (GSCP) was a pilot initiative launched by the Lahore Biennale Foundation in 2023 to integrate environmental education and sustainable practices into schools in Lahore, Pakistan. The program served as a precursor to the PGSCP, providing a framework for climate-focused learning and eco-friendly school management.

The programme focuses on fostering critical thinking and whole-systems approaches to climate education and ecological practices through the use of art education as a pedagogical tool, with an emphasis on climate justice. It seeks to establish baseline “Green Schools” by developing a comprehensive pedagogical model and promoting climate literacy and sustainable practices through an integrated, systems-based framework.

The pilot involved partnerships with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the School of Education at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), and various governmental and environmental organisations. Upon completion, participating schools received certificates recognising their contributions, and the pilot findings informed the development of resources and guidelines for future climate education initiatives in Pakistan.

Punjab Green School Certification Program - 2026 - ONGOING

After Lahore Biennale Foundation’s pilot initiative ‘Green School Certification Programme (GSCP) was completed in 2024, the EPCCD adapted it as a long-term province wide project titled the Punjab Green School Certification Program.

Zero Waste Initiative (ZWI)

Lahore Biennale Foundation’s Zero Waste Initiative aims to reduce the environmental footprint through a comprehensive waste management system that emphasizes recycling, repurposing, and responsible disposal. The initiative is aligned with Punjab’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and the 5Es National Economic Transformation Plan ‘Uraan’.

Projects:

1. The Thing Is:

The Thing Is - Expanding Curatorial Proficiency was a curatorial development programme that invited participants through an open call, it started in Fall 2025 and culminated in Spring 2026. The programme was Lahore-based and operated on a part time, hybrid model. This program was supported by the British Council.

1. My East is Your West

My East is Your West was an official collateral event of the 56th International Art Exhibition – Venice Biennale (2015) in collaboration with Lahore Biennale Foundation, which united for the first time the historically conflicting nations of India and Pakistan in a collaborative exhibition by artists from both countries, namely Shilpa Gupta (Mumbai) and Rashid Rana (Lahore). This project was a multi-site video installation with a live camera that created two simultaneous mirrored spaces, connecting audiences in Venice, Italy with audiences in Liberty Market, Lahore through a live feed.

My East is Your West was conceived by Feroz Gujral, Director and Founder of the Gujral Foundation. The project was conducted in collaboration with HBL, Government of the Punjab, Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Lahore, The Gujral Foundation, Venice Biennale, Nayyar Ali Dada and Associates

Publications:

The Lahore Biennale Foundation produces a diverse range of publications that extend its exhibitions, research initiatives, and public programming.

1. Reader:

The Lahore Biennale Readers are published following each edition of the Biennale as a reflective and scholarly complement to the program. The series foregrounds the Biennale's academic dimension, offering critical engagement with its themes and concerns. The Readers are edited by Iftikhar Dadi, Chair of the Department of History of Art at Cornell University and co-edited by the curator of the respective Biennale edition.

Serving as a platform for scholarship on South Asian art and culture, the Readers engage with multiple dimensions of contemporary artistic practice. They remain the only recurring publication of this kind in Pakistan, with few comparable initiatives in terms of intellectual contribution. The series is published by Skira, an internationally recognised publisher of high-quality art books.

1. Lahore Biennale Reader 01

Published in conjunction with the first edition of the Lahore Biennale, this reader compiles essays, curatorial texts, and critical reflections that expand on the Biennale’s thematic framework. It brings together contributions from scholars, curators, and artists, providing a theoretical and contextual foundation for the exhibition and its public programmes.

1. Lahore Biennale Reader 02

The second volume of the Reader series builds on the themes of the second Biennale, presenting a collection of essays and responses developed through its academic and public programming. It serves as a record of the intellectual engagement generated by the Biennale and its participating practitioners.

2. Guidebooks:

1. Lahore Biennale 01 Guidebook

Produced for the inaugural Biennale, this guidebook offers detailed information on participating artists, projects, and exhibition sites across Lahore. It functions as both a navigational tool and a documentation of the first edition’s curatorial vision.

1. Lahore Biennale 02 Guidebook

The guidebook for the second Biennale provides updated documentation of artworks, venues, and curatorial concepts. It reflects the Biennale's expanded scope and its engagement with multiple sites and publics across the city.

3. Research and Project-based Publications

1. Urbanities – Art and Public Space in Pakistan

Urbanities – Art and Public Space in Pakistan is a research-based publication developed through a collaborative project between the Goethe-Institut Pakistan and the Lahore Biennale Foundation, in partnership with the Vasl Artists’ Collective, Annemarie-Schimmel-Haus, Marvi Mazhar & Associates, and other contributors. Initiated in 2016 as a residency, the project brought together artistic and discursive responses to urban space in Pakistan, examining its social, political, and spatial complexities. Drawing on concepts such as Henri Lefebvre’s “right to the city,” the publication situates contemporary artistic practices within broader debates on urbanism, public space, and civic engagement, while fostering connections among practitioners in Pakistan and Germany.

• We Walk Lahore

We Walk Lahore is an artist-led publication by Honi Ryan, developed in collaboration with the Lahore Biennale Foundation. Emerging from the Urbanities – Art and Public Space in Pakistan initiative, it documents walking-based artistic research on urban space in Lahore. The publication is structured into four chapters that reflect key phases of the project, culminating in a symposium held at Alhamra Arts Council in December 2016.^[12]

• Cord of Desires

Cord of Desires is an artist publication by Miro Craemer, produced during a two-month residency in Karachi hosted by the Vasl Artists’ Collective. Developed as part of the Urbanities project, the publication reflects site-specific artistic research and engagement with urban space in Pakistan.

• Inteligencias Colectivas [Karachi]

Inteligencias Colectivas is an online platform documenting informal and community-driven construction practices in Karachi. Part of the Urbanities – Art and Public Space in Pakistan project, it highlights local knowledge, improvisation, and technical experimentation. The publication is edited by Sara-Duana Meyer and Stefan Winkler (Goethe-Institut Pakistan).^[13][14][15]

    4. Artist-led Publications

Stories We Tell – Aao Sunayein Kahani

Stories We Tell – Aao Sunayein Kahani is an audio-visual storytelling project that explores conversational storytelling as a means of preserving and sharing cultural histories, creating collective knowledge, and fostering engagement across social divides. The project was developed by the School of Visual Art and Design (SVAD) at Beaconhouse National Universityin collaboration with the Lahore Biennale Foundation, with support from the Centre for Culture and Development (CKU).

Kabootar Awaay Jawaay

Kabootar Awaay Jawaay is a project catalogue by Reem Falaknaz, produced for the second Lahore Biennale (2020), curated by Hoor Al Qasimi. It documents pigeon-keeping practices in Punjab and the Emirates, exploring practitioner hierarchies, cultural heritage, and the role of pigeons in connecting communities. The publication includes research and texts by Reem Falaknaz; contributions and translations by Deena Rashid, Rashiduddin, and Alia Mehjabeen; and illustrations by Sachal Rizvi, with support from a wider team of collaborators and the Lahore Biennale Foundation.

Gleaners Notebook

Gleaners Notebook is an artist book by Yang, produced for the third Lahore Biennale (LB03). It repurposes castoff sheets from local exercise book workshops into a creative format, inviting users to interact with everyday printed objects. The work continues Yang’s practice of transforming vernacular materials and relates to the Grid Bloc series begun in 2000.

Hustle Culture

Hustle Culture is an artist publication by Stolon Press documenting daily life around bird baths in a small garden in Malaysia. The work observes the movement of birds and environmental patterns. The publication was commissioned by the Lahore Biennale Foundation, produced in collaboration with typists in Lahore, and made possible with support from Creative Australia.

5. Exhibition Catalogues

1. The Viewing, The Viewer and The Viewed

The catalogue documents Rashid Rana’s Shuhuud-o-shaahid-o-mashhuud (The Viewing, The Viewer and The Viewed), a multi-site video installation connecting audiences in Venice and Lahore via live feed, merging viewer and artwork. The Lahore installation was produced with the Lahore Biennale Foundation.

1. Everything is Embedded in History

Everything is Embedded in History is an exhibition catalogue published in 2018 by the Lahore Biennale Foundation. It accompanies an art project that investigates how individuals and artists document, collect, and disseminate information in the contemporary age, highlighting the evolving role of media, personal archives, and everyday recording practices in shaping narratives of history and memory. The publication’s format encourages interaction, functioning both as a record of artworks and as a scrapbook that can be personalized by its owners, with blank spaces and elements suggesting organic use. It was produced in partnership with the Lahore Literary Festival and printed by Le’ Topical in Lahore.

Public Outreach:

The Lahore Biennale Foundation has conducted multiple public outreach programs

1. Academic Forum
2. Youth Forum
3. artSPEAK
4. Film Forum

1. LB02 https://www.lahorebiennale.org/lb02-public-program/film-forum/
2. LB03

https://www.lahorebiennale.org/lb03-public-program/lb03-film-forum/

1. Wanwu Council https://www.lahorebiennale.org/lb03-public-program/wanwu-council/
2. INLAND Honeybee Workshop https://www.lahorebiennale.org/lb03-public-program/inland-honeybee-workshops/
3. Breathe: Lahore Symposium https://www.lahorebiennale.org/lb03-public-program/breathe-lahore-symposium/
4. A Cry of Dying Ravi https://www.lahorebiennale.org/lb03-public-program/cry-of-the-river-ravi/
5. Drawn from Mitti https://www.lahorebiennale.org/lb03-public-program/drawn-from-mitti/
6. Making in Mitti https://www.lahorebiennale.org/lb03-public-program/making-in-mitti/
7. Performing Arts Forum

1. LB02 https://www.lahorebiennale.org/lb02-public-program/performing-arts-program/

Collaborative programs:

1. Art residency at SAAI

The South Asian Art Initiative [C: https://southasia.berkeley.edu/initiatives/SAAI ] (SAAI) at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with the Lahore Biennale Foundation, launched its inaugural artist residency in 2025. Imran Qureshi was the SAAI 2025 Artist in Residence.

The program will evolve into a named residency after two years.

Press:

[C:https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/661823/artist-in-residence-at-the-south-asia-art-initiative-imran-qureshi]

Residencies and Workshops:

1. Residency | Metropolis:

Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF), in collaboration with Habib University, hosted an Arts Residency program that sought to encourage a collaborative multidisciplinary approach by employing diverse and sometimes disparate methods of inquiry to a single subject.

[C:https://www.lahorebiennale.org/programmes/metropolis-artist-in-residence/]

1. Residency | Theertha Performing Arts Seminar:

The Theertha Artists Collective, with support from the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF), invited two artists from Pakistan to participate in the international performing platform Borderlines in Colombo. Borderlines saw multiple performances in Borella, on March 16, 2015, as a result of a weeklong residency.

[C:https://www.lahorebiennale.org/programmes/theertha-performing-arts-seminar/]

1. Residency | Urbanities

The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) and the Goethe-Institut, in further collaboration with Vasl, Pakistan, launched an open call in May 2016, for an eight-week artist residency. Selected works produced during the residency were also featured at subsequent events.

[C:https://www.lahorebiennale.org/programmes/artist-residency-in-pakistan-urbanities/]

1. Workshop | Curating As Whirlpool, Aurora or Matrix?

Natasha Ginwala, curator of Public Programs for My East is Your West, conducted the workshop. This curatorial workshop held at Nairang Art Gallery brought together participants from Lahore, Islamabad and Multan through a nomination process.

[C:https://www.lahorebiennale.org/programmes/workshop-curating-as-whirlpool-aurora-or-matrix/]

1. Workshop | Copyrights, Intellectual Property and Information Sharing

A three-day workshop was organized as part of Urbanities. It brought together eminent speakers Jawad Hassan (Senior Partner at Hassan, Qureshi and Mamdot), Paul Keller (Vice Chair of Kennisland and Public Project Lead for Creative Commons, Netherlands) and Rafay Alam (Environmental Lawyer and Founding Partner of Saleem, Alam and Co.

[C:https://www.lahorebiennale.org/programmes/workshop-copyrights-intellectual-property-and-information-sharing/]

Impact:

The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) has contributed to the restoration and public reopening of several heritage sites in Pakistan, including Bradlaugh Hall, Nasir Bagh, and the Summer Palace. Its initiatives have played a role in revitalizing the country’s art landscape, with reported increases in art sales, the establishment of numerous new galleries following the first Biennale, and the launch of multiple large-scale public art projects. LBF has also sought to democratize access to art by situating exhibitions in public spaces and maintaining a non-ticketed model for Biennale events, making them widely accessible. In addition, the Foundation has collaborated with a range of international and local academic institutions, further supporting research, exchange, and public engagement in the arts.

https://mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu/2020/01/pakistans-vibrant-arts-and-culture-showcased-at-the-lahore-biennale/

https://mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu/2020/01/pakistans-vibrant-arts-and-culture-showcased-at-the-lahore-biennale/

https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2024/10/lahore-biennale

https://propakistani.pk/2026/02/11/lahore-biennale-foundation-appoints-nav-haq-as-curator-for-lahore-biennale-04

https://www.artnowpakistan.com/the-lahore-biennale-foundation-and-its-shaping-of-pakistans-contemporary-art-ecology

Research Cell:

Established in 2018, the Research Unit aims to foster archival, experimental, and theoretical investigations that generate new insights into the art and visual culture of Pakistan.

1. Grants

1. Asma Jahangir Award for Cultural Contribution Towards Social Justice [https://www.lahorebiennale.org/research/asma-jahangir-award-for-cultural-contribution-towards-social-justice ]
2. LBF – AAN Research Grant – 2018 [LBF – AAN Research Grant – 2018 - Lahore Biennale Foundation ]
3. LBF Research Fellowship [ LBF Research Fellowship - Lahore Biennale Foundation ]