Paolo De Grandis Guest Curator for THE KARACHI BIENNALE TRUST IN PAKISTAN

October 21st to November 5th, 2017

We are glad to announce Paolo De Grandis has be appointed as guest curator for the Karachi Biennale to be held in Pakistan during 2017. 

"The Karachi Biennale 2017 is a project of the Karachi Biennale Trust (KBT) a non-profit platform that promotes innovation, criticality and global exchange through Art. The event will take place from October 21st to November 5th, 2017.

KBT will include artists from Pakistan and abroad. Their works will be exhibited at multiple venues throughout the city, but the main venue of the Karachi Biennale is the monumental Narayan Jagannath Vidyala High School (NJV), located on M.A Jinnah Road. Founded in 1855, the NJV is not only a heritage building, but also has great historic value, as the Sindh Assembly was temporarily held in its North Western portion. This government school has had a glorious past and has been the alma mater of many social and political leaders. However today, only a quarter of the classrooms are being used and the building is in a state of neglect. The Karachi Biennale aims to draw attention to this important historical landmark. We also hope to have community engagement projects, as this saturated locality is at the heart of the city.

The thematic focus of the First Karachi Biennale is Witness.

wit-ness / ‘witnis /

n. 1 a person who sees an event take place.

2 a person giving sworn evidence to a court of law or the police.

3 a person who is present at the signing of a document and signs it themselves to confirm this.

v. 1 be a witness to an event.

2 be the place or period in which an event takes place.

The artists will be asked to interpret and articulate the curatorial theme through their chosen genre. Your participation in the Biennale will provide an opportunity for you to share your work with the local audience and visitors from abroad.

The Karachi Biennale will have a comprehensive catalogue with information on each participating artist and documentation of the event, which will be given to each artist."