The Karachi Collective

Discover the legacy of Malmal, the exquisite cotton fabric once woven with nature’s rhythm and unmatched craftsmanship. In this essay, Zeb Bilal traces the cultural, historical, and ecological threads that made Bengal muslin a symbol of refined artistry.

“The crafting of muslin was a process inextricably linked to nature and temporality. The diaphanous translucency of the finest muslins was chiefly attributed to the quality of thread drawn from a superior quality of cotton that was only grown in the delta region of Bengal, called ‘photee’ or ‘bairati kapas’ (Ghuznavi, 2006; Hossain, 2018). The growing and harvesting of the kapas and the labor-intensive production of muslin were bound by the seasons. The most comprehensive historical account on muslin manufacturing titled A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Cotton Manufacture of Dacca penned by James Taylor in 1851, elaborates on the complexity of the process, but more importantly, reveals the Indian artisans’ astute understanding of the material and ecological context in which muslin was created. The making of muslin, from its spinning, and weaving to finishing, had to be completed in the monsoon months from May to September between the spring and fall cotton harvesting cycles.”

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Malmal: The Exquisite Cotton Fabric with Deep Cultural Significance | The Karachi Collective Emerging from the fertile Ganges plains, where the river Megna1 flowed, was a textile celebrated for its ethereal qualities. As light as the wind, and clear as the dew, the Indian Muslins, or ‘malmal’, were a delicate, sheer handwoven cotton cloth that captured the imagination of all who encount...

Capsule: Art Thinking by Niilofur Farrukh | Monthly Column

Title: ‘How a Museum Can Silence / Un- silence an Object’

“An art museum can serve as a powerful monument, a place where histories can be revisited, reclaimed, and given a new voice. The oldest museums in our country are archaeological in nature, framed by perspectives constructed by outsiders. The narratives we inherit from these institutions often provide a non-inclusive and incomplete view that frequently diverges from our epistemic truth. The newer museums established after 1947 have become entangled in unresolved and incomplete narratives. Those dedicated to individual artists, such as the Shakir Ali Museum and the Jamil Naqsh Museum, have yet to fully realize their potential for various reasons. Is this due to our uncertainty about what we want from a museum, or our inability to connect it with a community that values both visitors and scholars?”

Title Image: Foyer featuring personal memorabilia of the artist, Shakir Ali Museum, Lahore, c. 2016

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How a Museum Can Silence / Un- silence an Object - The Karachi Collective Niilofur FarrukhNiilofur Farrukh is a Karachi based art interventionist whose seminal initiatives have expanded the space for art publication, curation and public art in Pakistan. Her primary interest lies in issues of decolonization and as a writer/curator her focus has…

Chrono-Weaves: Binding Eras, Echoes and Eternity

Aarish Sardar reviews the group show ‘Knowledge of the Ancients’, curated by Zahra Khan, and presented by Foundation Art Divvy as a collateral exhibition for Lahore Biennale 03. It was displayed in the historic Barkat Ali Islamia Hall in Lahore from 3 October to 8 November 2024.

“A group of multidisciplinary artists and a studious curator convene at Barakat Ali Islamia Hall, opposite Mochi Gate, along a circular road in Lahore. They investigate indigenous knowledge systems and their intersections with ecology, ancient history, mythology, and mysticism, thoroughly examining how these elements have influenced contemporary cultural traditions in South Asia. The show Knowledge of the Ancients underscored the importance of art in preserving ecological and cultural heritage. Featuring contributions from 16 artists, it showcased a variety of media including installations, miniatures, video, and sculpture; each piece testified to the region’s enduring wisdom. Zahra Khan’s curatorial framework highlighted the interconnection between the past and present while emphasising sustainability and collective memory. Through this exhibition, she fostered a dialogue between traditional knowledge systems and their contemporary reinterpretations, ensuring their lasting relevance in an increasingly globalised world.”

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Chrono-Weaves: Binding Eras, Echoes and Eternity - The Karachi Collective Aarish SardarAarish Sardar is an Associate Professor (on sabbatical) at the Department of Visual Communication Design of Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design, Beaconhouse National University. He holds a BFA in Fine Arts (2000), MA in Multimedia Arts…

Ubaid Ibrahim reviews ‘Karachi’s Lost Communities: Serai and Bunder Quarters’, the first solo exhibition of architect Ozair B. Mansoor which was on display at Khalikdina Hall, Karachi, on December 20th January 2024. This solo-exhibition was made possible through the grants received from Numaish-Karachi, an artist collective by Saima Zaidi and Durriya Kazi in Karachi.

“Ozair B. Mansoor’s work sits unapologetically in the stillness of the prevalent conditions. Stemming from a desire to evoke a sensation rather than to document, he preserves what exists today in contemporary Karachi. By using conventional mediums such as felt tip pens and cotton fabric, he addresses an age-old concern that yearns back to a past that has become irretrievable. Karachi’s Lost Communities: Serai and Bunder Quarters investigates the communities through buildings that define the face of Serai and Bunder Quarters.”

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Monuments Today, Archives Tomorrow - The Karachi Collective Ubaid N. IbrahimUbaid N. Ibrahim is an Architectural professional, researcher and lecturer. He received his MSc in Architecture, Building and Planning from Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands and a B.Arch.in Architecture and Design at BAU Istanbul, Turkey. After several years…

Niranjan Kunwar reviews a common thematic grounded in five shows curated in Nepal: The group show, curated by Pratima Thakali, “I am rooted, but I flow” which was exhibited at Takpa gallery from 8 February till 8 March, 2025. “Threads of Resilience”, a showcase of story clothes by numerous survivors, which was showcased from 12 to 16 February, 2025 and was co-curated by The Kala Salon (where it was exhibited) and Sajha Dhago. The group show “Feminist Futures: Art, Activism, and South Asian Womanhood”, curated by Dr Arshiya Lokhandwala which opened at Taragaon Next on Jan 25 and will continue until May 31, 2025. “Southasian Playground Solidarities” a regional, ongoing group show organized by Kaalo.101 has been rotating different exhibitions in Patan starting 11 February, 2025. “The Public Life of Women: A Feminist Memory Project” was published in 2023 by photo.circle/Nepal Picture Library.

“As patriarchal white supremacy rises in the West, I take refuge in South Asian femininity and grace. Activist Chani Nicholas, in response to multiple disasters unfolding in the world, nudges us to use art “as a tool to dismantle supremacy”. Because it always has been and always will be, authoritarian governments and systems try to defund and dismiss the arts. The women currently displaying their work in Kathmandu demonstrate how the arts can be so potent and so powerful.”

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Common Threads: South Asian Women’s Art in Kathmandu - The Karachi Collective Niranjan KunwarNiranjan Kunwar is an educator and an author whose career includes teaching in primary schools. Now based in Kathmandu, he blends arts, education and q***r issues, a theme central to his memoir, “Between Queens and the Cities (2020).” He…

Saira Danish Ahmed reviews the group exhibition ‘Folding/Unfolding: The Achara Chronicles,’ curated by Arshad Faruqui, which was showcased at Copper & Steel from November 23 to November 30, 2024.

“The exhibition center-stages the achara, a traditionally utilitarian fabric central to the art of block printing; recognized for its purpose as a support material it can correspondingly be considered a canvas for artistic expression. Composed of thick cotton, the achara serves as a foundational layer underneath the block printed pieces in block printing studios, offering padding to ensure uniformity whilst absorbing residual dyes that permeate the fabric (Bracken, 2020). As the chhipa raises the block printed cloth, the achara unveils itself, embellished with subtle variations of patterns arising from the fresh application of blocks and dyes. Each layer of block printing on the achara captures a story, memorializing and commemorating moments and experiences through its surface. Over time, the repetitive patterns communicate a rich tapestry of encrusted impressions⎯ as motifs intricately tango, and intersect across its once-blank stretch.”

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Unbound - The Karachi Collective Saira Danish AhmedSaira Danish Ahmed is an art critic and independent curator with a postgraduate degree in Art & Design Education from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and another in History from Karachi University. Her primary interests lie…

In this comprehensive essay Adreeta Chakraborty reflects on Karachi LaJamia’s prescient conceptualisation of pedagogy as practice, while exploring the ways in which forms of collective study may stand to alter our perceptions and experiences of South Asian cities and urbanities that are growing estranged from the natural landscapes — and lifeworlds — constituting them.

“Karachi LaJamia, whose work is embedded in these discursive contexts, chose to exercise that power with a form of creative, public pedagogy: a pedagogy whose sensitivities, counter-epistemes, and longue-durée engagements stand to yield an art practice. One may view this practice through three broad lenses that are in conversation with each other: ‘ecopedagogy’, the ‘pedagogy of the city’, and a pedagogy that defers to the sacred as a way of knowing and caring for our world. Hamare Siyal Rishte, for instance, draws upon the knowledge that the city’s oldest waterways bequeath:

‘We learn from the river a pedagogy of presence and relation’.

“There is a violence with which the city removes us from learning in, alongside, and from nature in the ways that indigenous communities often do, leading to the privileging of certain epistemic modes and the disempowerment of others.”

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If You Look at The City from Here - The Karachi Collective Adreeta ChakrabortyAdreeta Chakraborty is a writer, editor, and researcher currently based out of Kolkata. She studied English literature through college and university and enjoys discovering the city in narrative. Her writing has been published by ASAP | Art, Critical Collective,…

Somayeh Bardai reviews Evolving Selves, a solo photographic exhibition of Noman Bhatti which was displayed at The IVS Gallery, Karachi, from 15th October to 22nd October 2024

“Bhatti’s engagement with Freudian psychoanalytic theory also reveals a more shadowed exploration of self. The darker, surreal images convey the unconscious and repressed aspects of identity, symbolizing the undercurrents of desire and instinct that influence behavior. These works feel almost dreamlike, as if capturing fragments of a memory or suppressed thought. In doing so, Bhatti invites viewers to confront their own hidden motivations, those elements of self which, according to Freud’s framework, remain largely inaccessible yet exert a powerful influence over actions.”

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Become Who You Are - The Karachi Collective Somayeh BardaiSomayeh Bardai oversees a women empowerment non-profit called the Raana Liaquat Craftsmen’s Colony – RLCC. She attained her BFA in Visual Communication, majoring in Photography from The American University in Dubai and further studied Photography at The School of…

Sousan Qadeer reviews Naveed Sadiq’s solo show “Mashq Awwal: the first exercise” which was on display at O Art Space, Lahore from 7th – 17th Sept, 2024.

“Historical narratives play a pivotal role in his deconstructive exercise. Engaging with the foundational elements of composition, such as lines, shapes, the grid and geometric markings delineate specific areas within the artwork, while the use of stained paper grounds the piece in its materiality. The process of paper making, alongside the underdrawings, significantly influences the artist’s practice, with dark sketches often serving as preliminary foundations before the application of color. This approach by Sadiq underscores how history is rewritten through various lenses and raises critical questions about the Westernization of academic teachings, specifically in the realm of art.”

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Deconstructing History, Narratives, and Practices in Miniature Painting - The Karachi Collective Sousan QadeerSousan Qadeer is an interdisciplinary artist, writer and educator from Lahore, Pakistan. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts from National College of Arts, majoring in Printmaking, and has seven years of teaching experience at Lahore Grammar School as…

Capsule: Art Thinkings by Niilofur Farrukh | Monthly Column

Title: ‘Not With Words ... Alone’

“Standing under Sadequain’s mural at Frere Hall, anchored by the concepts of ilm and amal (knowledge and implementation), the potent visual narrative transmits a vitalizing energy, depicting armies of good and bad. Towering figures, armed with pens, paintbrushes, and instruments of trade, embody the proactive forces, while those trapped in a world of darkness, devoid of knowledge and evolution, share their habitat with snakes and rodents. All great classical writings, like the Shahnameh, explore resistance to evil, seeking strength and belief in truth. In an era saturated with mediated “truths,” how do we discern fake news?”

Title Image: Arz o Samavat, mural by Sadequain at Frere Hall, Karachi.

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Not with Words… alone - The Karachi Collective Niilofur FarrukhNiilofur Farrukh is a Karachi based art interventionist whose seminal initiatives have expanded the space for art publication, curation and public art in Pakistan. Her primary interest lies in issues of decolonization and as a writer/curator her focus has…

Shireen Ikramullah Khan reviews the exhibition titled ‘The Valleys of the Simorgh’ curated by Anita Hosseini & Gudrun Wallenböck which was exhibited at Kunstraum Hinterland, Vienna from 27 June – 07 September 2024. The exhibition was the result of the INTRA project Valleys of the Simorgh. A transhistorical Quest for Equality and Democracy.

“Following the order of the tale, the exhibition is structured into seven valleys: Valley of the Quest by Ahmadjan & Maren Amini, Valley of Love by Tanja Boukal, Valley of Knowledge by Monika Huber, Valley of Detachment by Ali & Maheen Kazim, Valley of Unity by Anahita Razmi, Valley of Wonderment by Mohsin Shafi, and Farkhondeh Shahroudi’s Valley of Poverty and Annihilation. The exhibition creates a discourse around the political realm of Attār’s narrative while it delineates the cumulative undertaking for independence, sovereignty and egalitarianism.”

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Infinite Realms: The Valleys of the Simorgh - The Karachi Collective Shireen Ikramullah KhanShireen Ikramullah Khan is a Pakistani artist, art critic, educator and museologist with a background in painting and printmaking. She completed her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from the National College of Arts in Lahore in 2006. In…

Zohreen murtaza reviews the exhibition titled ‘Reimagined Contemporary Art and Ecology’ curated by Ozma Bhatti and Dr. Wardah Naeem Bukhari which opened on May 18, 2024 to celebrate International Museum Day at the Fakir Khana Museum, and remained on display till May 19, 2024.

"Curated spaces—regardless of their assertions—cannot merely be deemed “innocent” environments or as sensory experiences designed solely to thrill the senses, shock, or instruct. Whether at galleries or museums, we can easily fall into the allure of believing that a Salon-style display, an exquisite exterior, an imposing entrance, a wall filled with dense historical text, or the weight of an institutional name alone can confer “authenticity” and ensure the value of a gallery or museum. As we journey from one display or object to the next, we must remain aware of these complexities and perhaps pose the question of whether there exist other realms of knowledge that may have eluded the narrow confines of an institutionalized colonial museum, a Palace Museum, or our prevailing cultural perceptions of a curated space."

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Beyond the Frame: Art & Ecology - The Karachi Collective Zohreen MurtazaZohreen Murtaza is currently a Lecturer in the Cultural Studies Department at The National College of Arts, Lahore. She completed both her BFA and MA (Hons.) Visual Art from NCA, where she majored in miniature painting and visual art.…