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Arab News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Arab News
‘The Pakistani Vibe': Inside the imagined worlds of renowned art director Hashim Ali
LAHORE: Tucked away in a quiet lane in Pakistan's cultural capital of Lahore, Hashim Ali's studio feels less like a workspace and more like a time capsule from the Mughal era. Large Persian rugs are spread out on the floors and ornate jharokhas overlook walls painted in beige and maroon and covered in wood panels and miniature paintings, creating a world suffused with nostalgia and opulence. Every corner of the studio reflects the vision of an art director who doesn't just design sets but builds atmosphere. The space is both sanctuary and stage, where centuries-old aesthetics come vividly to life in the service of modern, visual storytelling. One of Pakistan's most renowned Pakistani visual artists and art directors, Ali is a Visual Communication Design graduate from the prestigious National College of Arts (NCA) institute in Lahore. Over the years, he has come to be known for his work in fashion, film, and music and is celebrated for his creative vision and attention to detail, particularly in creating visually stunning and intricate sets. His ability to blend historic grandeur with modern maximalism has won him several accolades over the years, including the Fashion Art Director award at the 2024 Hum Style Awards and the Pride of Performance Award in 2021. In an interview with Arab News at his studio in Lahore's posh Gulberg neighborhood, Ali, 34, said his passion for visual storytelling came from a history of childhood bullying. 'When you are bullied, you have to make [up] stories, you have to read stories, so I would get lost in fairytales,' he said. 'I would just start imagining what this world is, what these people are, what is this fantasy that exists out of this world? It started from there.' The stories he read, full of mythology and folklore, led him to start thinking about his identity as a Pakistani and a South Asian. 'Then I was like, 'Why can't we rebuild these memories and these spaces and these places?'' Ali's own studio is a recreation of spaces of the past, a Mughal court in miniature — crafted not from marble and sandstone, but from cardboard, fabric, and imagination. With hand-painted arches, makeshift jalis, and richly colored drapes, the space evokes the grandeur of a bygone empire while laying bare its theatrical artifice. The illusion is deliberate: a paper palace blurring the line between history and performance and reflecting South Asia's enduring nostalgia for lost splendor and the way identity in the region is often reconstructed through fragments — of memory, of myth, of art. What one then sees is not just a recreation of the past but a reinterpretation, inviting a dialogue between heritage and reinvention: 'If Hollywood can create all of this [set design] and we think as Pakistanis that we can't do any of this, then we're at fault. Because we did create the Taj Mahal. We did create the Lahore Fort … If we could do it then, we can do it now.' 'COMBINED MEMORY' One of Ali's most cherished creations was the set for the song 'Pasoori,' the first Coke Studio number to hit one billion views on YouTube Music and the most searched song globally on Google in 2022, the year of its release. Ali, the production designer and art director of the set, crafted it as a communal space, with the bohemian aesthetic of the set, characterized by vibrant colors and eclectic elements, complementing the song's fusion of reggaeton beats with classical South Asian instruments like the rubab. Ali describes the aesthetic as 'the Pakistani vibe,' exemplified by a new generation that had grown up in the era of globalization and social media and was reclaiming public spaces and dressing up and conducting themselves in ways that merged their cultural heritage with contemporary elements. 'It's so interesting that now when I'm sitting and I'm scrolling on Instagram or TikTok and I see these reels of girls wearing either 'saris' and 'ghagras' and they're dancing in Lahore, in old Lahore,' Ali said. But the project closest to Ali's heart is hidden away in the winding, narrow streets of Lahore's historic Gali Surjan Singh near Delhi Gate. It is a concept store, Iqbal Begum, imagined as a tribute to his late dadi or grandmother, a mathematics teacher who passed away in 2014. The store has been built in a centuries-old home that Ali rented from a woman who has lived there before the partition of India in 1947 and the creation of Pakistan. The walls are adorned with framed pictures of Iqbal Begum and the shop strewn with things that belonged to her, including old table clocks and dial phones and a tub of Nivea cream, a bottle of Oil of Olay lotion, and a coin purse framed together. Ali remembered growing up surrounded by the stories his grandmother told him, including about the violence of the partition. 'She told me a story about how she lost her favorite pen and our house was burned down in front of her eyes and the sense of belonging started happening,' Ali said. 'From that story, this thing of holding on to objects, holding on to people, holding on to stories became very important.' The concept store is thus not only a way to tell the story of Iqbal Begum but also to create shared memories. 'So, for me, every time I tell a story, I'm passing on my memory to someone else, and when they go and tell someone, in a way, it's almost like my dadi is still alive,' Ali added. And the process is two-way, because people show up with their stories also and can connect with the items they see in the store: 'Then it becomes like a combined memory.' Ultimately, it all connects back to the idea of Pakistan for Ali and to preserving its national, personal and collective histories into tangible, emotionally resonant experience. 'I kind of equated it to the bigger grandparent or the larger mother, which is Pakistan, that slowly, slowly all these amazing things that Pakistanis and Pakistan has done, we're slowly letting them fade away,' he said. 'The idea from this dadi telling stories to a child has become about this child telling those stories or trying to tell those stories to the world and saying, 'Hey, we're Pakistan and we're a beautiful country and we do all these things apart from what you're used to hearing about.'.'
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Express Tribune
20-04-2025
- Express Tribune
Diplomats from 10 countries tour heritage sites
The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) on Sunday hosted diplomats from 10 countries on the second day of their official visit to the provincial capital. The ambassadors visited some of the city's iconic cultural and heritage sites, including the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore Museum, the Tollinton Market and the restored Wazir Khan Baradari. The ambassadors from countries including Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Azerbaijan and representatives from the Sri Lankan High Commission were part of the delegation. The objective of the visit was to showcase Lahore's architectural heritage and highlight ongoing conservation efforts. The delegation also visited the Badshahi Mosque and the tomb of Allama Iqbal. The day concluded with an evening of traditional music and cultural performances at Lahore Fort. WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari emphasised the authority's commitment to promoting the city as a global cultural heritage destination.
Arab News
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
At Art Dubai, Pakistani artists find the space missing at home
KARACHI: Pakistani artists have been receiving increasing international recognition, but many still grapple with limited opportunities and visibility at home, a participant at a major Gulf art fair said this week. Her comments coincided with Art Dubai 2025, the Middle East's leading contemporary art fair, where 10 Pakistani artists are exhibiting their work this year. The event, running since 2007, draws galleries and collectors from across the globe and has become a vital platform for people with creative abilities in places like Pakistan. 'It's wonderful that we as artists who have been invisible because of the greater struggles of [our] country are visible through this platform in the Gulf,' said Faiza Butt, a London-based Pakistani artist currently attending the fair, told Arab News over the phone. 'It's really a matter of pride that despite all the odds, Pakistani artists continue to appear, and work and make themselves visible, especially female artists.' Butt maintained Pakistani artists are shaped by the country's complex realities, adding that is what gives their work its depth. 'Our social and political struggles really feed the artists' imagination,' she said. 'Art doesn't come from a happy place. So one of the reasons our artists are so strong is because our country has gone through a great deal of strife.' She also credited the country's mature art education institutions, such as the National College of Arts in Lahore and the Indus Valley School of Arts in Karachi, for nurturing generations of artists despite systemic challenges. Karachi-based visual artist Sana Arjumand, who is also exhibiting at the fair, echoed similar views. 'There is now more and more interest coming into Pakistani art because we are really making very good art,' she said. 'Because of so many different experiences here [in Pakistan], we have that informed kind of making of art. It's more vibrant and alive. It stands out as well — that is why more and more interest is coming here.' Arjumand, who studied painting at NCA, said her early work focused on self-reflection but has since evolved to include themes of Sufism, mysticism and human interconnectedness with nature. Her new work, presented at the fair, explores the idea that human behavior mirrors elements in the natural world. 'It's for everyone,' she said. 'It has a storyline that anybody can relate to.' A total of ten Pakistani artists, including one posthumously, are featured in the fair's Contemporary Art section. Among them is the late Sadequain, whose pioneering calligraphy and figurative works helped define Pakistan's post-Partition art movement and continue to influence generations of artists. Also exhibiting are Rasheed Araeen, a Karachi-born conceptualist known internationally for his contributions to British minimalist and postcolonial art, and Imran Qureshi, whose fusion of classical Mughal miniature techniques with contemporary themes has earned him acclaim worldwide. Other featured names include Anwar Saeed, celebrated for his explorations of identity and sexuality, and Shezad Dawood, a London-based multidisciplinary artist with Pakistani and Indian heritage. Butt is being represented by Grosvenor Gallery in London, which is exhibiting her work alongside that of Anwar Saeed under a shared curatorial concept focused on representations of the male form. 'The female figure is represented enough in the arts,' said Butt. 'Anwar and I both discuss the male form but with our own unique politics based on our unique ethnography. But we are both Pakistanis, and there are overlaps in our concerns.' She will also deliver a talk on behalf of Saeed, reflecting on his practice and political engagement through art. Despite global attention, Butt stressed that Pakistan lacks the institutional and financial infrastructure to support a thriving art scene. 'Art is a very priced project, and Pakistan cannot afford having art fairs or a very established art market,' she said. 'Pakistani artists get absorbed by galleries from other countries.' She described Art Dubai as a great opportunity for artists in her country. 'Dubai is a very stable financial hub of the Gulf region,' she continued. 'It has welcomed a great deal of migration from India and Pakistan. You get a diverse audience. It's a beautiful coming together, in a positive way, of ideas, culture and exchange of thought.'
Khaleej Times
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Exploring South Asian art: Highlights from KALĀ in Colombo
On a recent evening in Colombo, one was struck by both the simplicity and rich complexity of Hema Shironi's work. Via humble techniques like hand embroidery on printed fabric, this young Sri Lankan contemporary artist (born in Kandy) tackled weighty themes such as home, displacement and identity in the aftermath of 26 years of civil war in her beautiful island haven. In one of her works depicting a village abode, Shironi stitched a sentence that whispered (rather than screamed), 'Now our children can play and study in comfort' — a poignant reminder that having a roof over your head can often be life's greatest privilege, more so in the times of conflict. Shironi's powerful series was on display at the contemporary segment of the just-concluded KALĀ South Asia, an annual artistic gathering in Colombo focussed on celebrating South Asian art. Shironi, who was one of the artists of the KALĀ Commune Residency and Open Studio programme (which also included those from neighbouring nations like Ahmed Rasel from Bangladesh, Chandra Bhattacharjee and Pankaj Panwar from India, Ahmed Javed from Pakistan and Seema Sharma Shah from Nepal), admits that her work is mostly based on the stories she has heard from her mother and grandmother. 'For me, home is not something that is fixed. It is constantly moveable. For many young Sri Lankans like myself who grew up under the shadow of war, how can address ever be permanent? So we carry our homes and memories with us,' says Shironi, who usually employs found material like fabrics from different parts of the Ceylon island in her art-making. In the same room, Ahmed Rasel, a photographer from Bangladesh, had put up a project that examined the effects of urbanisation, climate change and historical memory in his home country. Another series that caught one's eye was by the Lahore-based Ahmed Javed. Though not as politically charged as Shironi and Rasel's, Javed's genius lies in his gifted craftsmanship and materiality, conceptual innovations and a meticulous creative process that involves delving deeper into the subcontinent's visual history, especially when it comes to exploring the narrative possibilities of Mughal-style miniature paintings. The National College of Arts (NCA, Lahore) graduate has been working on highly stylised and oft-playful portraits of artists in their studio since 2018. One of his works on view at KALĀ cheekily shows his friend, the well-known Pakistani artist Ali Kazim hunched over a painting, lost in thought—it's an in-joke, a meta study of a miniature artist doffing his hat to another who's as fascinated with the Mughal-era medium. Speaking with wknd., Javed says that he often uses neon paints in his work and tries to capture the colourful outfits worn by artists or spotlight eccentric details "to intentionally glorify the sitters." It seems he wants to dispel the preconceived notion of artists as a bunch of outliers living "poor, miserable lives." You could very well describe Javed as a documentarian and activist. As the 32-year-old artist says, "When I started my thesis on miniature painting as a student, I realised the need to fill a couple of historical vacuum — one was that the artists from the Mughal time who were trained in miniature art were breaking so many boundaries in terms of 2Dness, their multiple perspective and stylisation but in the end, the very essence or idea of miniature had evaporated. Either they were using the medium or technique of miniature but that was not the comprehensive art of miniature, so with my work I wanted to bring that back. Anyway, miniature has been a dying art and I wanted to revive it with contemporary content. Secondly, the Mughal miniature was practiced around the 16th till 18th century and it was essentially a form of court art. Since the camera was not invented, the artists used art to document life during the Mughal time, whether it was their lifestyle, rituals, hunting games, festivals or war scenes. Ironically, the talented artists who documented all this for posterity themselves were not documented. That's why I started this project." Javed sounded happy with his time spent in Colombo, as he got a chance to paint Sri Lankan artists in their studios, another exciting step in his continued obsession with miniatures. Apart from the KALĀ Commune residency program curated by Mandira Ranathunga, which offered artists like Ahmed Javed, Shironi and others a platform to "explore, create and connect," one of KALĀ's highlights this year included a historical group show mounted at Colombo's iconic University of Visual and Performing Arts (UVPA). Curated by Mariyam Begum, 'Pivot Glide Echo' was a celebration of Sri Lanka's artistic legacy over a span of eight decades. With works by such masters like Ena de Silva, Tilak Samarawickrema, Laki Senanayake, Dominic Sansoni, JDA Perera, David Paynter and Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan, the exhibition reflected the sheer breadth and diversity of Sri Lankan art. The choice of venue couldn't have been more apt, as 'Pivot Glide Echo' coincided with the University of Visual and Performing Arts' 75th anniversary. While the exhibition pivoted around trailblazing teachers by engaging closely with three pedagogues from the institution (David Paynter, Tissa Ranasinghe, and HA Karunaratne, who's considered to be the father of abstract art in Sri Lanka), curator Mariyam Begum says that she also wanted to branch out from these artists and outside the bounds of UVPA to explore "the resonances and echoes across the wider canon of Sri Lankan art history." While Sri Lankan art remains rich and varied, it is often associated with Colombo's influential and more popular '43 Group (featuring 20th century masters like Geoffrey Beling and George Keyt). For a change, the curators wanted to highlight a broader spectrum of their country's artistic talent at KALĀ. "Much of Sri Lankan art history has been focused on the '43 Group and the artists active in the 1990s like Jagath Weerasinghe, Anoli Perera, Chandgraguptha Thenuwara and T Shanaathanan. With the first edition of KALĀ last year, we had an opportunity to explore and celebrate the versatile trajectories taken by some of Sri Lanka's leading visual arts practitioners and their mentors with Lionel Wendt serving as a catalyst. Guided by a similar ethos, the edition this year expands on an engagement with experimental image-making, while situating the history of visual art in the cultural and socio-political moment of its creation. This time, there was also an attempt to identify some of the resonances Sri Lankan art history shares with the subcontinent at large," she says. Known for its blessed beaches, ancient Buddhist sites and idyllic tea plantations, Sri Lanka paradoxically has had a tumultuous and violent history, with oppressed yet resilient citizens enduring the impact of internal political strife and religious conflict. These challenges have deeply shaped the island's identity, with art emerging as a voice of the common people. Take Chandraguptha Thenuwara. He was among a group of renegades who have actively used the power and beauty of art to counter the ethno-linguistic war that has dominated post-independent Sri Lankan consciousness. Thenuwara often talks about the Black July pogrom of 1983 as being influential to his art and his provocative works at KALĀ bears a testament to how art can serve as an antidote in the times of war and uncertainty. "His untitled series in the current exhibition was created in 1993 thus becoming a visual precursor to a politically motivated series created twenty years later. The work made on a typewriter by Thenuwara, inspired in part by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, would perhaps also be an early example of a work to be created using mechanical devices in the region," remarks Begum. KALĀ founding director Saskia Fernando says that the idea behind starting the annual event was to create a platform that would honour modern and contemporary art in South Asia and provide greater visibility to Sri Lanka art while also fostering a dialogue between the island and its South Asian neighbours. Apart from exhibitions, KALĀ's programming also included dynamic talk sessions curated by the London-based Art South Asia Project (ASAP). Fernando, who is also the founder of the leading gallery bearing her name in Colombo has championed the local art scene for two decades, helped by her father Udayshanth Fernando who is widely regarded as a patron saint of design and aesthetics in Sri Lanka and is also an avid art collector himself. Saskia Fernando's goal for KALĀ (a Sanskrit word for 'art') is that it will act as a catalyst for growth in this region. "We can only hope to play a role in the wonderful initiatives that are all working towards the promotion of the South Asian art world. I think we would like to encourage community building across our countries and organisations. Our collaborations with institutions including Art South Asia Project, Asia Society and the India Art Fair are perfect examples of how we want to work as a platform — celebrating organisations dedicated to the South Asian art world while providing opportunities for us to discuss subjects that are timely to our region and its diasporas. Sri Lankan art and culture has always been in consistent upward motion, throughout times of crisis, and KALĀ has launched itself at a time when initiatives are thriving locally. The coming decades are hopeful for us all," explains Fernando.
Express Tribune
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Urdu, Bangla varsity chairs urged
Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan has stressed the need of setting up Urdu language chairs in Bangladeshi universities and Bangla chairs in Pakistan for better understanding among the countries. Speaking to a 10-member media delegation from Bangladesh that called on him, the governor expressed hope that new vistas of cooperation would open under the interim government in Bangladesh. The delegation invited Governor Saleem Haider to visit Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi journalists also visited the National College of Arts (NCA) and Lahore Museum. NCA Vice Chancellor Dr Murtaza Jafri discussed with the delegation cultural and artistic exchanges between the two countries. Lahore Museum Deputy Director Asim Rizwan briefed the journalists on the collections, particularly those representing the Gandhara and Indus Valley civilisations, Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. The visitors were taken on a tour of the Gandhara, Jain Temple, Contemporary Paintings, Prehistoric and Industrial, and the Muslim Art and Heritage galleries. They observed rare bronze artifacts from Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, weights and bullock carts from ancient settlements and seals from the Indus Valley civilisation. The delegation had earlier spent four days in Islamabad.
