This November, Qatar Museums will open a first-of-its-kind exhibition exploring the arts and architecture from Pakistan since the 1940s. MANZAR: Art and Architecture from Pakistan 1940s to Today (1 November 2024–31 January 2025) brings together more than 200 artworks—including paintings, drawings, photographs, videos, sculptures, installations, tapestries and miniatures, plus commissioned works by artists and architects currently living and working in Pakistan and its diasporas—to present various views of the country’s artistic and architectural movements.
Organised by the future Art Mill Museum and presented in collaboration with the National Museum of Qatar, which will host the exhibition, MANZAR presents the enormously diverse output of the painters, photographers, architects and others who have defined the array of narratives, histories, and contemporary perspectives of Pakistan’s cultures over the past eighty years. The artworks, programmes and events extend from the gallery spaces to the courtyard of the Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani for a broad immersion in Pakistani art and architecture.
The ground-breaking exhibition, designed by renowned architect Raza Ali Dada and unfolding across twelve sections, will reveal how artists responded to and reimagined international modernist movements.
MANZAR brings to light lesser-known global art histories and demonstrates how they weave into broader social and cultural trends. Through themed galleries dedicated to aesthetic experiments and calligraphy, nation-building, regionalism, neo-miniature, the urban vernacular, and the politics of land and water, among others, the exhibiton presents a perspective on arts from Pakistan through unprecedented loans from public institutions such as the Alhamra Art Museum in Lahore and Pakistan National Council of the Arts in Islamabad; loans from private collections across Pakistan and in Dubai, London and New York; as well as works from Qatar Museums collections.
Mohammed Al Rumaihi, CEO of Qatar Museums, said, “By bringing the works of exceptional Pakistani artists and architects to Qatar, this exhibition affirms their contributions to their own nation and to the heritage of the world. We are especially proud to present this exhibition by the future Art Mill Museum in the galleries of the National Museum of Qatar, thereby emphasising the close links between our nations, our histories and our futures. As with every Qatar Museums exhibition, this one is a bridge between cultures, and we are honoured to provide an international platform for these hugely deserving artistic movements.”
Catherine Grenier, Director of Concept for the future Art Mill Museum, said, “This rigorous, scholarly exhibition looking at the significant practices of artists and architects from Pakistan and their connection to the wider history of modern and contemporary art reveals precisely how the future Art Mill Museum will be a vital centre for international modern and contemporary art. As MANZARso vibrantly demonstrates, our aim is to engage global art histories since 1850 through exhibitions grounded in multidisciplinary and non-hierarchical histories. Viewing these magnificent artworks will be a major discovery and a real emotional and artistic experience for the public.”
MANZAR is an Urdu and Arabic word meaning scene, view, landscape, or perspective. The exhibition begins with artists such as Abdur Rahman Chughtai and Zainul Abedin, who worked during the British Raj, which ruled the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947, and continued their practices in what became West and East Pakistan. The Partition of 1947 was—and still is—a major subject for artists such as Anna Molka Ahmed, Zarina and Bani Abidi. Organised loosely chronologically, the exhibition moves into aesthetic experiments by artists including Shakir Ali, Zubeida Agha, Murtaja Baseer and Sadequain, who developed highly personal modes of expression in urban centres including Karachi, Lahore, Dhaka and the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Special attention is given to the local and foreign architects who transformed the country’s landscape and articulated the ambitions of its institutions through major building projects. The first phase of development involved the expertise of many modern Western architects, such as the French Michel Ecochard, who built the first university in Karachi; Konstantínos Doxiádis from Greece, who was in charge of planning the future capital Islamabad; and architects from US who contributed to the establishment of the nation-state's institutions, such as Louis Kahn, Richard Neutra and Edward Durell Stone. MANZAR then focuses on Pakistan’s role in the debate on regionalism in architecture, with the backdrop of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, held for the first time in Lahore in 1980. The works of major architects such as Nayyar Ali Dada and Kamil Khan Mumtaz from Lahore and Yasmeen Lari, Habib Fida Ali and Arif Hasan from Karachi will be presented in the context of this intellectual explosion and the cultural issues it raised. A final section is devoted to contemporary ecological and environmental issues.
Among the highlights by visual artists are works by Zahoor ul Akhlaq, Imran Mir and Rasheed Araeen, whose multidisciplinary approaches, involvement in educational initiatives, and theoretical writings challenged Western art history and traditions at home and internationally. Influential figures of different generations, such as Salima Hashmi, Quddus Mirza, Lala Rukh, Durriya Kazi, are represented. Alongside them are Rashid Rana, Imran Qureshi, Risham Syed and Hamra Abbas, who are known as key educators at the National College of Art (NCA) and Beaconhouse National University (BNU) in Lahore; and at Karachi University and Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS) in Karachi. In addition, newly filmed interviews and archival materials provide background information on the social, political, and artistic contexts through the decades.
The emergence at the start of the 1990s of what became known as the neo-miniature painting movement, which revisited traditional techniques and subjects, is introduced through some of the earliest works by Shahzia Sikander. Other important artists working in the diaspora whose works will be on view include Naiza Khan in London; Ruby Chishti, Huma Bhabha, Iftikhar and Elizabeth Dadi, Salman Toor in New York; Bani Abidi in Berlin; Basir Mahmood in Amsterdam; Seher Shah in Barcelona and Khadim Ali in Sydney.
Outdoor and indoor installations, as well as a film and video programme, continue the exhibition in the courtyard of the Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, which sits at the heart of the Museum. Architect Yasmeen Lari and the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan will present three examples of log-system bamboo shelters developed as emergency open-source housing for flood victims. The fabric covering one of these shelters is designed by textile expert Noorjehan Bilgrami. A project by the collective Karachi LaJamia focuses on the environmental crisis in the province of Sindh, while Amin Gulgee reimagines a Mughal garden in a sculptural installation and artist-in-residence Omer Wasim will present a newly commissioned installation with drawings, a video, and a vitrine of ephemera. Sustainability and ecologies are at the heart of many of these contemporary projects.
The exhibition is curated by Caroline Hancock, Art Mill Museum Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art; Aurélien Lemonier, Art Mill Museum Curator of Architecture, Design and Gardens; and Zarmeene Shah, independent curator, writer and Director of Graduate Studies at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS) in Karachi, with Art Mill Museum Senior Exhibition Project Manager Aebhric Coleman. Collaborators include Karachi-based researcher Noor Butt; Deena Hammam, Associate Curator for Learning and Audience Engagement, Art Mill Museum; and Farah Al Sidiky, Curatorial Researcher, Art Mill Museum. The exhibition is designed by architect Raza Ali Dada (Nayyar Ali Dada & Associates, Lahore).
Caroline Hancock, Aurélien Lemonier, and Zarmeene Shah said, “This exhibition traces how artists and architects have forged diverse personal and political languages, in dialogue or disjunction with regional styles and international art and world histories. The interconnections with scenes, individuals and communities in the subcontinent and on a global scale are testament to the strength of art withstanding imposed or desired divisions and movements.”
Accompanying the exhibition will be performances, talks, screenings and other events that form part of a vibrant public programme. A catalogue designed by Kiran Ahmad will include essays by major art and architectural historians, educators and artists and architects from Pakistan and beyond.
The presentation of MANZAR coincides with the third edition of the Lahore Biennale, Of Mountains and Seas curated by John Tain (5 October–8 November 2024), with Raza Ali Dada advising on installation and exhibition design, and the fourth edition of the Karachi Biennial, What goes on? Risq | Risk (26 October–10 November 2024).
NOTE TO EDITORS
MANZAR: Art and Architecture from Pakistan 1940s to Today
1 November 2024 – 31 January 2025
Organised by the future Art Mill Museum in partnership with the National Museum of Qatar
On view at the National Museum of Qatar
-ENDS-
All images must be credited as captioned.
Qatar Museums (QM), the nation’s preeminent institution for art and culture, provides authentic and inspiring cultural experiences through a growing network of museums, heritage sites, festivals, public art installations, and programmes. QM preserves and expands the nation’s cultural offerings, sharing art and culture from Qatar, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) with the world and enriching the lives of citizens, residents, and visitors.
Under the patronage of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and led by its Chairperson, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, QM has made Qatar a vibrant centre for the arts, culture, and education in the Middle East and beyond. QM is integral to the goal of developing an innovative, diverse, and progressive nation, bringing people together to ignite new thinking, spark critical cultural conversations, and amplify the voices of Qatar’s people. Since its founding in 2005, QM has overseen the development of museums and festivals including the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and MIA Park, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ), 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, QM Gallery Al Riwaq, QM Gallery Katara, the Tasweer Qatar Photo Festival, and Design Doha. Future projects include Dadu: Children’s Museum of Qatar, Art Mill Museum, Qatar Auto Museum and the Lusail Museum.
Through its newly created Creative Hub, QM also initiates and supports projects—such as the Fire Station Artist in Residence, the Tasweer Qatar Photo Festival, M7, the creative hub for innovation, fashion and design, and Liwan Design Studios and Labs—that nurture artistic talent and create opportunities to build a strong and sustainable cultural infrastructure.
Animating everything that Qatar Museums does is an authentic connection to Qatar and its heritage, a steadfast commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, and a belief in creating value through invention.
The future Art Mill Museum is a museum of modern and contemporary art. It will house an exceptional and international art collection assembled over the past 40 years, with multidisciplinary works of great diversity dating from 1830 to the present. In a main building of 80,000 square meters (including 23,000 square meters of gallery spaces), the Art Mill Museum will offer visual art icons as well as architecture and design, films and film props, fashion, crafts, and much more. A pioneering institution in the non-Western world, it will represent the modern and contemporary arts of all regions of the globe on an equal basis, engaging local and international audiences alike through multiple narratives of art history. The museum concept has been developed by art historian and museum director Catherine Grenier and the prefiguration team.
Completing a cultural district that already comprises the Museum of Islamic Art, MIA Park and the National Museum of Qatar, the future Art Mill Museum is designed by ELEMENTAL, led by Pritzker prize winning architect Alejandro Aravena. A signature public garden is designed by VOGT Landscape Architects, led by Günther Vogt. A creative village for arts, crafts and design will provide recreational, learning and production resources for the general public and for the creative communities of Qatar and beyond.
About National Museum of Qatar
The National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) preserves and celebrates the history of Qatar. It engages with its present and inspires the country's ambitions for the future. The Museum, which opened in March 2019, gives voice to the country's culture and heritage through artefacts, oral histories, music, films, and artworks. The NMoQ takes the visitor on an immersive and multisensory journey of its 1.5 km thematic and chronological galleries. The iconic building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, is inspired by the desert rose and comprises of large interlocking disks of different diameters and curvatures that surround the restored historic palace of the late Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, ruler of Qatar (1913–1949).
Press Contact:
Pac Pobric, Polskin Arts
Pac.Pobric@finnpartners.com
Mohammed Khames Al Abdallah, Qatar Museums
mfaraj@qm.org.qa
Julia Caira, Qatar Museums
jcaira@qm.org.qa