The historic Habib Fida Ali House bore testimony to the official launch of KB19 in February 2019, successfully setting into motion the wheels of the second Karachi Biennale. Under the vision and leadership of KB-19’s curator, Muhammad Zeeshan, artworks of over 80 national and international artists were displayed at seven high-traffic public spaces across Karachi, in order to interact with its people. Simultaneously, the platform served as a hotbed of artistic practices, where innovative and critical dialogues evolved and came to be valued.

The theme of KB-19 was ecology, which was further elaborated through the rather metaphorical title of ‘Flight Interrupted: Eco-Leaks From The Invasion Desk.’ Through the thematic, Zeeshan invited the artists to challenge themselves by taking on a visual comment on urban concrete, wasted lands and poisoned waters — not to forget the extinction of species.

The two-week long exhibition ended on November 12, 2019 but the work of the KB team was far from over. It then became crucial to take up the responsibility of publishing a catalogue that highlighted and documented the exhibits. After six months of rigorous cataloguing and publication endeavours, and amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the KBT successfully launched the KB-19 catalogue via a recent webinar, which was also streamed live on Facebook. During the launch, Niilofur Farrukh, CEO and Managing Trustee, spoke of a fundamental and unanimous decision that took place in January 2019: that of becoming a ‘green’ biennale. Three initiatives came out of this pledge — the publication of an e-catalogue, establishing a sustainable exhibition design and the developing of a visitor’s app.

The recently launched KB-19 e-catalogue is reader-friendly with interactive digital features

The catalogue includes six comprehensive post-exhibition essays by prominent writers and art critics including Afia Salam, Nimra Khan, Ingo Arend and KB19’s assistant curators, Noor Ahmed and Rabia Ali. Through images and digital features, including sound-bites and videos, the e-catalogue significantly provides a visual record of the artworks and the venues where the artworks were showcased. In addition, each artwork, collaborative piece and performance is documented with a detailed write-up. The catalogue also covers the unique project visualised by Rashid Rana, based on augmented reality.

A segment is dedicated to the Critical Knowledge Lab (CKL) of the Karachi Biennale. The idea was conceived by Farrukh to ‘expand the platform into the discursive space, by using art as a lens to underline critical debates of the time and document this new knowledge.’ The catalogue also features awards and ceremonies to honour established and emerging artists, while another chapter extensively covers educational programmes that took place under the KB-19 banner.

A section is devoted to sustainable exhibition design, which covers the alternative actions undertaken to substitute large events having massive environmental impact with more eco-friendly solutions. The wide-ranging catalogue ends by acknowledging the patrons, trustees, committees and teams working towards the success of the biennale.

The E-Catalogue was launched on July 27, 2020. An electronic copy of the catalogue can be accessed through https://catalog.karachibiennale.org.pk/

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 9th, 2020