Naya Lahore: Contemporary Art Practices in Lahore

 

 

By Prof. Salima Hashmi, artist, curator and contemporary art historian. Professor Hashmi was the founding Dean of the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Art and Design at Beaconhouse National University, Lahore

 

In Milton's Paradise Lost, when God creates Adam and tells him what riches he is heir to, he says, "and you will see the Lahore of the Moghuls". Presumably, the blind poet was acquainted with the magic of Lahore. But not only poets, artists and musicians have, for centuries, been dedicated to Lahore. Often having to pay dearly for this passion

 

Naya Lahore looks at more recent times and examines contemporary art practices which have blossomed in the city in the last three decades. Owing a great deal to the political, social and art educational circumstances which have instigated and nurtured artists, Lahore has been a significant player at so many levels. Defying the odds and difficult terrain, strong contemporary art practices have emerged to define the City and make it proud

 

The Ila Dalmia Memorial Lecture 2017 

 

(Collaboration: Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA), supported by Yashodhara Dalmia )