Art critics and scholars converge for a two-day regional symposium in Karachi

Discussions about the effect colonialism has had on non-western and specifically Asian art dominated at ‘The Anxious Century: Discourses Waiting to be Born’, a two day regional seminar on art that took place on Oct 25 and 26 at Goethe Institut in Karachi. The seminar was jointly hosted by NuktaArt, Pakistan’s Contemporary Art Magazine and Goethe- Institut, Pakistan. The sub themes on which papers were presented are: Multiple Modernities- Reclaiming Cultural Space Canons of Control and Subordination Art Market: An Uncertain Progress Transformed by Technology Art critics from Pakistan, Germany, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Iran presented papers that focused on the renewed energy at the beginning of the twenty first century. In South Asia, which knows some of the largest concentration of human population, domestic politics of power and poverty complicate lives with uncertainty and anxiety. As this reality is internalized into an expression it weaves strands of optimism and pessimism into creative mythologies of a new age that have found success in international art biennials and art fairs. A Panel discussion on the ‘Challenge of Building Art Archives in South Asia’ with Pakistani and international participants on the second day was supported by Asia Art Archive Hong Kong. This seminar will help art critics, artists, art students, collectors, gallerists and others to understand the ferment of new ideas in the 21st Century and strengthen the regional and global interaction between art scholars. The Keynote Address was delivered at the seminar by Arif Hasan (prominent architect, planning consultant, author, social researcher and development activist). Welcome remarks on the first day were made by Markus Litz (Director of Goethe-Institut) and by Niilofur Farrukh (Editor of NuktaArt). Closing remarks at the end of the seminar were made by yours truly (Senior Editor, NuktaArt).