art
Cities often measure time through their buildings, their traffic, their headlines. Art, however, measures time differently. It stretches the past into the present and allows the future to quietly enter the room. At the Gulgee Museum recently, that sense of time folding into itself framed the press conference announcing Karachi Biennale 2027.
The Karachi Biennale Trust (KBT) formally introduced the fifth edition of the Biennale, scheduled from 16th to 31st January 2027, under the theme ‘Kal — Yesterday/Tomorrow’. Curated by Noor Ahmed, the upcoming edition marked ten years of the Biennale’s presence in the city. The gathering brought together members of the media, artists and figures from the corporate and cultural sectors.
Founded in 2016, KBT operates as a non-profit platform promoting creativity and critical discourse in the visual arts. Its flagship project, the Karachi Biennale, functions as a temporary, city-wide museum with exhibitions and public programmes across heritage sites, institutions and parks, remaining free and open to all.
Chairperson Atteqa Malik opened the event, followed by a visual presentation revisiting earlier Biennales. The conference also introduced new leadership, including Malik as chairperson and Shanaz Ramzi as managing trustee. In her remarks, Ramzi reflected on the Trust’s decade-long journey, “At ten years, the Karachi Biennale Trust stands as a testament to what sustained cultural collaboration can build for a city. As we look toward KB27, we reaffirm our commitment to making art publicly accessible while creating global conversations rooted in Karachi’s realities.”
Artistic director Bushra Hussain spoke about previous editions, while Noor Ahmed outlined her vision for KB27. Ahmed, who previously served as assistant curator of KB19 and was part of the team behind the Pakistan Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020, emphasised her aim to expand the scale and reach of the Biennale. Her curatorial practice has included projects such as ‘River Landscapes’ and the large-scale digitisation of Lahore and Taxila Museums, reflecting a sustained engagement with research-driven and collaborative work.
Following the press conference, guests attended an exclusive preview of ‘Aaj Aur Kal’ a one-day exhibition curated by Amin Gulgee and Noor Ahmed at the Gulgee Museum. The exhibition brought together performance, new media, and installation by 72 artists from 18 countries, including Salima Hashmi, RM Naeem, Raqs Media Collective, Meher Afroz, Heide Hatry, Natthaphon Chaiworawat, Richard Humann, Sohail Zuberi and Risham Syed.
After the preview, the exhibition opened to the general public, extending the conversation on time, memory and possibility beyond the press conference walls.
- You! desk
