The Lahore Biennale Foundation has tapped a nativeson, artist Rashid Rana, to direct its inaugural exhibition set to open in November 2017. Organizers of the event, Pakistan’s first biennial, plan to highlight “the power of art as an instrument for social change.” Rana says he envisions the city as not just a site for the biennial but as a medium through which traditional ways of producing, exhibiting, and contextualizing art are challenged. “The world currently has a very limited view of Lahore,” he says. “The city is a complex urban space undergoing rapid, sometimes unexpected, transformation. Being true to its spirit will make this a very different kind of biennale. It is my desire that the inaugural event gen- erate ideas for a larger discourse within the art world while remaining relevant to audiences in the city.” Commenting on the launch, LBF chairman Osman Khalid Waheed said, “We view art not just as an exercise in aesthetics, but as a vehicle for social engagement. The biennale is part of an ongoing effort to reclaim a space for the arts in the country’s public discourse, and in doing so, to help support a more balanced and humane society.”
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