Patterns and Air

By Nadia Batool Hussain – 

Three women at the BAC Nepal programme

Artist in Residence or Artist Residencies are magical phrases in the Pakistani art world. They present an opportunity not only to “get away from it all” but also to produce work outside of – well, Pakistan. As far as the legend goes (and it has mythical proportions), art residencies change your life forever.

Besides the fairytale, there is a very real opportunity for artists in these programs to further their understanding of art, and themselves as artists. Cultural exchange being one of the most important aspects, leading to new work made outside of a comfortable, familiar environment. Just being in a different place makes a difference in approach. Since artwork depends on input, these programs are very valuable to the career of emerging, mid-career and senior artists.

In January 2014, three female Pakistani artists from Rawalpindi began their Artist In Residence programme (AIR) at Bikalpa Art Center (BAC) in Nepal, sharing space with other artists from Nepal, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The Bikalpa Art Center is an institution that recognizes the significance of art, culture and civilization. They also focus on contemporary art practice.

“In today’s era of modernization, our society is gradually trailing its ethnicity, values and norms, including indigenous art. The Bikalpa Art Centre’s core intent is to fortify local form of arts and utilize them to inspire art lovers and practitioners to come up with something creative, innovative and imaginative,” explains one of the organizers for the programme.

Representing Pakistan at BAC Nepal are Nadia Rahat, Mehrbano Khattak and Beenish Khalid, three emerging artists who are also faculty at the National College of Arts, Rawalpindi Campus. For them, this was a wonderful opportunity for artistic growth. In the words of Nadia Rahat, “(we) were addressing the role of patterns for quite some time as they begin to appear in our individual art practices; patterns that have been regarded mostly as decorative or supportive elements until recent times. This residency was a creative roller coaster ride for us. Nepal is a culturally rich state with a positive blend of traditional and modern values. You can sit on the road side and get inspired. At Bikalpa we got a chance to work along with sculptors, painters, media artists, performance artists and visual artists from all over the world. The interaction we had was immensely productive. Back at home, we produce work within a comfortable zone including our family, friends and people who know us and our work. But working with a group of new artists with diverse art practices and backgrounds, in a new and rather unknown environment, with them eager to know about our work is what forced us to reevaluate, analyze and rethink our art practice. This is challenging and yet very rewarding for any artist.”

The artists focused on contemporary notions using traditional ideas – a popular approach to art making in these times. They also presented a view of Pakistan that is unlike what is thrown out to the world in general, beyond the bombs and guns. Showing another face of Pakistan, they produced some very interesting work based on their personal experiences and the experience of being at BAC for the AIR program that lasted from January to March, 2014.

The writer is a curator and an art critic