LAHORE: It was a well-attended event at the National College of Arts (NCA) on Friday where the British Council, Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) and the college partnered to launch the LBF Virtual Museum project.

The virtual museum is a digital platform for artists, academics and creative practitioners to reexamine shared cultural language and artistic legacy. The projectis a part of the British Council`s Pakistan-UK Season: New Perspectives programmetomarkthe75thanniversaryofPakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, LBF Executive Director Qudsia Rahim said the NCA, where the virtual museum exhibition was held, was an important space for her.

`It`s the same place where I used to work,` she said, adding that the exhibition was a combinedeffort of the artists and curators. She said the LBF was striving hard to create a nationwide alliance of artists to help out the flood-affected people. She thanked NCA Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Murtaza Jafri for providing the space to the foundation to hold the exhibition.

`The virtual museum is a unique form of archiving, knowledge making and exhibition discourse in response to the global socio-cultural changes in museum practice and public perception. Curated by collaboration of leading local artists and academics, and not with a Western lens, it represents our shared history and heritage, and hopes to build upon the research as presented by local practitioners. With the current climate crisis in the country, it is now more crucial than ever to come together, collaborate and help each other,` Ms Rahim said.

Mr Jafri shared with the audience that the NCA would build 100 houses for the flood-affected people and send 1,000 tents for them.

Kate Joyce, business director cultural engagement, South Asia, British Council, said, `The virtual museum is an innovative way to use art and heritage in community building in an inclusive and impactful way. This formed part of our programme of activity for Pakistan/ UK: New Perspectives programme. I look forward to many young artists and curators contributing to this space as we go and meaningfully sharing ideas that pave the way for an inclusive and sustainable future.

Additional Secretary Culture Farhat Jabeen also spoke.

The project plans to develop and sell Art/NFTs as part of the LBF virtual museum for flood relief.

Many people, including Farida Batool, Salima Hashmi, Imran Qureshi, Masooma Syed and Sarmad Khoosat, involved with the virtual museum have already committed to donate to the cause.

The projects on display included Dastaan-i-Urdu that reflected on Urdu literature in Pakistan and aimed to bring to light the sights and sounds of the cities that became centres of literary production. It included a range of liter ary movements.

The Body and Beyond: Women`s Movement in Pakistan curated by Farida Batool investigated the challenges conf ronting women`s movements, by engaging with issues of sexuality andbody politics in the public sphere. It was a meditation on the feminist activism in Pakistan over the course of 75 years.

Taos Chaman by Masooma was an artistic rendering of locations in ordinary cities, towns, villages and small communities in South Asia, by artists who have lived there. It explored the plurality of South Asian culture through the stories of migrants, marginalisedindividuals and communities.

Manduva: Exploring What We Won`t Like to Call`Lollywood`curated by Sarmad Khoosat investigated the evolution of Pakistani cinema, its stories and relationship with the sociopolitical landscape of the country.Ilm-e-Mosiqui: (Classical Legacies, Folk Music and Contemporary Classics) curated by Sara Zaman paid homage to the rich history of musical legacies and emerging contemporary forms in Pakistan and explored various genres of musical expressions. These include its teaching practices, gharana loyalties, the sanctity of raga time-cycles, the craft of instrument making, khapal and other musical forms.

Architecture through Space and Time: Conversations with the first generation of Pakistani Architects by Tanvir Hasan was a series of interviews with the first generation of Pakistani architects who qualified after 1947.