KARACHI: Speakers at a seminar at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) on Saturday discussed new trends in curating cultural expression.

The seminar Re(present)ing Culture: Curatorial Approaches, Challenging the Norms had Dr Laura Weinstein of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Karachi Biennale`s chief executive officer Niilofer Farrukh and Dugdugi Artistic Collective`s Imran Nafees as speakers while Sameeta Ahmedmoderated the event.

In his presentation titled `Curating in the Margins: Witnessing and Embracing the Untold`, Mr Nafees explored the role of curatorial practices by artists themselves that created democratic and alternative spaces for voices that were often unheard.

His speech delved into how these challenged dominant and reductive narratives, and included multiple perspectives, emphasising public engagement and critical dialogue.

He told the story of how he became involved in launching Dugdugi, a platform for alternative curating. He went on to narrate the stories of other such platforms of which he has been part of.

He said sometime in October there was a Day of the Banned Books. On that day, in 2012, Ismat Chughtai`s story Lihaaf was enacted in Lahore`s Anarkali Bazaar. Space, he said, had never been a problem for him.Dr Weinstein spoke about the Museum of Arts` new approach that was adapted to celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2020, that calls for making community co-creation a regular part of exhibitiondevelopment. This is titled Table of Voices, she explained.

She said the museum, fifth largest in the United States, was founded in 1870 and opened for public in 1876. It has over 500,000objects.

She said the most radical change there had been in narratives.

Giving the example of an 18th century painting that shows an African American man being part of a rescue operation, she said that the man had now become a very important piece of discussion in the local art circle because of the change in narrative over the years.

`Old objects are now being viewed in new stories,` she said. But then she herself raised a question: `Can one decolonise a museum?` To this she said she cannot say yes or no.

She said New York City museums where more visitors were tourists cannot focus on local communities.

She mentioned that the Trump administration had cut down funds for institutions like Smithsonian, and though her museum was not entirely dependent on federal grants, they did apply for some every now and then, something thatgave her chills.

`The new Administration has done away with the previous policy of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and this too is a source of concern for those working on cultural diversity,` she said.

Talking of the department of Islamic art, she said it used to be just one hall but now it had become eight rooms though the space remained the same.

She also said that the department had an unstitched copy of Holy Quran from West Africa.

Even though she admitted the change for better in her department was slow, she was hopeful that positive change would come.

Niilofer Farrukh outlined the Karachi Biennale`s contribution in the city`s cultural diaspora.

Weaving in contemporary complexities, the Biennale, she said, provided a de-colonial space where stories of disenfranchisement and hope, struggle and achievement, inspire public imagination and reflection.

She gave the story of the four Biennales that had been held so far in Karachi, and said the organisers had tried to relate the themes of the events to the city.

She agreed with Dr Weinstein that bringing about a change was very difficult, but was just as optimist. She said the three themes that had remained consistent with the Biennale are inclusion, innovation, and history.

The first Biennale, she said, was curated by artist Amin Guljee. It was in reaction to the ethnic and political violence in the city in the years 2014-15. She said Karachi used to have an inclusive culture, but the hatred that one could see in those years made the artists react in a very positive manner.

The second Biennale had witnessed the heatwave and thus the focus theme for it was ecology. That was curated by artist Mohammad Zeeshan. The third one focused on food security, as a response to the floods and the economic crisis that came after that.

Ms Farrukh said the fourth one had been curated by artist Waheeda Baloch and that one focused on polluted land.

She stressed that there had to be a relationship between the Biennale and .

the city. `So far the Biennales have engaged over 600 artists from over 70 countries,` she said.