By Daaman Thandi
Zahra Khan is the Creative Director for the Foundation Art Divvy and the Lead Curator for the Satrang Gallery in Islamabad. She has been working in the contemporary art and film space along the intersections of ecology, art and public spaces. In this interview, we chat with Zahra about her work in the crypto art space, her recent NFT exhibition, ‘A Moment in Time', and the ever-growing art space in Pakistan.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you to do the work you do?
I have worked in the art world for the last decade. I am the Creative Director for Foundation Art Divvy, an art and culture organization focussed on contemporary art and independent film from South Asia, I am also the lead Curator for Satrang Gallery, Islamabad. As a curator, I emphasize and explore the conversations between contemporary art and existing surrounding spaces – be they urban or natural. The intersection between art and surrounding ecologies or culture and public spaces - historical architectural buildings and collections interests me. In order to ensure my exhibitions are as inclusive, impactful and long-lasting as possible, I often partner with public institutions and museums.
Let’s talk about the NFT exhibition you curated, “A Moment in Time.” what is the message you want to convey through this exhibit? What feelings or impressions do you hope to evoke in the viewers of the exhibit?
The artworks that come together in “A Moment in Time” reflect a sliver of the multitude of concerns pervading the contemporary art scene in Pakistan. Incorporating irony, dark humour, retelling of narratives, and sheer talent the artists in this exhibition have developed distinct individual practices and methods of creation. However, one of the common threads running through each of their artistic practices is a reconsideration of the past, accepted societal structures, and detrimental regulations. In some cases, these artists identify problematic areas, or in others commemorate the beauty in the past and in tradition through their work.
Representative of the current art scene in Pakistan, the exhibition is rife with dark humour, cultural motifs, and contemporary references. The works comment upon historical, socio-political interactions and issues woven within the fabric of Pakistan and that are often common globally. I want viewers to connect with the works via their own experiences and from their individual perspectives.
Is this your first time working with NFTs? How do you feel the perception of digital art has changed in the last 2 years?
Yes, it is! “A Moment in Time,” the exhibition I curated for the Upside Space was the first time I have worked in the NFT arena. I was a little nervous at first, but seeing the exhibition come to life has been a very exciting and fulfilling experience.
Artists have been creating digital art for some time, and the emergence of NFTs, although initially met with great hype - resistance by some, and extreme enthusiasm by others - has now settled into being an accepted medium of creating, collecting and displaying. It is of course still a new and intriguing space!
What excites you about NFTs and Cryptoart? Is it here to stay?
The possibilities of a novel way of creating, a new medium and a different way of exchanging, viewing and interacting with the work. The endless possibilities are what excite me. I hope that it is here to stay! Now that the hype has settled, more artists and collectors are organically moving towards exploring and investing in NFTs.
How did you go about selecting the featured artists in this exhibit? What led you to choose these eight artists?
For this exhibition, I decided to reach out to artists, Amber Arifeen, Saud Baloch, Aamir Habib, Rabeya Jalil, Amra Khan, Mamoona Riaz, Mohsin Shafi and Risham Syed, who were new to the NFT space. These are artists whose work I have either shown or been following carefully over the last few years. Their methods of working are primarily focused on mark-making - they are tactile and physical in nature. These are artists who are experimental in their practices, and I knew they would enjoy expanding their creative methods. The idea was to present them with this new method of creating, displaying and spreading the art and see how the work developed as a response to this pitch.
The curation reflects on the current moment. Could you speak about how the artists responded to this? Were there any particularly unexpected or surprising responses to your prompts? If so, what were they?
Art is often said to be a reflection of current times and a way of preserving the past. The overarching motivation of the artists in this exhibition is to re-analyse or re-imagine past norms, which continue to be deeply embedded within our current contemporary culture and are persistently causing reverberations. These artists question historical events, socio-political changes, and personal issues through their work. As a curator, the overarching point of interest was, tracing the ways that their current ways of working could adjust to new technologies and add new meaning to the work.
The works in the show reflect these experiments and transformations adding new layers of meaning – where paintings have been animated and set to music, or the elements of sculptural lacelike artworks transformed to create meditative spirals or installations of objects have been transformed into GIFs.
How do you agree on a theme before starting a new project, and how do you navigate creative differences (assuming there are any hah!)
The exhibitions I curate always emerge from a specific hook. The hook can be as simple as an artwork, a historic building, or a larger cause. I then build exhibitions around that hook. In this exhibition, NFTs and transforming technologies became the hook. I usually welcome creative differences if they arise, because those make the exhibitions more nuanced and stronger.
What do you think of where the art world is at in Pakistan, and do you think art has a role in affecting change in the country?
The art world in Pakistan is continuing to grow and expand and is becoming more mature. This is a great place to be because it means there is room and needs for movement. Artists are continuing to further their thought processes and their practices. Collectors are also honing their own collecting styles – likes and dislikes. I think art always creates waves of change in a country and in turn is changed. Art sparks conversations, debates, and new ways of thinking and considering.
What do power structures look like in the Pakistan art world (worldwide 87% of museum collections in the US are by male artists, and 85% of the artists are white). What are your aspirations for it in the future?
As a female curator, I make it a point to highlight female practitioners – I really admire the maturity, strength and critical sensibilities of their work. My exhibitions are generally equally balanced between male and female artists or primarily female artists. Naiza Khan, the artist whose work I exhibited at the Venice Biennale is an established female artist.
You did your undergraduate studies in the US at the University of Pennsylvania and your postgraduate in the UK at SOAS. How has your background informed your point of view as a curator?
My undergraduate degree was in International Relations and Fine Arts, and my master's was in Contemporary Asian and African art. I was particularly interested in the influence of international events across cultures and societies. My curatorial practice has been informed by the nuanced, global nature of art and the similarities across contemporary art movements as artists foretell and respond to shifting paradigms and changes.
In these times of global unrest, between the global pandemic and the popular uprisings happening around the world, do you feel the need to be a part of those conversations as a curator?
Yes, I do. Art has a unique universally understood language of its own which can create dialogue and connections that regular conversations are unable to manage. The overwhelming nature and pace of crises can seem insurmountable. Approaching difficulties from a place of calm and empathy often results in change. It is important to slow down viewers, and give them moments of solitude and space to absorb. My interests are therefore moving towards ecologically oriented exhibitions.
Has an artist ever changed/opened your mind about something?
All the time! And I am repeatedly amazed by the genius of the artists who I work with. They constantly change my mind about something or present new ways of seeing, perceiving, or absorbing.
What is your most liked artwork/ photo?
I love Manet’s Olympia, and I love how he challenged existing and previously accepted methods of painting and of the art world. He turned the art world on its head. It’s a multi-layered work and continues to be revolutionary and controversial.
What do you see in store for South Asian representation in the NFT space? What would you like to see more of?
Platforms like the Upside Space are very important for South Asian representation in the NFT space because they are carving out a much-needed niche and introducing a new generation of artists and collectors. I would like to see even more artists embracing this new technology, and exploring it widely and deeply.
The exhibition, A Moment in Time, is currently on display at The Upside Space - a curator-led online platform that showcases traditional art from South and South East Asia.