Karachi Art Directory is a project of Karachi Biennale Trust, a visionary platform that brings together innovation, excellence and criticality through a multiplicity of curatorial strategies.
The Karachi Art Directory is a part of the discursive research to document the current art scene of Karachi and other cities of Sindh and make it a available to a larger audience via this website. Without documentation it has been difficult to understand the diversity and scale of art practices and institutions that support it.
Karachi
Other Cities of Sindh
Tazeen Hussain and Bushra Hussain , Chairs of the KAD Committee, have worked tirelessly to list practicing artists with a contemporary practice as well as those engaged in traditional and popular practices like Calligraphy and Truck Art. This directory brings them together on the same art platform for the first time.
We would also like to acknowledge the support of interns from various art institutions who helped with the initial research. A rigorous process has been followed to collect information and verify its authenticity for this data base.
Today Karachi, after Delhi and Mumbai has the largest and most diverse art scene in South Asia which is driven both by creativity and commerce.This growth can be traced to 1947 when early Modernists chose to make it their home. Karachi has always welcomed experimental genres and art entrepreneurs with enthusiasm.
The city’s large collector base was nurtured by Ali Imam from the time he opened the doors of the Indus Gallery in 1970. Today Karachi is the art commerce hub of the country where dozens of art galleries offer opportunities to artists from all over Pakistan and the Diaspora. Hundreds of students graduate from its three major art schools and several small ones. KAD documents the current art scene of Karachi and other cities of Sindh for scholars, curators and all those interested in having a comprehensive picture.