ROM Connects: Innovation and Connection: Contemporary Art at the Karachi Biennale 22

Join host Nitin Deckha and guests Faisal Anwar and Atteqa Malik for a conversation that explores Pakistan's rich aesthetic legacies through the lens of the Third Karachi Biennale KB22. Discover how contemporary artists in Pakistan and its diaspora are expanding the reach and resonance of Pakistani visual cultures to audiences in the subcontinent and around the world. 

Program Partner: ROM Friends of South Asia 

Recorded August 9, 2022

Nitin Deckha holds a PhD in Anthropology from Rice University, Houston, and is a cultural anthropologist, educator and learning facilitator. For the last 15 years, Nitin has designed and taught courses in universities and has expertise in delivering learning for adult professionals on topics ranging from gender inclusive leadership, intercultural communication and preparing people for the future of work. On the creative front, Nitin has published two works of fiction, and has written about urban revitalization, creative industries, heritage, and art. He is a board member of the SAGA Foundation and volunteers with the Friends of South Asia, which supports the appreciation and cultivates awareness of the ROM’s South Asian gallery and collection. 

Faisal Anwar is a hybrid artist and an interactive  producer working between Canada and Pakistan.  Anwar is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre’s Habitat-LAB, Interactive Arts Program 2004, and did his bachelor’s in graphic design from the National College of Arts Lahore, Pakistan 1996. He is the co-founder of Art Address, an artist-led collective in Oakville, Canada and Chief Curator of Karachi Biennial 2022. 

Anwar explores the history and diversity of urban spaces and cultural identities. He is inspired by hybrid art, algorithms, data visualization, ecology and cognitive sciences to create thought-provoking works while pivoting community participation and cultural experiences.  His artistic practice branches through multiple media including interactive installations, immersive environments, data-driven interventions, and public art. 

Atteqa Malik is a conceptual artist, cultural operator, and critical thinker. She has extensive experience in designing workshops that use new media as tools for creative expression. She enjoys working with communities from diverse backgrounds.  Being one of the founders of the Karachi Biennale in 2015, she has been contributing a great amount of her time towards the biennale’s Global Outreach Program and its management and hospitality department. The global outreach program connects international artists to various communities in the city of Karachi for art, well being and educational exchanges. Atteqa has participated in numerous media art conferences and exhibitions and contributed to policy-making strategies for new media art especially using open technology.