Waheeda Baloch, a renowned professor at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, is making history as the first female curator of the Karachi Biennale (KB24), Pakistan’s largest contemporary art exhibition.
Under her leadership, this year’s theme Rizq | Risk explores the critical relationship between sustenance and threat, with a focus on food security amid the country’s ongoing climate and ecological challenges.
Baloch’s curatorial vision is deeply personal. Her experience with Pakistan’s recent devastating floods has shaped her approach, bringing environmental degradation, food sovereignty, and social justice to the forefront of the Biennale. Through this lens, she seeks to raise awareness of the vulnerabilities in our food systems, calling attention to how climate change, colonial legacies, and globalisation impact local communities.
Spread across five public venues, KB24 will showcase over 40 artists from 11 countries, offering installations, performances, and interactive sessions that highlight these urgent issues. The venues—Sambara Art Gallery, NED University, Frere Hall, Bagh Ibne Qasim, and Alliance Française—will host 18 projects designed to spark critical conversations around sustainability and social justice.
For Baloch, Rizq | Risk is more than just a theme. It is a call to action, encouraging audiences to rethink how food systems reflect broader societal concerns. The exhibition touches on topics like the loss of culinary heritage, land ownership disputes, and the impact of climate disasters on agriculture. Artists will act as advocates, using their work to challenge the status quo and promote sustainable alternatives.
Baloch hopes the Biennale will inspire reflection and action, sensitising the public to the connections between climate resilience, food security, and cultural heritage. Visitors can engage in workshops, pop-up events, and interactive discussions throughout the exhibition, further enriching the conversation on art and activism.
The full schedule and list of participating artists are available on the Karachi Biennale’s official website. The exhibition will run from October 27 to November 10, inviting the public to explore the intersection of art and urgent global issues through Baloch’s powerful curatorial lens.
, Pakistan’s largest contemporary art exhibition. Under her leadership, this year’s theme Rizq | Risk explores the critical relationship between sustenance and threat, with a focus on food security amid the country’s ongoing climate and ecological challenges.){kind=link}