Two-day ‘Heritage Now’ kicks off at Alhamra Arts Council

BY FARHAN QADIR

LAHORE: A two-day event ‘Heritage Now’ is being held at Lahore Alhamra Arts Council over the weekend with an aim to promote the cultural heritage of Pakistan.

The event, organised jointly by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Higher Education Commission (HEC), British Council, Rafi Peer and others, saw an impressive turnout of hundreds of people, including academics, artists and professionals of multiple disciplines and other citizens, on the first of its two days.

The setting was elaborately prepared, with stalls selling crafts and artworks ranging from calligraphy and paintings to sculptures, handicrafts and even khussa shoes, set up by various startups such as Nairang Galleries and Turr Lahore. Rickshaws decorated in the style of traditional ‘truck-art’ flanked the stalls and multiple groups of young musicians captivated onlookers’ attention. Past these, ‘a little open-art studio’ invited the visitors to try their hands in little stations set up for pottery, painting and photography etc. This was an extremely popular spot for families with children. Immediately adjacent to this, an outdoor stage was continuously crowded by people coming in to listen to panel discussions by renowned celebrities or watch musical performances by famous dhol players.

Hall 1 of the arts council was dedicated to an immersive experiential exhibition titled ‘Home 1947’ by two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. This exhibition was first presented at the Manchester International Festival earlier this year.

At Alhamra, visitors were first led by volunteers into one of two small rooms where short documentary films featuring partition survivors, who had been displaced from their homes, were being played. The heart-rending accounts of the survivors talked about what home meant to them. Visitors could enter at any point to view the separate, short films being played on loop without fear of missing anything.

They were then ushered into a visual arts gallery with paintings depicting scenes of displacement and migration, with an audio recording playing overhead with more stories from partition survivors. Coming out of the visual arts’ exhibition room, one found himself amid “yadon ke samaan” (possessions of memories) presented beautifully in suitcases hanging from the ceiling. Little trinkets like copper teapots, a Polaroid camera, a compass, a leather pouch and even a box of yellowed cigarettes looked out of these suitcases, silently calling attention to their own stories of abandonment and exile.

A 17-year-old girl’s letter to her friend, from whom she got separated at the time of partition, peeked out from behind a dupatta, a jewellery box and a hand mirror in another suitcase. Partition accounts, stories of displacement, terror and loss lined the walls of this room as they did in the previous ones. The media used to present these were employed meticulously and tastefully, including photographs, audio-visual equipment and a 360-degree experience of a century-old house.

The entire exhibition was complemented by an impressive employment of technological aids, which added not only to aesthetics but also contributed towards conserving energy. Finally, one emerged from the sombre backstage rooms of the building into Hall 1 itself where a spectacular ensemble of musicians greeted the visitors with music at once melancholic and uplifting.

Panel discussions on topics ranging from technology and heritage to sustainable tourism and development and artistic license, identity and memory: drawing from heritage, went on in the other hall and the outdoor stage where renowned names such as Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Kamran Lashari, Ali Hamza and Sonya Battla spoke.

An important and palpable theme at the event was that of social and economic ‘inclusiveness’. Some were uncomfortable that the event had an ‘elitist’ bent. Questions of class and gender were never far from either the panel discussions or the visitors’ observations.

The day ended with a screening of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary “Song of Lahore”, followed by a musical performance from Sachal Studio Orchestra.

Heritage Now is scheduled to continue until Sunday evening, with a number of panel discussions, art presentations and performances still lined up to be held on the second day. Entry to the venue is free and open to everyone.