Written by: Nahal Sheikh
Posted on: August 20, 2020 | 
Zones of Dreams by Salima Hashmi
With Zahra’s huskies in the background, ambulance sirens on my end, and past the Zoom-call inadequacies, we dove right into how and why an artist does what they do. Zahra Khan, alongside her mother, is the founder of Foundation Art Divvy, a contemporary art platform in Pakistan. Researching about her before the interview, I was both impressed and overwhelmed by all that she’s accomplished. Other than the foundation, she has curated exhibitions across the globe, from collateral exhibitions for the Lahore Biennale, to Manora Field Notes at the Pavilion of Pakistan, Venice Biennale.
Our focus, however, was on her latest ‘Art Divvy Conversation Series’ on Instagram live. Every week, she interviews contemporary artists from Pakistan and South Asia. Some of the art world personalities covered in the past several months include Khadim Ali, Feroze Gujral, and Rashid Rana. Zahra confessed that she had been wanting to do something like this for a long time. But it always seemed like an enormous undertaking that involved the right kind of funding, equipment, team, the right kind of everything. When the pandemic began, she thought of grabbing the opportunity of escaping the minuscule technicalities and going online - it was finally time to do artist interviews.
Zahra Khan
The Art Divvy Conversation Series is a space for artists to - without restriction - delve into their artwork, histories, and personalities. It’s “to give the artist a platform and keep the talks very casual, but making sure there’s enough substance for people who are genuinely interested.” Zahra has produced a trajectory of talks with artists from a range of contexts with people she’s known for years in the art world. How the conversation goes really depends on the artist and what they want to bring forth.
The very first interview was with visual artist and writer, Komail Aijazuddin, who’s based both in Lahore and New York. Zahra says, “Komail was interesting to start [with] because I know him and he’s such a dynamic personality. And it was by far, I think, the most loose one.” As an MFA graduate from New York, Komail’s practice began with investigating Islamic art and evolved into a larger exploration of religious art. The interview flowed in its own rhythm as though two friends were having a chat. They talked about many things: his background, art style, inspirations, his column writing, and the Corona-led home sketches of his father and nephew.
From the first interview, the audience is able to hinge onto the ‘casual’ mood the series tries to capture. However, each talk has its own pulse depending on the artist, their work and lives.
Miniature 2019 by Komail-Aijazuddin
As the series progressed, Zahra wanted to move beyond just artists. She slowly got on board individuals who were involved in a spectrum of professions - historians, teachers, writers, curators, activists, and so much more.
One such guest was Tariq Alexander Qaiser. He’s an architect by name, but has broadened his professional life as an environmentalist, filmmaker, photographer and academic. He’s producing short films about Karachi’s depleting mangrove forests, and is working on publishing a set of books on the Indus Delta. Listening to Tariq, one is able to understand his work from a personal lens. He loves sailing; what he called his “love affair with the ocean,” from which began his life-long curiosity with mangrove trees and their habitat. In a country fraught with climatic challenges, Tariq’s work tries to spread awareness of pressing issues through film and photography.
Tariq Alexander Qaiser's photography
Another guest on the series was Salima Hashmi. She’s an iconic artist, curator, art historian, academic and activist, a true all-rounder. Zahra structured this talk around specific events in Salima’s life so that most of her work is covered. They discussed her past and future projects, the many books she’s authored, her journey as a Professor at the National College of Arts in Lahore, and her overall impression of the dynamic art scene in Pakistan.
Zahra sums up eloquently the multitude of roles these individuals adopt and their significance - “They’re teaching, curating, writing, and somehow it all comes together in their work. So, it’s a great way to highlight those things too.” The idea is to show how an artist is not just an artist, but a lot more. This ‘more’ ends up reflecting in their work, be it intentionally or not.
The series has slowly grown into a regional platform, with Zahra reaching out to artists and personalities beyond Pakistan. She says, “I was getting a lot of messages from regional artists, and I thought maybe it’s time to expand it even further, maybe have it be a broader thing for South Asia. Why stop in Pakistan?”
She invited Nadia Samdani, Co-Founder of the Samdani Art Foundation. Nadia works with Bangladeshi and South Asian contemporary artists and architects, to increase their global exposure. They talked about Nadia’s exploration of the South Asian art world, how her tastes developed and are still changing, her favourite Bangladeshi artists, and the regional impact of the Dhaka Art Summit.
Habiba Nowrose, Life of Venus, 2019–ongoing Photography Commissioned for DAS 2020. Courtesy of the artist and Samdani Art Foundation. Photographer: Randhir Singh
Amidst political uncertainties in South Asia, especially between Pakistan and India, Zahra finds it significant to understand how art and information filters through to the other side of each border. For instance, how Indians feel about the art in Pakistan. She shares, “We have so many political differences which seem to flare up off and on, but at the crux of it our experiences have been very similar [...] It hasn’t been long since the Partition happened, and in a way art is an important way to try and heal the wounds that do need to be healed and addressed.”
During her time as a curator, Zahra always felt as though viewers don’t quite understand contemporary art. People always asked, ‘What’s the artist trying to do?’ As an observer, when you see an art piece it’s either finished or a work in progress. What the artist has invested in this piece doesn’t always come across. Their story, their background, and what the art represents may be overlooked or difficult to understand in the exhibition space.
Zahra explains, “Once the artwork is created and put out in the world, it’s very much about how a viewer sees it and interprets it. How the viewer experiences the artwork is of paramount importance.” The Art Divvy Conversation Series tries to fill the missing link between the artist and the interpretation of their work.
Another motivation behind the series is to let the viewer feel comfortable enough to understand the contemporary art they see and not find it intimidating. Zahra observed that people tend to shy away from interpreting and commenting on artwork. However, “people don’t often realize how similar artists’ experiences are to their own, how their art is often a response to what they see around them.”
The Art Divvy Conversation Series bridges this gap between the artist and viewer. It tells the audience: “It’s very much about you. You as the viewer are the reason why the show has come up. You as the viewer are the reason why we’re having this conversation with the artist.” This way the audience can better understand the things art can accomplish, and how it isn't be just be a painting on the wall.
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Website: https://projectartdivvy.com/
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