John Tain has been appointed curator of Lahore Biennale 03, which will open on February 9, 2024. This iteration of the biennale will explore themes of ecology and sustainable futures. Speaking at a press conference on April 17, Tain spoke about the recent floods and agricultural disasters in Pakistan, as well as the urban pollution and social inequalities plaguing the country. “These challenges are enormous, especially [in] megacities such as Lahore which face migration from agricultural regions and population growth,” he said. “Lahore is a city that has doubled in size over the past decades and is looking to double again if things don’t change accordingly, these cities are facing environmental degradation, poor water quality air, lack of water, loss of open space and noise pollution.” Noting the importance of contributions from local artists in addressing the themes of the biennale, he stressed the need to also invite international artists to participate, emphasizing “that Lahore is not alone in facing the challenges caused by climate change”.
Tain is Head of Research at the Art Asia Archive, Hong Kong. From 2001 to 2017, he was Curator of Modern and Contemporary Collections at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. Her recent curatorial projects include 2020’s ‘Crafting Communities’ at the Asia Art Archive, centered on the Thai feminist biennial Womanifesto; “Out of Turn”, co-organized with Meenakshi Thirukode at the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa, India, in 2018; “Yasuhiro Ishimoto: Someday, Chicago”, co-curated with Jasmine Alinder at the DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, the same year; and 2013’s “In Focus: Ed Ruscha,” co-curated with Virginia Heckert at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Tain succeeds Hoor Al Qassimi, President and Founding Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, as Curator of the Lahore Biennale. Al Qaisimi’s edition of the event took place in 2020 and was one of the last such international exhibitions to take place before the Covid-19 crisis spread across the world, putting similar efforts on ice.
