August 24, 2009
The Other Pakistan
A traveling photography exhibition by twelve members of the Pakistan Photographers Group.
Mother and Child, Shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai
Bhit Shah, Interior Sindh
Photo by: Abdul Qadir
**Opening reception at South Asia Tea, Friday October 16**
3-5pm in Foster Hall room 103
Opening remarks by Elena Bashir, Senior Lecturer in the Department of South Asian Languages & Civilizations
This exhibition of 34 photographs by 12 members of the Pakistan Photographers Group showcases images that reflect the rich texture, beauty and dignity of everyday life in Pakistan. The theme of "The Other Pakistan" appears timely since the international media have recently focused almost exclusively on politically turbulent Pakistan, promoting stereotypical images of a violent country infected by fanaticism.
At a closer look, however, the photographs exhibited here tell a different, multi-layered story of this complex country. Some images pay tribute to the past and centuries-old traditions. Others depict contemporary scenes and in their unadorned ordinariness offer their own glimmers of dignity.
Whatever the individual circumstance, the seesaw of daily existence in modern Pakistan often seems buffeted by the high spirits that Pakistan's diverse communities exhibit during traditional festivals and by the astonishing beauty of much of Pakistan's landscape.
Since its launch in October 2008, at the 37th Annual Conference on South Asia in Madison, Wisconsin, under the sponsorship of the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS), The Other Pakistan has toured to the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, DC; the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC; and will move to the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University after its stay at the University of Chicago this fall.
The Other Pakistan has also evolved into an international project. In the spring of 2009, sister exhibitions of The Other Pakistan have taken place at Lahore University of Management and Science (LUMS) in Lahore and at the Civic Center in Burewala. Currently, an expanded sister exhibition of The Other Pakistan is touring in Cape Town and Pretoria, South Africa.
The participating photographers include:
Muhammed Reza, Lahore
Ittiqa Abbas, Karachi
Rizwan Ghias, Lahore
Amir Abbas, Karachi
Abdul Qadir, Karachi
Farid Gujjar, Lahore
Asif A. Jehania, Lahore
Aliraza Khatri, Karachi
Waheed Khalid, Lahore
Usman A. Malik, Lahore
Organizing committee and jury:
Yasir Nisar, Lahore
Naeem Ur Rashid, Lahore
Michael Foley, USA
Elisabeth Braun, USA
Opening reception at South Asia Tea, Friday October 16
3-5pm in Foster Hall room 103
Opening remarks by Elena Bashir, Senior Lecturer in the Department of South Asian Languages & Civilizations