‘This was a celebration of the human imagination’

Three-day International Design Conference Karachi at IVS draws to a close

The three-day International Design Conference Karachi organised by the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS) in collaboration with Kennesaw State University (KSU), Georgia, came to a close with a colourful ceremony at the IVS premises on Wednesday. 

With the theme of ‘Design, Evolution, Education and Practice’, the three-day conference saw discussions on these aspects in architecture, communication and advertising, new media, film, graphic design, illustration, interior design, textiles, fashion design and related fields, all in the South/Central Asian and Western cultural and cross-cultural currents context.

The conference was sponsored by the US State Department under the Higher Education Academic Exchange Partners Program between IVS and KSU.

Addressing the closing ceremony, Professor Emeritus Shehnaz Ismail said she felt privileged to have been a part of the conference. “We have achieved the mission of reaching out to the city, country and the rest of the world. These were two days of remarkable learning through the experiences and energy of a new generation of artists and designers who brought forward a fresh perspective that gives us all hope of the future,” she stated. 

Prof Ismail thanked KSU, the US State Department and the IVS for hosting an event that “provided tremendous exposure to students” and was “a celebration of human imagination”.

In her address on the occasion, US Consul General Grace W Shelton said the US State Department was proud to have sponsored the design conference. She complimented IVS as the “most beautiful college campus of Pakistan”.  

Speaking of their continued association, she said the IVS and KSU had been hosting visits of faculty and students for the past three years. As for the conference, the US CG praised the range of topics – from urban design to truck art, to cultural preservation and innovation – covered over the course of the event. 

These issues, she said, were highly relevant to the global development of art and design.

“I’m not an artist but I can still recognise that design is more than just aesthetics. It is also about functionality, utility and integration of new technologies. Design has the power to explore economic wealth and development. This conference has provided opportunities to develop networks and connectivity, which bodes well for future research collaboration.”

Samina Raees Khan, executive director of IVS, said, “This conference has been a massive learning experience for us all. I am glad that regardless of the current security situation we all came out for this event and were able to make it a success.” 

She took the opportunity to acknowledge those who contributed to making the design conference a success, particularly mentioning Gulzar Haider, Saima Zaidi, Dr Mehrdad Hadighi, Dr Javed Haider, Prof Talat Haider, Richard Bayon, and US CG Grace Shelton.

She ended her address by quoting Winston Churchill; “Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”