Delhi Gate illuminated to highlight heritage

LAHORE : The Delhi Gate, Walled City, was lit during an exhibition by a series of art installations as part of “Sheherezade: The Walled City Anthology” on Saturday evening.

The buzzing streets were adorned with innovative designs and contemporary art to highlight the heritage and celebrate the rich historical and cultural identity of the Walled City during the event which could continue on Sunday (today)

Sheherezade is an urban intervention created through collaboration between Numaish Karachi-Lahore, the British Council in Pakistan, the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) and MadLab (UK).

From calligraphic piece on Ustaad Daman's poetry on the walls of Patli Galli to “Traversal” by Asa Calow and Dan Hett at Sabeel Walli Galli, the installations received great appreciation from the visitors.

Asa Calow, a creative technologist from MadLab, said he really liked calligraphy and the tile work at Masjid Wazir Khan and tried a creative response to the Walled City though his work at Sheherezade.

Raania Azam Khan Durrani, director arts, British Council in Pakistan, said the event brought together national and international architects, artists, computer scientists, craftspeople, designers, digital innovators and interdisciplinary teams who worked together on installations spread across the Walled City, from Delhi Gate, Sabeel Walli Galli to Patli Galli to Wazir Khan Chowk.

James Hampson, deputy country director, British Council in Pakistan, said, “Sheherezade is celebrating the rich culture and historical identity of Pakistan by bringing it to the communities themselves for them to engage, interact and appreciate. Since 2016, we have invited 35 experts and institutions from the UK to visit Pakistan. With support from the UK, we hope to develop the social, economic and cultural assets of this amasing country. There is immense potential for skills development of the local industry leading to economic prosperity for millions in Pakistan.”

Kamran Lashari, director general, WCLA, said, “We are taking concrete measures to promote culture and tourism.”

Saima Zaidi, curator/core team member, Numaish Karachi said, “When I was a student at NCA, my friends and I would come to Wazir Khan Mosque before the Chowk was even set up, and it was such a magical space to be in. To be able to do a project in the same place is like a dream I never could have dreamed of.

The people of Androon Sheher (Wall City) have been so hospitable, opening their doors to us and cocreating with us.

They've shared so many of their stories, and Sheherezade is really for them. The participants have put their souls into the work and responded so well to the site. The Numaish Karachi team is very grateful to Lahore and our partners MadLab UK, the WCLA and the British Council in Pakistan.” “The British Council thrives on collaboration and partnership, and through this project we aim to connect local knowledge with international expertise to augment understanding of, and interaction with Pakistan’s tangible and intangible heritage.

In 2016, we hosted the first International Heritage and Museums Conference (IHMC) in partnership with WCLA which brought together museum and Heritage professionals from the UK and Pakistan to discuss examples of best practices in the sector. The following year, 25,000 people attended the Heritage Now festival, which through panel discussions, exhibitions, workshops, artisanal market places, concerts and much invited people to participate in not just the academic but social and cultural side of heritage as well. A large number of people visited Delhi Gate to experience Sheherezade.