PREVIOUS EVENTS

Conference of the Birds

April 24, 2024. 6pm

Talk with Ali Kazim

@hinterland, Krongasse 20, 1050 Vienna.

In many different forms, the artist Ali Kazim recreates the journey of those birds who set off in search of the Simorgh in Attar’s Conference of the Birds and find themselves and their faith in their quest. Guided by the idea that the spiritual encounter ultimately enables a discovery of beauty and the divine, Kazim reactivates Attar's 800-year-old tale in his multimedia artworks. Whether it is the 3000 bird sculptures made of clay and dried in the sun, which disintegrate when it rains, as he showed in an installation at the Lahore Biennale 2020, or the detailed bird drawings that unite to form a collective led by a hoopoe, Kazim creates new contexts and allows viewers to immerse themselves in these birds’ world. At the same time, he also allows us to participate in the lessons that the past holds for the present.

For the exhibition Valleys of the Simorgh, which will be on display rom 27 June to 20 July 2024, he will create a textile work together with Maheen Kazim that will provide a new angle on the Conference of the Birds.

Beforehand, however, on 24 April, he will tell us about his personal connection to Attar’s tale in an evening lecture and explain how it became a source of inspiration for him, as it gives shape to the „perpetual and collective human desire for ultimate spiritual unity“

Guest:

Ali Kazim (* 1979 in Pakistan) Currently he lives and works in Lahore, Pakistan. He also works as assistant professor at the National College of Arts, Lahore. He received his BFA degree from the National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan in 2002 and an MFA from the Slade School of Fine Art, London, UK, in 2011. His work exhibited widely in solo and group shows internationally.

In Flames

Sat Apr 27, 2024 | 21:00
Stadtkino
Red Lotus 2024

Pakistan, Canada 2023
98 Min | Color | Urdu with English subtitles

Directed by Zarrar KAHN

Enter the streets of present-day Karachi, where Mariam, a young woman living with her mother and brother, is plagued by nightmares. Following her grandfather’s passing, his brother attempts to coerce them into relinquishing their apartment. But a hasty decision by Mariam’s grieving mother puts their only asset at risk. As if this weren’t enough, tragedy strikes Mariam’s secret love, Asad, leaving her with no solace. With the greedy uncle backed by Pakistan’s difficult legal system, Mariam and her mother must rely on each other to survive the looming threat.

In Flames is Zarrar Kahn’s debut feature, premiering at Director’s Fortnight in 2023. It’s also the first South Asian horror film ever selected by Cannes. Through the lens of horror, the film delves into the consequences of living in a fiercely patriarchal society, shedding light on the daily struggles of women facing gendered oppression. Through chilling suspense and heart-stopping terror, it exposes the oppressive forces that bind women in a relentless struggle for autonomy and survival.

ZARRAR KAHN
Born in Karachi and now based in Toronto, Zarrar Kahn is a director dedicated to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. In Flames is his first feature film.

A TRANSDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO MUGHAL STUDIES

A SYMPOSIUM & EXHIBITION IN HONOUR OF PROFESSOR EBBA KOCH’S SCHOLARLY WORK

15 MARCH 2024 START: 9.30 AM

AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES / PSK, SEMINAR ROOM 3RD FLOOR / GEORG COCH-PLATZ 2 / 1010 VIENNA

On the occasion of Professor Ebba Koch’s 80th birthday, a symposium will take place at the Academy of Sciences in Vienna. Based on the scientific achievements of the internationally renowned art historian on the Mughal Empire and its exchange with other Empires of its time, new interdisciplinary research approaches will be discussed.

The focus is on studies of Indo-Islamic culture, architecture and garden art, of the relationships between Mughal India and Europe as well as of the Millionenzimmer of Schönbrunn Palace, which take up and critically examine recent developments, particularly in relation to transcultural and global research. For this purpose, international experts from different disciplines are invited: art history, architectural history, global history, Iranian studies, linguistics, and cultural anthropology.

The symposium will be accompanied by an exhibition of Ebba Koch’s archive material (architectural drawings and photographs), some of which have not yet been published. The aim of the symposium is - apart from honoring Ebba Koch's merits - to revitalize Vienna as a scientific center for research on the Mughal Empire and to strengthen the interdisciplinary collaboration between leading experts of the field.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Dr. Corinna Forberg (corinna.forberg@freenet.de, University of Göttingen)

Dr. Christiane Kalantari (christiane.kalantari@oeaw.ac.at, ÖAW, Vienna)

Dr. Simone Wille (Simone.Wille@uibk.ac.at, University of Innsbruck)

The exhibition is curated by Christine Bruckbauer and Christiane Kalantari.

Die mit dem Strauss tanzten. Johann Strauss im Karakorum

Anlässlich des 100. Todestages von Johann Strauss (Sohn), bekannt als "Walzerkönig", begab sich der ORF-Journalist und Autor Otto Brusatti im Jahre 1999 mit einem Porträt des Komponisten und seiner Musik auf eine Reise durch den Karakorum. Vielfältig waren die Reaktionen der lokalen Bevölkerung, von Neugier und Begeisterung bis zu Ablehnung. Otto Brusatti wird den Abend mit uns verbringen, eine Einführung zu seinem Film geben und anschließend für ein Gespräch zur Verfügung stehen.

DATE

27. Februar 2024, 18.30 Uhr / 6:30 pm

VENUE

Restaurant “Der Wiener Deewan”, Liechtensteinstraße 10, 1090 Wien

SpaceMosque

Saks Afridi

Mit der Arbeit SpaceMosque bespielt der pakistanisch-amerikanische Künstler Saks Afridi als Teil der Ausstellung Science Fiction(s) – Wenn es ein Morgen gäbe den Theseustempel im Wiener Volksgarten.

In seiner Erzählung, die in die jüngste Vergangenheit zurückblickt, wird nach dem Auftauchen des Raumschiffs jedem Menschen ein Gebet am Tag erfüllt. Je nach Glauben erscheint das Raumschiff in unterschiedlichen Formen: Als Kirche, Synagoge, Moschee oder als Lichtstrahl. Hinter der Verschmelzung von islamischer Kunst und Raumschiffdesign verbirgt sich die Frage, worauf wir unsere Wünsche richten. Wäre die Welt besser, wenn unsere Gebete in Erfüllung gingen?

Theseustempel, 20. April bis 8. Oktober 2023, täglich 11 bis 18 Uhr.

Yasmeen Lari

Architektur für die Zukunft

Als erste Architektin Pakistans entwarf Yasmeen Lari ikonische Bauten der Moderne, bevor sie eine Zero-Carbon-Selbstbau-Bewegung für die Ärmsten der Armen begründete. Anhand ihres Lebenswerks zeigt die Ausstellung, wie sich das Verhältnis von Architektur und Zukunft verändert.

Yasmeen Lari is Pakistan’s first woman architect. She designed iconic modernist buildings before initiating a zero-carbon self-build movement for the poorest of the poor. This exhibition uses Lari’s oeuvre as an example to show how the relationship of architecture to the future has changed.

ORT / VENUE

Architekturzentrum Wien, Museumsplatz 1 im MQ, 1070 Wien, www.azw.at; 09.03.2023 - 16.08.2023; daily 10:00–19:00.

The Vienna School of International Studies and the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are pleased to invite to a book presentation on

THE SECURITY IMPERATIVE: Pakistan’s Nuclear Deterrence and Diplomacy

Tuesday, 23 May 2023, 18:30 h

Bruno-Kreisky-Saal of the Diplomatische Akademie Wien ; Favoritenstrasse 15a, 1040 Wien

Welcome: Emil Brix, Director, Vienna School of International Studies

Presentation: Zamir Akram, Book author; Advisor to the Strategic Plans Division, Government of Pakistan; former Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva

Moderation and discussion: Thomas Hajnoczi, Former Director for Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and as Security Policy Director, Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs; former Austrian Permanent Mission to the UN (including the Conference on Disarmament) in Geneva and earlier the one to the Council of Europe)

Closing remarks: Aftab Ahmad Khokher, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Austria

DONAUFESTIVAL

Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily - Love in Exile

07 May 2023 08 00 PM Minoritenkirche Krems

The music of Arooj Aftab speaks of dying and living, of things and people that have gone lost, and of the reincarnation of what has vanished in memory. Born in Lahore, now living in New York, she combines the art of Sufi singing with jazzy instrumentation and contemporary electronic experiments. Aftab was the first Pakistani artist to receive a Grammy in 2022 for her album Vulture Prince. At donaufestival, she can be seen with pianist Vijay Iyer and bassist Shahzad Ismaily; her trio project Love in Exile is a journey into self-exile and the search for freedom and identity.

Buchpräsentation

Ebba Koch “The Planetary King: Humayun Padshah: Inventor and Visionary on the Mughal Throne”

DATUM: 18. APRIL 2023, 17.00

ORT: ÖSTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN; SEMINARRAUM 1.49 , 1. STOCK; HOLLANDSTRASSE 11-13; 1020 WIEN

Die österreichische Kunst- und Architekturhistorikerin Ebba Koch spürt in ihrem neuen Buch The Planetary King dem Leben von Humayun Padshah nach, einem der frühen Mogulherrscher Indiens, der von 1530 bis 1540 in Agra und anschließend von 1555 bis 1556 in Delhi regierte. Trotz seiner zahlreichen Errungenschaften, zu denen unter anderem auch die Rückeroberung des Throns von Hindustan gehörte, wurden diese bisher nicht ausreichend dokumentiert. Ebba Koch nähert sich diesem äußerst facettenreichen Herrscher durch die Beschreibung seines sozialen und intellektuellen Lebens, seiner Reisen, seiner zahlreichen Interessen in den Bereichen der Wissenschaft, Politik und Philosophie und nicht zuletzt seiner einzigartigen Erfindungen.

MEHR

JOYLAND

Pakistan 2022
127 Min | Farbe | Urdu und Punjabi mit englischen Untertiteln

Regie: Saim SADIQ

So 23. Apr 2023 | 21:30
Stadtkino im Künstlerhaus

Mit unserem pakistanischer Festivalbeitrag und Kritiker*innenliebling Joyland würden wir nicht zuletzt auch das unbändig produktive unabhängige Filmschaffen auf dem Kontinent – sowie die Vielfalt der Lebensentwürfe und den Kampf für Geschlechtergerechtigkeit, für die dieses Kino mit Verve eintritt.

MEHR

PAGAL PAGAL PAGAL PAGAL FILMY DUNIYA

Artist: Althea Thauberger
Artistic responses: Adeela Suleman, Marvi Mazhar, Seema Nusrat, Seher Naveed
Curator: Elham Puriya Mehr

OPENING: Sept 7, 7pm

In the presence of H.E. Mr. Aftab Ahmad Khokher, Ambassador of Pakistan.

DATE: September 8 - October 15, 2022

VENUE: hinterland, Krongasse 20, 1050 Vienna.

Pagal Pagal project takes us on a video journey by Canadian artist Althea Thauberger about the Capri Cinema in Karachi. She visualizes the cinema wall as a screen reflecting the seashore and stories of bodies through the works of Karachi-based artists. The exhibition introduces a new way of thinking and existing by challenging our decolonial responsibilities to the city of Karachi, and encourages us to revise our position in the stories. What does Karachi mean to us? A city in the Global South, or part of our body that keeps us afloat? A range of videos, archival material, drawings, and mapping are included in the exhibition.

Tunes of Pakistan

Mag. Gertrud TAUCHHAMMER, Publisher of SOCIETY Magazine & Ambassador H.E. Aftab Ahmad KHOKHER and Mrs. Afshan Aftab KHOKHER , Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, have the honour to invite you to this musical evening to celebrate “Pakistani-Austrian Friendship” preceded by a Reception with traditional Pakistani cuisine.

DATE: Friday, May 27, 2022, 7.30 pm until 10 pm

VENUE: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Augustinertrakt & Prunksaal, Josefsplatz 1, 1015 Wien