Nav Haq will curate the fourth Lahore Biennale. Haq is a curator and writer based in Antwerp. He currently serves as the Associate Director at M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp – where he oversees the artistic programme.
M HKA has been in turmoil after the Belgium government announced plans – and then backtracked on them – to move the collection to rival institution Smak in Ghent and cancel a planned new building.
The Lahore Biennial has also faced its share of tribulations, with artist Rashid Rana quitting as artistic director of the first edition in 2017, before the show opened, while Hoor Al-Qasimi’s second edition had to negotiate the COVID-19 pandemic. It wasn’t until 2024 that a third edition was held, curated by John Tain, and even then the opening was briefly delayed by political unrest and protests in city.
Haq’s exhibition is due to open in spring 2027. The curator, who has previously held curatorial positions at Arnolfini, Bristol, and Gasworks, London, says his research is grounded ‘in values of coexistence and progressive internationalism, developed in response to the conditions of an increasingly multipolar 21st century world.’
‘A long-established metropole for art and culture, Lahore is a city that has both deep historical resonance and contemporary vitality, I’m looking forward to working with the Lahore Biennale team to build upon its extraordinary contribution to the cultural and intellectual life.’
