Metaverse Bodies | Digital World | Lahore Digital Arts Festival

Metaverse Bodies / 12 - 15 October 2023
Role: Co-Curator

The Metaverse Bodies edition—framed under the umbrella of the “Four Days” digital arts festival from 12 to 15 October 2023—was Lahore’s first large-scale, physical festival of digital art. Organized by the Lahore Digital Arts Festival (LDF) in collaboration with the EUNIC–Pakistan Cluster, the event featured an academic conference (MikroPOM) at Beaconhouse National University and a city-wide exhibition across nine venues showcasing around thirty artists, including Europeans like Christa Sommerer (Austria), Laurent Mignonneau (France), Justine Emard (France), Stefano Fake (Italy), and Anton Stahler (Germany); local voices also participated, exploring embodiment, avatars, and digital identity. The festival attracted over 25,000 visitors and marked a landmark moment for digital arts in Pakistan.

Anton Sahler, Nivetha Balasubramaniam, Sofia Stærmose Hardt, Abdul Rehman, Huma Gul, Muhammad Atique, Raja Rinoshan, Ridaa Ahsan, Shajia Fatima, Stefano Fake, Alzbeta Jungrova, Anusha Khalid, Hafsa Ashfaque, Haris Hidayat Ullah, 15sec.mp4 (Rahema Zaheer), Hamza Majeed Khan, Muhammad Umer Javed, Omair Faizullah, Affan Mir, Agha Ali, Aleena Akbar Khan, Ayesha Mubarak Ali, Daniyal Alam, Fizza Saleem, Hamza Baig, Irfan Mahmood, Iza Ammad, Kashif Rafique, M. Saeed Ghani, M4HK, Maaz Ahmad, Marwah Waqar, Maryem Imtiaz, Mazhar Hussain, Meerab Tahir, Muhammad Akram Zafar, Naima Muzaffar, Rabia Sarwar, Shamaas Junaid, Shuja Ulhaq, Ujala Khan, Umair Abbasi, Zafar Iqbal, Zainab Khan, Zakira Noor Hussain, Zara Ahmad, Adnan Mirza, Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau, Durrie Baloch, Mansoor Ali, Rabeeha Adnan, Shafia Mirza, Fatima Aslam, and Hira Asim.

The EUNIC–Pakistan Cluster (embassies of Italy, Austria, Czechia, France, the Goethe‑Institut, Embassy of Germany, and EU Delegation), along with Beaconhouse National University, National College of Arts Lahore, Institute for Art and Culture, Kinnaird College for Women University, Comsats University Islamabad, Government of Punjab, Lahore Museum, Punjab IT Board Incubator, Aangun, Haam Gallery, Numaish Gah Gallery, The Colony, Zahoor Ikhlaq Gallery, The Little Art, Dafarkhwan co‑working, Kilam Law Associates, Dev Beans IT Solutions, MadLab, Politics of the Machines Conference, and Tajdar Chaudry.