n thingfest

2017
SVADs annual event, NothingFest, is yet another proud
moment enabling BNUs brightest products to display their
immense talent and dynamism and the vast expanse of their
fertile imagination. For BNU, it presents an opportunity to
exhibit to the world the richness of our founding principles
that espouse the delivery and active promotion of a holistic,
high quality, enlightened liberal arts education which equips
our graduates to not only acquire a more empathetic
appreciation of global developments but also empowers
them to exploit the resulting opportunities.
A Liberal Arts education is rooted in learning and absorbing
socio-economic realities and values. Its foundations lie in
ethical thinking and convergence of ideas that flow from an
exposure to widely varied, yet specialized, academic
disciplines. It is our firm belief that those graduating from
universities today should have the technical, creative and
social skills that endow them with the capability to connect
with the outside world with confidence.
Shahid Hafiz Kardar
Vice Chancellor
Beaconhouse National University
The core of SVADs vision is to stay abreast of contemporary
thought with a broad-based approach to education and
knowledge dissemination. Hence, it has undertaken various
projects that go beyond conventional classroom set up;
redefining pedagogical systems to creatively address
present-day educational needs. Projects such as Humnawa
by Textile, Fashion & Jewelry Department, Stories We Tell
by Visual Arts and Art Education Department and Hamari
Hariyali, Hamari Kamai by Visual Communication Design
Department are examples of endeavors by SVAD that have
not only fostered community engagement but have also won
International awards for their strategic relevance and
significance.

NothingFest is a project in the same direction that liberates

SVAD students from prescribed 'art and design' curriculum
for a week, introducing them to a variety of ideas from a
diverse range of disciplines, ensuring active participation
through interactive formats and playful thematic premise.

Rohma Khan, the Director of the first edition of NothingFest

brings together distinguished people from a wide array of
specializations. Sociologist to physicist, scientist to activist
and musician to philosopher, all under one platform to
explore the theme of "Nothing", through a series of talks and
talk-shops eventually encapsulating everything; encouraging
holistic, cross-disciplinary dialogue generating innovative
thoughts and new ideas.
Rashid Rana
Dean
Mariam Dawood
School of Visual Arts & Design
Arts and visual culture in the contemporary era, as well as in
the annals of history, have been constantly evolving with its
practitioners striving to stimulate and seduce the world they
inhabit in new and meaningful ways. Being engaged in an
increasingly pluralistic environment, the challenge of
perceiving and responding to the flux of information and
technology calls for global citizens, at large, and artists,
designers and educators, in particular, to find new ways of
experiencing and imparting knowledge and information. The
shift from traditional aesthetics demands for innovative
pedagogical practices for the teaching and understanding of
art and design.

The School Of Visual Arts and Design (SVAD) at Beacon-

house National University has led the way for artists and
designers in Pakistan to realize their creative potential,
cutting across national and cultural boundaries, fostering a
unique vision that enables significant contribution to the
visual world.
Being at the forefront of finding innovative ways of imparting
quality education, SVAD has come up with an exclusive
week-long program of exploring the notion of Nothing!

Nothing as a concept can yield to various possibilities of

looking at the mundane, hackneyed and banal concepts of
everyday in a new aesthetic realm. The avalanche of
information we live in currently demands a different kind of
processing system; a system that can be selective of the
sensory perceptions, where the human mind can be in
control of the on/off switch. Practicing nothing could help
become aware of these processes of mind. This could also
be related to the conscious development of low latent
inhibition, whereby one treats familiar stimuli the same as
new stimuli, harnessing a creative and imaginative outlook
on the mundane.

Larry David, the man behind the most popular sitcom of the
90s, Seinfeld is said to have based the entire show on
finding material for comedy from the everyday/nothing.
Shahrukh Khan, reflecting on his fathers life often quotes
him: "Jo kuch nahin kartey, wo kamal kartay hain (Those
who do nothing, do wonders!), which sought relevance in
the famous quote by Benedict Cumberbatch, in the Imitation
Game played by Alan Turing:
Sometimes it's the very people who no one imagines
anything of who do the things no one can imagine. How
does this happen? How does observation of mental traffic
lead to meditation and catharsis?

This week of experience and interaction at SVAD, BNU will

open up a discourse on the above. Looking at the world and
life from this vantage point is the acknowledgement of the
fact that the root to wisdom begins from a wandering and
wondering mind. As Socrates said: "I know one thing; that I
know nothing."

Rohma Khan
Director
NothingFest 2017 | BNU-SVAD
DAY 01
24TH APRIL 2017
MONDAY
DAY 01
24TH APRIL 2017
MONDAY

HINGFES
RASHID NOT T2
RANA 01

7
OPENING REMARKS

ROHMA 12:00 noon

KHAN Slass
Auditorium

NOTHING
NG
O WI
TALK 1 KN "Know that you know
12:30 pm nothing" - This Socratic thought
Slass is the acceptance of a belief that
Auditorium every meaningful journey begins in a
realm unknown. While most people spend
their entire lives trying to buy security from
the unknown, some stare into a blank future,
embrace uncertainty and aspire to create value
where there is none.
This session grapples with what drives
entrepreneurs to choose the uncertain path,
accept high levels of risk and plunge into
unseen and unknown territories with
JUNAID conviction and dreams - as they
IQBAL dare to create everything
out of nothing.
 HER EXCELLENCY,
DR. BRIGITTA BLAHA
SHAHBAZ
TALK2
TALK TASEER
12:30 PM
2:00 pm
Slass
Slass
Auditorium
Auditorium THE
IMP
In the OR
TA
TV series "The Crown", NC
the character based on Queen

EO
Elizabeth is conflicted between staying

FN
detached and neutral in certain political

OT
situations or taking action based on her personal

HIN
biases. As she grapples with this dilemma, she is

GNES
told by her grandmother 'To do nothing is the hardest
job of all. To be impartial is not natural. People will
S IN DIPLOMAT
always want you to frown or smile - and the minute you
do, you will have declared a point of view. And that's the
one thing, as sovereign, you cannot do.'
At times, doing nothing may be an appropriate course
of action in diplomacy.
Dr. Brigitta Blaha, Austrian Ambassador to
IC R

Pakistan, will be addressing the role of

EL

nothingness within her area of expertise as

ATIO

she speaks about her vast experiences

NS

with diplomacy across the

globe.
 DAY 01 TALKSHOPS 01
24TH APRIL 2017 3:30 - 5:00
MONDAY ND MOHALLA
ACE A LIV
G-SP In ES DR. AMEN
HIN IN
O T everyday usage, nothing LA JAFFER
N is generally conceptualized as

HO
an absence. But why use this concept

RE
only as a negative? While nothing can be
understood as the absence of things, our
universe is not composed of things alone.
Thinking in spatial terms, nothing can be the area 01
between things. And this space, though devoid of
things, is not empty at all but contains the many
relations between things. Applying this
ROOM
understanding to neighbourhoods and bazaars can 406
lead us to rethink the importance of this
nothing-space. This presentation will explore
nothing-space in the Mozang area of Lahore
and demonstrate its significance for
defining the spatial, social, and
political order of this dense
locality.
NG-GLASS
NOTHI : OP
H THE EN
G IN
OU Drawing on G
R

Shakespeare - King Lear,

A
TH

LIT

primarily, as well as Hamlet - and

MINA MALIK
ERA

20th century literature (Walcott, Pinter,

HUSSAIN etc), this talk-shop will examine how the
RY DO

Nihilist/Thanatos impulse has driven

02 character and creator alike; how nothing
OR INTO TH

became part of the modern condition and

ROOM how writers have dealt with that in their
405 texts. This will be followed by a theatre
activity at the end - using Peter Brooks'
ED

idea of the empty space to

AR

generate a creative something

K

out of nothing.
 ERIENCING NOTHIN
EXP GN
You
SLASS need to learn how to
ES

S-
select your thoughts just the

NO
same way you select your

TA
clothes every day. This is a power

SA
SHAHNAZ you can cultivate. If you want to

CONCEPT BUT
MINALLAH control things in your life so bad, work
on the mind. That's the only thing you
03 should be trying to control. Elizabeth
Gilbert. This will be an engaging
session of talks and meditative

R
exercises that will make you

EAL
experience happiness

ITY
through nothingness.

NG
THI
: NO This
T
AC will be an interactive
TS

workshop on the
LE

IRAM fundamentals of theater exploring

the theme of Nothingness. In this
SANA session, the participants will use the
04 tool of theater and develop 3-5 minute
skits as outcomes of the session. They will
explore the paradigm of using absence to
ROOM reveal presence. Iram Sana will mentor
407 the participants during the workshop
by introducing the philosophy of
deconstruction and recreate
the argument of Nothing.
DAY 01 TALKSHOPS 02
24TH APRIL 2017 5:15 - 7:00
MONDAY

Movie

01 SLASS
EE AUDITORIUM
A JET
L

MIRA
HASHMI
 Call
it Nothing: The first
stroke on a canvas or a
drum or the first line in a verse
CALL IT NOTHING

comes from somewhere. Call it

Nothing - Call it Silence. Farhad
Humayun will discuss his chase for
adventure that frequently convolves into
nothingness and silence, and when in
that moment he can hear the most
magnificent music and see the
most glorious colours and
02 forms.

SVAD
COURTYARD
FARHAD
HUMAYUN
DAY 02
25TH APRIL 2017
TUESDAY
DAY 02
25TH APRIL 2017
TUESDAY

M NOTHIN
NG FRO
THI G
ERY nah
EV
TALK 1 nigh me manzil to
justuj h sah...
12:30-1:30 pm nah visl mayassar to aarz h sah
Slass (Faiz Ahmed Faiz)
Auditorium
The fields of education and academia have
this aim, the constant struggle to create
something great through the coming together of
innovative and creative minds. This session with
one of Pakistan's greatest educators, Dr. Umar
Saif, endeavors to unfold how the creation of
great works are born through struggles
into the dark, how hope and desire
DR. UMAR builds everything from nothing.
SAIF
 S

TO
What happens

PD
when you choose to do

OIN
nothing about what you feel

G
and why do you continue to

NOTH
choose to do nothing? What
happens to me when you do nothing

ING
and what happens to you when I do.
Mohammad Jibran Nasirs talk will
be a journey into his political
activism, focusing on the role that
is not being played by people
who are equipped to bring
change.

TALK 2
2:00-3:00 pm
JIBRAN Slass
NASIR Auditorium
 DAY 02 TALKSHOPS 01
25TH APRIL 2017 NG A
S A MODE OF RESE
ARC
3:30 - 5:00
TUESDAY O THI What H-
N does it mean to conduct A
IN research with no agenda? What CTI
G
O

VI
01

D
does it mean to do activism with no

SM
HASHIM agenda? What does it mean to be amidst a
BIN RASHID political struggle as a researcher and activist
without an agenda? Sharing encounters with fishing
communities fighting contract fishing, flood affectees
attempting to understand the floods, displaced slum
dwellers protesting for resettlement and villagers facing
an encroaching housing scheme, the speakers will force
the participants to think about what it would mean to go
ZAINAB into these spaces without a concrete agenda.
MOLVI Contrasting it with approaching these issues through
the lens of an NGO, a charity, a filmmaker, a
researcher, a journalist, or a political party, the
workshop will attempt to work with the
participants to think about what you lose
out when approaching a space with
ROOM an agenda.
406
Our
Gcurrent generations
IN
are constantly bombarded with
TH
ME

a plethora of visual information. We

wake up to go on Facebook, Instagram,
SO

Pinterest, Snapchat et al, where we absorb

THING OUT OF

MAHGUL huge amounts of information. We are

RASHID constantly connected and there is a constant
flow of information. With all the advantages this
ROOM may have, we face a huge disadvantage: lack of
originality. This occurs because the entire world
405
E NO

has the same points of information. We are

globalised in our thoughts and hence to tap
02
EAT

into something new, something unique, is

a tough call. This talkshop intends to
CR

create nothing out of

TO

W something.
HO
 R WELLBE
ING FO ING
NOTH This DR. FARZEEN
ING talk-shop focusses on SLASS MALIK
T
the importance of nothing
EA and emptiness for meditation and
G-
TIN

spirituality. The speaker, a nutritionist by

FAS

profession, will be discussing fasting as a

tool for cleansing the mind and body. She
03A will be speaking about how, by eating nothing,
we can achieve fitness for the body, while
also paying special attention to our mental as
well as physical well-being. There will be an PAKISTAN
engaging discussion with the participants WOMEN
and solutions for tackling particular RUGBY
problems relating to health and
fitness will be addressed.
TEAM 4:00 - 5:00 pm
SLASS
Members of the 03B
Pakistan Rugby Team,

ST
namely Fouzia Hayat, Javeria

AR
Hassan and Samra Latif will share

TING
stories of their struggles and
achievements. They will talk about their

FROM NOTH
challenges of starting from nothing to
FOUZIA JAVERIA SAMRA now playing at an international level.
HAYAT HASSAN LATIF These stories will help young people not
only discover their passion but find
R S . W IT H L ways and means to reach their

ING
E O
M ATT VE, goals and build career choices
EN Much to do about
that are in synch with
V their interests.
nothing, nothing whatsoever,
E
G

because nothing even matters. Its not

IN
OTH

that I want you here, I dont. But, never

mind its something to keep you going. This
COS N

will be a talk about my work, which is trying to

make a lot out of nothing, which is what all of us ISMET
are trying to do, behaving like desperate fish out JAWWAD
of water. The need to have a goal, some purpose,
any purpose, anything to make me live till 80. Oh,
but let it be worthwhile, let it be meaningful!
ROOM 04
So, I can die nicely. LOL. come, lets go on 407
rambling, and waste our breath on pretty
nothings. Because thats all we know
how to do uhh
DAY 02 TALKSHOPS 02
25TH APRIL 2017 5:15 - 7:00
TUESDAY

MIRA
Movie HASHMI
SLASS
AUDITORIUM

01
SMOKE
 .
ING
OTH
N It's a
R
world of bombs and
FO

beatings. Mobs still lynch

EM

and survivors of sexual abuse are

4 PIECES AND A PO

still taught to say nothing. They are

taught to feel shame that is not theirs.
Children are raped every day. We say
nothing. We do nothing to protect them
And yet it is from nothing that the anarchy
that will create universes is born.
I do not fear this nothing. I have been
born from it. And I will face it. And
02 that's what we are going to talk
about.

SVAD
COURTYARD
NADIA
JAMIL
DAY 03
26TH APRIL 2017
WEDNESDAY
DAY 03
26TH APRIL 2017 SE AND LIFE - FRO
WEDNESDAY IVER MN
E UN OT
TH HI
The

NG
Big Bang origin of

AN
the universe, and the

DF
subsequent beginnings of

OR N
elementary forms of life, are
now understood in precise

OTHING?
scientific terms. What preceded
the Big Bang? Could the universe
have emerged from exactly
nothing? And what purpose does
life serve? Dr. Hoodbhoy shall
TALK 1 summarize current
scientific thinking on
12:30-1:30 pm these matters.
Slass
Auditorium

DR. PERVEZ
HOODBHOY
 Shahbaz Taseer will
be discussing the emptiness,
fear and loneliness just before
calling home for the first time after
being abducted in August 2011. He spent

A LIT
four and a half years living with the fear of
knowing that if negotiations between his family

TLE MORE ABOUT N

and the militants who kidnapped him during
broad daylight from Lahore didn't go through, he
wouldn't survive. He will be narrating his
experience of crying endlessly till he stopped
feeling anything at all. The ray of hope came
through thoughts of his mother and wife
giving him strength, regardless of the
OTH

ordeals he had to deal with every single

ING

day. His talk will be a reflection on

feeling nothingness in
confinement.
TALK 2
2:00-3:00 pm
SHAHBAZ Slass
TASEER Auditorium
DAY 03 TALKSHOPS 01
26TH APRIL 2017 3:30 - 5:00
WEDNESDAY
In the
01
aftermath of WW1 it ROOM
was believed that if the ugly
face of war was made vivid enough,
406
the world would finally grasp its insanity.
However, in an era of information overload,
where death and carnage can be live streamed,
GS WRONG

has visualizing the horror of war and conflict

desensitized us and caused us to feel nothing? In
the context of Pakistan have we become
indifferent or resilient? This talk-shop will explore HASNA
how we respond to the avalanche of images and SAMI
THIN

information about the suffering of others. Can

visual tools be employed to evoke empathy
NO

and action or does our voyeurism and

spectatorship of the suffering of
others instill apathy in us?

G
NOTHIN , BIOGRA
AND Im PH
G just a common man, YO
IN
drive a common van
TH

FA
RY

My dog aint got a pedigree

CO
EVE

If I have my say its gonna stay that way

MM

Cause high-browed people lose their sanity

ON MAN.

And a common man is what Ill be

ROOM And Im happy just being free
409 And Im happy just being me
And I hope that you will see
02 Common Man, Song by John Conlee
Haiders talk-shop will expand on the life of
a common man, questioning inspirations
and aspirations through an
interactive
HAIDER discussion.
ALI JAN
 03 ROOM
We
401
exist between being and V
not-being. Between temporary life

IS
and eternal death. But we experience

UA
the same when it comes to world surrounded QUDDUS

LIZ
and/or created by us. Past is erased, memories MIRZA

ING
are wiped out, but these do not come to a complete
void, instead these build into layers of nothingness

NOTHING
entities, in essence meant to be hidden.
The passage between known, unknown and forgotten
leads to combinations and collages of varying kinds.
Because like language, in which once uttered, words
cannot be retrieved, in art too visuals cannot be
erased totally. These survives in memory as well as
in actuality in the form of modified material,
underneath imagery etc.
The workshop is a means to explore this
phenomenon through the practice
of studio art.

ESS IN BULLE
NGN HS
OTHI H
N many, BullehForShah stands AH
ND S
at the centre of the Punjabi poetic
A

PO
tradition. The vast corpus of kafis
G

ET
IN

attributed to him have inspired generations of

RY
BE

musicians, artists, performers and thinkers in

South Asia. Interpretations of his life and work have
ROOM ranged from the groovy tunes pioneered by pop culture
giants like Junoon, to the mystical heights of abstract
405 Sufi philosophy. This workshop focussed on Bulleh Shahs
understanding of Being as Nothing, on negation as a
04 mode of identity formation. Working through his iconic or
rather, epochal kafi, ki jaana mein kon, Bullah, ki jaana
mein kon, this workshop session will also take
participants through other kafis where he
interrogates the kon, the nothing, as a
transhistorical political subject wedded to
SARA revolutionary upheaval. The session will
KAZMI conclude with a musical rendition
of the kafi.
DAY 03 TALKSHOPS 02
26TH APRIL 2017 5:15 - 7:00
WEDNESDAY

01

Movie MIRA
SLASS HASHMI
AUDITORIUM
LA
ST
YE
AR
IN M
ARIENBAD
 EXISTENCE AND N
OT
HI
Dr. NG
TAIMUR Taimur Rahman will
RAHMAN explore the idea of nothing in
philosophy and music. In
philosophy, since the time of
Parmenides the dialectical play between
nothing and existence was recognized as
the dialectical basis of change. In music, the
02 same dialectic between nothing and
existence is represented by the tension
between silence and sound and within
sound as the play between discord and
SVAD harmony. Can music then reflect the
COURTYARD dialectic of being and nothingness
found in philosophy?
DAY 04
27TH APRIL 2017
THURSDAY
DAY 04
27TH APRIL 2017
HINGNESS -- THE V
THURSDAY NOT IBR
In this AN
TC
talk, Afzal Saahir lays R
emphasis on an artist's inner

EA
space -- psychological and spiritual --

TIV
that flourishes in a state of emptiness.

E
SP
Sans ideologies, agendas and pre-determined

ACE
formulations, this inner space in an artist's
consciousness is where creative energies and
rhythms freely flow and work together. Herein, new
vistas open, new connections get forged and new
visions unfold. This emptied, uncluttered space does
not mean a socio-cultural or political vacuum. Rather,
it is that vacant, vibrant, inner space where creative
churnings take place, unmediated by state,
ideologies, cultural and religious practices of the
day. This empty, inward space is somewhat like
an artist's potter-wheel, a white canvas, a
blank page, a soundless bandish, wherein
creative forces innovate, swirl, enact,
dance and come alive in a
variety of ways.

TALK 1
12:30-1:30 pm
Slass AFZAL
Auditorium SAHIR
 Air is
a nothingness
nothing but thin air - yet
potent, full.
Air is a carrier of light, of sound, of
scent the molecular compounds
necessary for life and breath the heat of
the sun, the cooling breeze.
We will explore the embodiment of air. Inside
and outside the Self.
Air inside as breath - to initiate the body in
motion.
Air outside as carrier - to initiate the body
in relationship.
AIR

A paradox - defining the form of Self

in space while dissolving Self into
NG

air to become NOTHING.

HI
OT

TALK 2
2:00-3:00 pm CLAIRE
Slass ELIZABETH
Auditorium BARRET
DAY 04 TALKSHOPS 01
27TH APRIL 2017 3:30 - 5:00
THURSDAY
An
analysis of nothing ROOM
as a phenomenon. From an
unproductive day leading to a 406 01
song that tops the Billboard charts
every now and then, to how our
THAT NOTHING

nothingness is a billion dollar tech

industry. Never before has a generation
so diligently recorded themselves
accomplishing so little. Encompassing
viral trends and social media. The talk aims ZAIN
to be a tongue in cheek look at the role the
word 'nothing' has come to serve, NAQVI
OF

whether its generation gap, mass

RE

consumption or Big Data. Our

MO

nothingness might be more

valuable than we can
imagine.
NOTHING W
ITH
In OU
this talkshop TI
participants will be divided
DE

into groups and presented with

AS

everyday objects like staplers, pens,

keys, thread etc. Each group will pick
ROOM techniqueany two objects, and then use an ideation
(introduced in a presentation
409 beforehand) to come up with as many ideas
for redesigning those objects as possible.
02 They will then be asked to pick out three
ideas: the best, the most surprising, and the
worst. They will then be given basic
prototyping supplies like foam board,
cutters, glue etc. to build as close to
ALI a working prototype of one of
MURTAZA the ideas as possible in the
allotted time.
 03 ROOM
407
Continuing her talk

NO
Claire will engage students

TH
in a performance workshop, CLAIRE

ING
applying the same concept of AIR, ELIZABETH

- AIR
inside and outside of the body. BARRET
We will explore the embodiment of air.
Inside and outside the Self.
Air inside as breath - to initiate the body
in motion.
Air outside as carrier - to initiate the
body in relationship.
A paradox - defining the form of
Self in space while dissolving
Self into air to become
NOTHING.
 DAY 04 TALKSHOPS 02
27TH APRIL 2017 5:15 - 7:00
THURSDAY

SVAD
COURTYARD
OUL
UTS
B QUADRUM -
G The DRUM CIRCLE
HIN

idea of the
workshop is self
NOT

exploration through music,

coming to the realisation that there
is a void that can be fulfilled,
specifically through rhythm. Many will
feel they are incapable to play an
instrument, but through this exercise,
they will realize that they already
possess rhythm and from
'nothing', they will create
music in harmony
DAY 05
28TH APRIL 2017
FRIDAY
DAY 05
28TH APRIL 2017
FRIDAY

TALK 1
2:15-3:15 pm
Slass
Auditorium
TALE
SA
BO
UT
The
vast and nuanced
NO
TH

experience of politics and

ING

journalism for Jugnu Mohsin

finds its roots in a tale about
nothing. Jugnu's talk will unfold
realities which are often unknown,
unheard and unfelt. She will reflect on
her memories; her encounters with JUGNU
politicians who believed nothing, MOHSIN
sons and daughters of the soil, who
demanded nothing and how a
subtle intervention turned
things around.
 DAY 05 TALKSHOPS 01
28TH APRIL 2017 WORLDS M 3:30 - 5:00
FRIDAY E THE OST
C OM PO
BE Inspiring Women work W
TO ER
01 towards helping young women
W discover their passion, explore their

FU
HO

LW
skills and ambitions, and build careers on
ROOM their aspirations after college. The organisation

OM
407 runs workshops that target young, college-going

EN.
girls by providing them with a platform for support,
guidance and networking opportunities. This talkshop,

NOTHING ELSE M
ABIDA how to become the worlds most powerful women,
MUKHTAR highlights the journey Pakistani women take to get to top.
Not only will it illustrate the clear as well as hidden
obstacles they encounter, it discusses solutions to
overcome challenges and offer support and guidance.
Furthermore, the guest speaker, Ms. Myra Qureshi
Jahangir, Founder of Conatural, will be discussing

A
her journey from an analyst of a bank to running

TTE
her own company. Ms. Jahangir will be

RS
highlighting the power women hold in
our society and the importance of
AZAL change.
ZAHIR
ROOM
MYRA M ENT 406
FIL
QURESHI UL Using the work of 02
three poets (Rumi, Lao Tzu,
F
AS

and William Carlos Williams)

this talkshop will explore the
ING

concept of nothingness in three

NOTH

different literary traditions (Islamic,

Chinese, and American). The
participants will be provided the text
(three poems) and after a brief analysis
by the presenter encouraged to
engage in a discussion centered
around the importance of
NAVID nothingness/emptiness in
ALAM literary practice
 03
E GIVES IN
HANG After SLASS
C
TO setting some exquisite
Y
self-goals, (in your case class
T
NI
assignments, thesis), the language of
MU
complaint/blame nothing-in-control
GNESS WHERE IM

steers students, individuals, organizations,

even nations away from their prized self-goals. DR.
This nothingness in terms of feeling SHABNAM
not-in-control is not good! As students and KHAN
teachers we can borrow from Robert Kegans
Immunity to Change, (ITC) and discover,
together, that in the very nothingness in the
language of blame/complaint, the
HIN

mechanism to break the ITC and take

T

control of everything (self-goals)

NO

thrives. How? Let us find out the

F

ITC, briefly, together.

EO
AG
GU ROOM
LAN
If
409
there were nothing, GH
KI
would there still be something?

XY
What is nothing? If we look at

NO
something, which is nothing, is it still

TH
something or nothing? How can one see nothing

ING
and say nothing, even if one tries there to be
04 nothing, but there is still something. Nothing is
anything until it becomes something, and something is LSMTV
sometimes nothing but even then it is something. Is
nothing the absence of nothing, or with the presence of
nothing do we create something. The universe was
created out of nothing, but was there something before
NATASHA nothing, and if there was nothing, what was the
moment that the nothing transformed into
JOZI something. Or is there still nothing? This
talkshop welcomes you all to an
experiential, participatory, auditory
and visual seminar to
experience nothing.
DAY 05 TALKSHOPS 02
28TH APRIL 2017 5:15 - 7:00
FRIDAY

Movie
SLASS MIRA
AUDITORIUM HASHMI

T
01
W
O
SH
ORT
FILMS BY MAY
A DE
R

EN
 This
session approaches the
idea of "nothing" as it relates to
the erosion of our ancient musical
tradition due to its critical foundations
being absent in our expression and experience
of music. The discussion will centre around its
primary reasons, like colonial and post-colonial
expressions of popular culture being favoured over
tradition. The speaker will also share her experience
MUSIC

of practicing under a master of Khayaal Gaiyeki as

being vastly different from performing in her band;
having to discover an unknown concept, realise
IN

its overwhelming significance and then try and

ESS

learn its form. She will also talk about the

transformative effect of discovering that
N
NG

which has become nothing.

HI

T
NO

02
SVAD
COURTYARD

ZEB
BANGASH
ABIDA MUKHTAR
Abida Mukhtar is the Founder of Inspiring Women.
She is a Financial Executive, Entrepreneur and a
Feminist. Ms. Mukhtar earned a bachelors degree
in Economics with honours from Smith College,
USA and a Masters degree in International Political
Economy from London School of Economics, UK.

AFZAL SAHIR
Afzal Sahir is a poet, radio-host, producer
(programmes), literary journalist-. His dbut
collection of poems in Punjabi, entitled Naal
Sajjan de Rahiye was published by Sanjh
Publications (2011), Lahore, Udaari Publications
(2012), Vancouver, Canada and Chetna Publications
(2017), Ludhiana, India. He has written a poetic
play entitled Saiyan Nainaan Waaliyan. For over
a decade and a half, he has variously edited and
co-edited literary magazines, namely, Rvel, Sver
International, The Genius and Punjabi Bhulekha
(a daily paper). Nowadays, he hosts two hugely
popular radio shows, Naal Sajjan de Rahiye and
Mauj Mela on Mast FM 103 network.

ALI MURTAZA
Ali Murtaza is a Fulbright alumnus, and holds an
MFA in Industrial Design from Savannah College
of Art & Design (SCAD). Ali currently manages

and teaches in the electrical engineering

department at Information Technology University
(ITU). He previously taught design at Beaconhouse
National University (BNU), and has worked as a
design consultant for Dolby Labs, Grid Impact, Coke
USA, Audi Middle East, and Innovations for Poverty
Alleviation Lab (IPAL), among others. Through his
role at Makeistan, Ali hopes to promote creative
thinking and hands-on problem solving at all levels
of education.

AZAL ZAHIR
Azal Zahir is the Director Operations at Inspiring
Women. She is an Environmentalist and a Feminist
aspiring to work towards sustainable development
within Pakistan. She earned her bachelors
degree in Political Science from Lahore School
of Economics and Masters in Environmental
Conservation & Education from New York
University.

DR. AMEN JAFFER

Dr. Amen Jaffer is Assistant Professor of Sociology
at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
His current research focuses on the links between
social organization, culture and politics in Lahores
mohallahs. Previously, he has investigated the
nature of sacred power in contemporary South Asia

He has a PhD in Sociology from the New School

for Social Research, New York and a Masters in
Sociology from the London School of Economics
and Political Science.
DR. BRIGITTA BLAHA
Dr. Brigitta Blaha, Her excellency studied Law at
the University of Vienna. She has a doctors degree
and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Diplomatic
Academy in Vienna, 1978. She joined the Austrian
Foreign Service in 1978 and since then has had
several deputations across the globe, including
Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vienna, First
Secretary at the Austrian Embassy in Washington,
Deputy Head of Mission at the Austrian Embassy
in Bangkok, Deputy Director for the Austrian
Cultural Institute in Rome, Head of Cultural Section
at the Austrian Embassy, Consul General at the
Austrian Consulate General in Hong Kong and
New York. Ministry for Europe, Integration and
Foreign Affairs as the Head of Department. In 2014
Dr Blaha became the Ambassador Extraordinary
& Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria to
Pakistan and since 2016 she has held the same
position for Afghanistan (resident in Islamabad).

CLAIRE ELIZABETH
Claire Elizabeth Barratt is an inter-disciplinary
artist with a performing arts background. She
is the director of Cilla Vee Life Arts an
arts organization with a focus on cross-media
collaboration.Claire received her professional
training in London at The Laban Centre For
Movement and Dance and at the London Studio
Centre For Performing Arts. Her pre-professional
training includes the Royal Academy of Dance and
the Royal Schools of Music. She also served an
apprenticeship with the Isadora Duncan Dance
Foundation in New York and holds an MFA in
Creative Practice from the Transart Institute with
Plymouth University, UK. Her work utilizes artistic
disciplines of dance, music, text, media, visual and
installation art.

FARHAD HUMAYUN
Farhad Humayun is a multi-talented artist and is
one of the most sought after Pakistani drummers/
producers credited for drumming on over 17studio
albums and hundreds of songs. Trained in Indian
Classical Rhythm and Visual Arts from NCA, he has
produced and introduced some of the top names
in Pakistani music and is also an award winning
video director. Farhad is the resident house band
drummer for Coke Studio and Pepsi Smash which
he also produced and directed. In 2011 Farhad
began to sing for his band Overload. He is revered
as the most fashionable musician in Pakistan.

DR. FARZEEN MALIK

Dr. Farzeen Malik is an eminent dietitian of
Pakistan, backed by an MBBS degree. She holds
an international postgraduate degree in nutrition.
She has been on numerous TV programmes and
has hosted her own personalized programmes
with leading channels. She is a regular speaker
on national and international conferences
representing Pakistan. Dr. Farzeen Malik is adviser
in various multinational and national companies on
Diet, Fitness and Preventive medicine.
HAIDER ALI JAN
Haider Ali Jan, Born 1983, graduated from
Beaconhouse National University in 2008. Some
of his shows include 5th Moscow International

8, Queensland Art gallery, 2015, Love, War and

Longings, Harvard-Brown Pakistani Film Festival,
Cambridge, 2015, Everything is Embedded in History,
Lahore Literary Festival, Alhamra Art Council,
Lahore, Pakistan, 2015, 5th Fukuoka Asian Art
Triennial, Asian Art Museum, Japan, 2014.

HASHIM BIN RASHID

Hashim bin Rashid is a lecturer at the Department
of Liberal Arts at the Beaconhouse National
University. He teaches courses in political
economy, political philosophy, urban studies
and research methodologies. He has conducted
research on water infrastructure, informal

a journalist with Pakistan Today, Express Tribune

and The News.

HASNA SAMI
Hasna Sami is a Development Consultant. She has
worked on issues of gender equality in Pakistan,
Syrian Refugee resettlement in Canada and
the creation of visual stories for Social Justice
in Palestine. She holds a Bachelors degree in
International Relations and Political Science from
the University of Toronto followed by a Masters
Degree in International Development.
ISMET JAWWAD
Ismet Jawwad is a dancer, choreographer,
performance and visual artist based in Lahore.
Currently she is teaching Kathak, an eastern
classical dance form at the Learning Alliance and
Lahore Grammar School in Lahore. She received

with an honors in video art. From 2008 to 2010

Ismet attended a few artist residencies in the UK
and India and showcased her work at various
international galleries including the Herbert Art
Gallery in the UK, and Devi Art Foundation in India.
From 2010 to the present Ismet has been part of the
visiting faculty at Beaconhouse National University
teaching video art, and remained a dance teacher
at various schools in Lahore.

IRAM SANA
Iram Sana is an art educationist and theatre
professional. She is also the Director
Communications and Co-founder of OLOMOPOLO
Media. Through her training in Architecture at
the National College of Arts, Lahore, Iram has
developed an aesthetic sense in understanding
space and composition in theatre. In 2015, she co-
directed the critically acclaimed play, Teesri Dhun

theatre play on transgender lives, which helped

her earn her spot in the 33 Inspiring People from
Around the World Promoting Freedom, Equality
and LGBT Rights Every Day in 2016. Iram has also
worked with several organizations working with
children, gender and performance art. She has also
consulted for the UNDP Legal Gender Recognition

JUGNU MOHSIN
Jugnu Mohsin, MA Cantab, cofounded The Friday
Times in 1989, with her husband Najam Sethi,
Urdu weekly Aaj Kal in 1995, Daily Times in 2001,
GT magazine in 2007. She was awarded the Press
Freedom Award 2000 by the Committee to Protect
Journalists, New York, and the Sitara-e-Imtiaz by
the government of Pakistan in 2012. Jugnu Mohsin
has also worked on various projects for television
and is now a regular on GEO TV. She is a director of
Mitchells Fruit Farms, a trustee of The Mohsin Trust
& Daud Bandagi Development Trust through which
she works as a social and political activist in Okara.
She has two children, Ali Sethi, who is a musician

author.

JUNAID IQBAL
Junaid Iqbal, the Managing Director of Careem
Pakistan is a growth an turnaround specialist.
An economist by training, Junaids diverse
professional experience ranges from being an

TV about the stock market, leading privatization

deals to the a tune of $1.6 billion as the CEO of Elixir
Securities and Co-founding Salt Arts, Pakistans
leading Arts management and production agency.
An avid adventurist, he is one of the youngest
CEOs in pakistan, serves on Advisory boards
of AIESEC, The Lyceum School and Charter for
Compassion.In 2010, Junaid was invited by The
White House to attend President Obamas Summit
on Entrepreneurship.

MAHGUL RASHID
Mahgul Rashid has recieved trainings from the
prestigious Central St Martins in London, her

Beaconhouse National University in Pakistan and

her work with globally celebrated artist Rashid
Rana, also in Pakistan. Prior to establishing her
independent design label, Rashid apprenticed at
her grandmother and couturier Nasreen Shaikhs
fashion atelier for the better part of 6 years; indeed

diffusion project, Mahgul for Nasreen Shaikh in

2013. In 2014 the stand alone MAHGUL brand was
established.

MINA MALIK-HUSSAIN
Mina Malik-Hussain is a writer and teacher based
in Lahore. Her poetry and prose has been published
in literary magazines and journals both home and
abroad, and she is in her third year of writing her
popular column, Notes from the Underground, for
The Nation. Mina is also a trustee of The Sirajuddin

arts.

MIRA HASHMI
Mira Hashmi lives is a A graduate of the Mel
Hoppenhein School of Cinema at Concordia
University in Montreal, she has been teaching
the discipline of Film Studies since 1998, and is
currently Assistant Professor at the Lahore School

for various publications for the past twenty years.

Her areas of special interest include the cinema of

for Hindi masala movies.

MOHAMMAD JIBRAN NASIR

Mohammad Jibran Nasir is a lawyer, civil rights
activist, and an independent politician. Jibran
is involved in relief work through Elaj Trust and
advocacy for marginalised communities through
Pakistan For All and is working on rights awareness
and social justice through Never Forget Pakistan.
Jibran regularly engages youth on topics of
empowerment, tolerance and social responsibility
and has spoken at a total of 40 national and
international Universities such as LUMS, IBA,
Harvard, Stanford, Columbia etc

MYRA QURESHI
Myra Qureshi graduated from the London School
of Economics and Political Science in 2004. She
pursued a career in the Financial Services Industry
for over a decade, working for Citigroup, ING
and Deloitte in London, UK. Whilst working she
completed an Executive MBA from Georgetown-
ESADE in 2012. Myra moved back to Pakistan in
2013 where she co-founded Conatural, Pakistans
NADIA JAMIL
Nadia Jamil is a Pakistani TV actor, anchor,
producer and an educationist who has worked in

shows. She is also a food enthusiast, and curated

the Lahore Eat Festival. She believes that you
discover new things in life, you learn from them
and move on. Theres no point in holding on to the
past. Nadia Jamil believes growth is a continuous
process, you learn throughout your life. She draws
her energy from different sources around her.

NATASHA JOZI
Natasha Jozi is a Pakistan born artist. She works
in Performance and Video investigating the
interactive agency of body, action and ritual.
Through her work she explores ideas of censorship
of self and the embodied relationship between Self
and Other within the religious, cultural and social
experiences. She received a B.F.A in Fine Art with
distinction from Fatima Jinnah University, Pakistan,
and MFA in Studio arts from Montclair School of
the Arts. She is a 2012-2014 recipient of Fulbright
scholarship. Jozi works and lives in Lahore.

NAVEED ALAM

of No Ordinary Realms, won the Spokane Poetry

Prize in the US. His work has appeared in numerous
literary journals including International Poetry
Review, American Poetry Journal, Prairie Schooner,
the Seattle Review, 91st Meridian, and the
Adirondack Review. He recently translated Madho
Lal Hussein, the 16th century Punjabi poet, into
English (Verses of a Lowly Fakir, Penguin Classics).
He teaches literature at Beaconhouse National
University (BNU), Lahore.

DR. PERVEZ AMIRALI HOODBHOY

Dr. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy is a Pakistani nuclear
physicist, essayist and defense analyst. He has also
taught as the visiting professor of Physics at Lahore
University of Management Sciences(LUMS) where
he also worked on topics in theoretical applications
in the topological insulators, various Hall effects
and Graphene. Before joining LUMS, he was the
professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and
also the head of the Physics Department at the
Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU). He graduated and
also received a PhD from MIT and continues to do
research in Particle physics. He received the Baker
Award for Electronics in 1968, and the Abdus Salam
Prize for Mathematics in 1984. He has authored

journals.

QUADRUM
Quadrum is the only percussion band in Pakistan.
Daud Randal, Atif Saeed, Umar Saud and Saad
Sarfaraz have been performing live throughout
the country and have conducted numerous team
building exercises for many corporations. They
believe in purity of energy and rhythm.
QUDDUS MIRZA
Quddus Mirza is an artist, art critic and independent
curator. He is the Head of Fine Arts Department
at the National College of Arts Lahore, where he
studied BFA, before acquiring MA (Painting) from
the Royal College of Art, London. Mirza has shown
extensively in Pakistan and UK as an artist as
well as curator. His works include, Trade Union
& Take Away at Zahoor ul Akhlaq Gallery, NCA
and One to One at Alhamra Art Gallery Lahore;
Celebrating Art and Love at National Art
Gallery, Islamabad, Beyond Borders: Art from
Pakistan at National Gallery of Modern Art in
Mumbai, India; and Exotic Bodies, at Preston
Museum in UK. Mirza is an art critic with a regular
weekly column appearing in The News, and
regular column on art Letter from Pakistan in
Art India and in Depart (Bangladesh) as well
as contributing to other publications like Dawn,
Herald, Himal, Libas, Contemporary and Flash
Art. He is the co-author of book 50 Years of
Visual Arts in Pakistan and the editor of Art Now
Pakistan.

SARA KAZMI
Sara Kazmi teaches Punjabi poetry at the Lahore
University of Management Sciences. She completed
her MA from SOAS in South Asian history in 2014,
where she worked on the contemporary Punjabi
movement and its links with Left-wing activism
in 1970s Pakistan. She is also a student of Indian
classical music (vocals) and has performed
extensively with the Sangat theatre all across Punjab.
SHAHBAZ TASEER
Shahbaz Taseer is a Pakistani businessman and
the son of the former Governor of Punjab Salman
Taseer. In August 2011, following his fathers
assassination, he was kidnapped by militants in

home.

DR. SHABNAM SYED KHAN

Dr.Shabnam Syed Khan is former Visiting Professor
at the GSE, Harvard University. She was Professor
of Design at the National College of Arts (NCA).
Initially, with a Diploma in Design, from NCA,
she did a post-graduation in Industrial-Design,
and M.A. in History, from Pakistan. Shabnam
completed her MS in Art Education, with the
Best Student-Robert Corey Award, from the
Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She
has an additional M.A. in International Education,
and a Doctorate in Education (Developmental
Psychology), from Harvard University. Where
she was awarded the Roy Larsen Entering Merit
Award and Outstanding-Distinction. She has
completed manuscripts of two narratarium books.
One, a research novel,Education & Agency:
Muslim Women and the Tensions of Traditional
& Modern Expectations, the other, Pakistani
Textiles: Contemporary & Historical Causes of
Degeneration, is a travelogue.
SHAHNAZ MINALLAH

saints from the Kakakhel tribe. She graduated

in Law and Political Science. She was strained
formally as an Interior Designer. In 2001, Naushad
Thariani introduced her to Art of Living. The ways of
The Art of Living were quickly adopted by Shahnaz.
She started to believe in one world family,
moving from family structures to a limitless, and an
international commune awareness. She started to
feel, that getting the right people together, at the
right time, for the right purpose, can work wonders
in any situation. To Shahnaz, spirituality is an
amazing thing. It doesnt matter whichever religion
youre from, its the same for everyone.

DR. TAIMUR RAHMAN is an academic, musician

and socialist political activist from Pakistan. He
teaches political science at the Lahore University
of Management Sciences. He is the band leader
and spokesperson for the political music band
named Laal. Rahman uses Laal to advance causes
which he holds dear, such as socialism, the plight
of labour and the suffering Pakistanis have endured
at the hands of religious fundamentalism and
authoritarian rule. He was also one of the leaders
of the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party. He is the
author of the book The Class Structure of Pakistan
published by Oxford University Press. The book won
the Akhtar Hameed Khan Memorial Award for the
best social sciences book about Pakistan in 2012.
DR. UMAR SAIF
Dr. Umar Saif works as the Advisor to the Chief
Minister and Chairman of the Punjab Information
Technology Board (PITB), heading all public-sector
IT projects in Punjab. He is also the founding Vice
Chancellor of Information Technology University
Punjab, a newly setup research university in
Lahore. Prof. Saif received his PhD in 2001 at
University of Cambridge and worked at MIT for
several years before returning to Pakistan. He was
named as one of the top 35 young innovators by
the MIT Technology Review (TR35) in 2011 and a
Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum
in 2010. He has received a Google Faculty Research
Award, MIT Technovator Award, IEEE Percom Mark
Weiser Award, IDG Technology Pioneer Award and
ACM CHI Best Paper Award. In 2014, Prof. Saif was
awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz, one of the highest civil
awards by government of Pakistan. He was also

the world in 2015 and 2016.

ZAIN NAQVI
Zain Naqvi as a designer and maker. His work is
an amalgamation of investigational storytelling
and retort to current events. Design Grad from
National College of Arts. He is currently a partner/
art director at Treble, A music based tech startup
and one-half of Messy Squares. A publication
collective with a focus on graphic novels and
comics produced locally in Pakistan. He serves as
visiting faculty at Beaconhouse National University.
Naqvi lives and works in Lahore.
ZAINAB MOLVI
Zainab Molvi teaches social anthropology,
sociology of religion and the idea of commoning
at the Department of Liberal Arts at Beaconhouse
National University. She has researched katchi
abadis, land grabs and water rights.

ZEBUNISSA BANGASH
Zebunissa Bangash holds a degree in Economics
and History of Art from Mount Holyoke College, she
appeared on the music scene as Zeb and Haniya,
the cousin-duo from Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In 2008, they made their recorded debut with Chup,
one of the most acclaimed albums worldwide,
including a feature in TIME Magazine. Formally
training under the adept gaze of Ustad Naseeruddin
Saami, Zeb continues to expand her horizons
whilst proudly displaying her heritage within all
her endeavors. In her recent project, Sandaraa,
fronted by Michael Woodgrad and Zeb, they aim
to celebrate traditional South Asian folk music

and working with legends including, A R Rehman,

Amit Trivedi and Shantanu Moitra Zebs currently
working as a music director in India and Pakistan.
WOMEN RUGBY TEAM

Fouzia Hayat is a Sports Teacher at Beacon House

School Bahria Town branch. Born on 30th March
1987. She belongs to Sialkot. She has an M.Sc in
Sports Science from Punjab University Lahore
(2010). She has been playing Rugby from Pakistan
Wapda.

Javeria Hassan works at Pakistan Wapda as a

player, born on 04 Apr 1987. She is a student at
Punjab University Lahore for the degree of Sports
Sciences and belongs to Faisalabad.

Samra Latif works at Wapda Town Degree Collage

for Women, born on 26 March 1992. She has
recently completed her M.Sc in Sports Sciences
from Punjab University. She is from the Pakistan
Army rugby team.
Project Advisor: Logistics Team:
Rashid Rana Imran Ahmed Khan
Hamza Rana
Director: Hifza Farooq
Rohma Khan Asad Maqsud

Program Coordinator: Documentation Team:

Iman Sheikh Asif Khan
Kashif Saleem
Program Administrator:
Unum Babar Design:
Rizwan Hussain
Talkshop facilitators:
Mirela Peerzada Design Team:
Pakeeza Khan Aarish Sardar
Aamina Karim Malik Komal Naz Khan
Ghulam Mohammad Haseeb S. Khan
Aarish Sardar
Hamza Rana Creative Committee:
Ali Raza
Guest Relations Manager: Aisha Abid Hussain
Matt Kushan Aroosa Naz Rana
Kiran Khan Rabeya Jalil
Rishem Syed
Media and Public Relations: Ayyaz Jhokio
Omair Faizullah
Mustafa Shah
Abeera Baig
Mehwish Batool
Waqas Zaki
Ushers:
Zohaib Rizwan
Umer Butt
Neha Fauzan
Fatima Baloch
Ammara Ather
Ammar Jamshed
Abeera Saleem
Nabeel Sheikh
Shazme Aamir
Misha Khan
Sabeen Fatima
Abdur Rafeh
Haider Khan
Talha Moeen
Kashmala Khan

Acknowledgements:

BNU Administration
BNU Department of Student Affairs and External Relations
City 42
Virtual University

TALKSHOP 2 PHOTO CREDITS:

Nadia Jamil : http://iampadash.blogspot.com/2013/04/nadia-jamil-padashs-love-award.html
Zeb Bangash: http://www.pakium.pk/2014/01/24/zeb-bangash-alia-bhatt-sooha-saha
Drum Circle / Quadrum: https://www.facebook.com/quadrum.percussionists
Taimur Rahman: http://newslinemagazine.com/magazine/interview-taimur-rahman-laal/
La Jetee: www.criterion.com/boxsets/77-la-gt-sans-soleil

Last year at marienbad http://mustseecinema.com/last-year-at-marienbad/

Two shortfalls by maya defence: http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/maya-deren-programme