EXHIBITIONS
Surangla Punjab
This exhibition is the result of eight months of engagement with the people whose stories and dreams inspired us. The work unfolds thematically, echoing the melodies within these kahania. The mysticism of Uch, the Sufis, and sacred shrines emerge through monochromatic tile hues. The grandeur of Bahawalpur, its sunset Mahals, red brick architecture, and Rohri Sahib reflect the spirituality of space. The purity and sanctity of Central and Southern Punjab are shown through white — symbolizing rebirth, meditation, and timeless stories. Heer, marsiya, and Sacha Sauda evoke spiritual re-incarnation. Black and white mark a contemporary layer — capturing the journey’s energy, local customs, and the future woven with hope and dreams.
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Islamic Art Festival
South Asian Textiles are celebrated as timeless symbols of beauty and craftsmanship, continuing to inspire those who touch, see, use, and wear them. This exhibition titled ‘Talaash-e-Kamaal: The Pursuit of Excellence Through The Threads of Time’ reflects on the discourse of textile practices under the Mughal Islamic period, seeking to augment our understanding of the historical context in which these textiles were produced and the wider meanings that they acquired as they were traded and consumed both within the subcontinent and beyond. This show seeks to offer a contemporary interpretation through scholarly research, personal reflection, and syncretism - mirroring the creative context and impulses that allowed for Indo-Mughal textiles to flourish globally.
Collaboration With Liz Williamson
Liz Williamson Exhibition. The Weaving Eucalyptus Project: A Global Textile Collaboration Kiran Khan collaborated with renowned fibre artist and weaver Liz Williamson on the Weaving Eucalyptus Project, a groundbreaking initiative exploring natural materials and sustainable textile practices. Kiran Khan's contribution involved dyeing pure fabrics organic cotton, raw silk, and satin using locally sourced eucalyptus leaves, twigs, and bark, commonly known as Safaida. Throughout the process, Kiran Khan meticulously documented the dyeing technique, resulting in unique fabrics that were sent to Liz to weave into panels. This global project united textile artists sharing an interest in the natural world, natural materials, and environmental concerns. The outcome was a stunning, globally-sourced woven fabric featuring eucalyptus-inspired pieces from around the world. Liz incorporated Kiran Khan's dyed fabrics into the project, assigning a QR code to each panel. This digital component provides insight into the collaborative process, materials, and contributors. The completed project comprises 100 panels, exhibited at UNSW Galleries from 18 June to 14 August 2022. The installation will tour regional Victorian and NSW galleries in 2023. The Weaving Eucalyptus Project celebrates international collaboration, sustainable practices, and the beauty of natural materials. By bringing together textile artists worldwide, this initiative acknowledges the importance of environmental awareness and artistic exchange.
Sharjah Biennale
Sharjah Biennale Prof. Kiran Khan, Project lead of WeMend, core contributor and TFA’s HOD visited the project at Sharjah Biennale’s 16th edition “To Carry”, housed in the iconic landmark Flying Saucer site in Sharjah, UAE. She was accompanied by TFA faculty member and WeMend contributing artist Qurratulain Sonia Kashmiri, who contributed “LALACH/لالچ”, a series of textile artworks made in collaboration with artisans of Baazyaft. Sharjah Biennale 16th Edition (2025): To Carry Organised by the Sharjah Art Foundation, and curated by Alia Swastika, Amal Khalaf, Megan Tamati-Quennell, Natasha Ginwala and Zeynep Öz, Sharjah Biennial 16 featured works by more than 190 participants, including over 200 new commissions, which were presented across the Emirate of Sharjah.
IAPEX 2025 DOT
DOT. “Discovering Opportunities in Transdisciplinarity” looks to inspire students and young generations of fibre artists, architects, visual artists, designers, technologists, engineers, interdisciplinary practitioners by providing a platform to enhance knowledge that lies between the intersections of multiple discourses; improvising new avenues of collective academia and practice. By active collaboration amongst cross-disciplinary educational institutes and industry practitioners, DOT encourages aspiring students of various disciplines receiving direct mentorship from seasoned specialists, to enhance their design ideology, gain hands-on experience, experiment within the field and see newer ways of looking at art and architecture. We wish to instill within them a passion for discovering fresh avenues through transdisciplinary design. Curatorial note – “Spatial materiality,” Kiran Khan This show, titled “Spatial materiality,” explores the intersection of textiles and architecture, highlighting their roles in shaping our understanding and experience of space. Fibre and textile materials are investigated for their tactility, dimension, visuality, and multisensory qualities in a real or imagined context. Decoding textiles as skins of spatial intervention; they carry narratives of history, memory, identity and context. This exhibition shares how textile skins mediate spaces: creating, dividing, covering, and altering perceptions to generate new meanings. These acts of mediation are explored through sustainable practices that encompass the ecology of making/crafting, while simultaneously reframing our relationship with textile waste through reuse and reclamation. These contemporary spatial-material exhibits collectively create new meanings and opportunities for interaction within spaces, compelling us to reflect on the broader role of textiles as skins in our environment throughout history and into the future. The exhibition has three thematic strands; 1. *Architexture: Textile and architectural practices to create a new discourse. Spatial configurations that seamlessly integrate the two to create a technology embedded, futuristic/alternate user experience. 2. *Sustainable Practices*: This theme explores eco-friendly approaches to material and making and calls for spatial responses that explore fibre-based inquiries and connect to ideas of the green revolution. 3. Historical x Indigenous Continuum*: Showcasing how art-design practitioners reimagine local/indigenous materials and respond to historical textile practices intertwined in the -politics of trade, global markets, shifting policies, cultural disconnects, from the colonial encounter to the Green Revolution. This open call for students (current or recent graduates), is rooted in conceptualising textiles as skins of spatial investigation. The responses are open to all institutes across Pakistan; as an institutional entry or individual. Each proposal is open as an interdisciplinary dialogue where communities co-create solutions. This exhibition seeks to create a dialogue which aims to serve as a catalyst for collective design. An act of caring for our planet. It emphasizes hands-on learning, experimentation, and collaboration, bridging the gap between academia and professional practice.
Retrospective Textile and Fibre Expressions
Retrospective: Fibre and Textile Expression” at Articulate Studios, Lahore, showcased works by 21 graduates of BNU’s Textile, Fashion, and Accessory program, celebrating 20 years of the department. Curated by Kiran Khan, Faseeh Saleem, and Eisha Liaqat, the exhibition highlighted how fibre and textile extend beyond craft into powerful forms of contemporary art. From Fahad Hussayn’s sculptural garments and Faseeh Saleem’s visceral video works to poignant installations by Aiman Gillani, Rafia Shafiq, and Anam Khurram, the show explored themes of memory, identity, trauma, and cultural history. The diverse works reaffirmed textile as a dynamic medium that bridges tradition and innovation.
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