Beaconhouse National University hogged the limelight at the recently concluded City in Context Symposium which ran from December 1-4, 2016 at the Alhamra Arts Council, Lahore. The second day of the conference was dedicated to Stories We Tell (Aao Sunayein Kahani), a storytelling project that aims to create a crossover between communities, and people, by creating an avenue for the exchange of ideas and stories. The project is a collaborative effort of Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design (SVAD), BNU the Centre for Culture and Development (CKU) and the Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF).

For Stories We Tell, twelve storytelling booths shaped like rickshaws were placed around the city for eight months in order to record and disseminate stories and conversations. The resulting stories and themes encapsulated different aspect of Lahore’s everyday life. ‘artSPEAK’ sessions were also arranged previously to focus on themes emerging from the project where noted academics, artists and thinkers were invited to contribute to the discussion.

Another highlight of the City in Context Symposium was the last day session with Dean SVAD and artistic director of Lahore Biennale 01, Mr. Rashid Rana. This was the introductory seminar for Lahore Biennale that had the audience as participants, Rashid Rana said that people can contribute to the larger discourse surrounding the curatorial premise of the first ever biennale in Pakistan.

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