Biography

Kamran Babrak (b.1980) is an artist, entrepreneur and art and design educationist. He works with interdisciplinary approach in the fields of sculpture, ceramics and jewellery. His work addresses the problems of everyday life, people generally either tend to eschew or are reluctant to address. He tries to develop an understanding and reflects back on the issues of post-colonial society of South Asia through his work.

His corpus work explores the possibilities of developing new meanings and interpretations of corpus and objects in the field of contemporary art and craft. It investigates the perception of objects that is changed and challenged by altering the material or its formal aesthetics, which creates artists joke or dark humor. His work also explores perception of objects beyond its function hence challenge the boundaries and limitations of our perception, understanding and tradition of objects.

His work re-contextualizes the relationship of functional objects with the human body through a new manifestation as subjective perception of the objects, which deals with the complex exchange of ideas and imagery between the world of commodification and art, and between the world of practical usage and consumption

Babrak has exhibited nationally and internationally. He has participated in first and second Metal Art Biennale in Vilnius Lithania in 2014 and 2016 respectively, first Lahore biennale in 2018, and Islamabad Art Festival 2019.

He is a founding member of art organisation 12.0 Contemporary and artist in residence program Project12.0 in Islamabad. He has taught design methodology, design history and theory and has served as founding head of Ceramic and Glass Design Department at Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design Lahore. He received a Master of Fine Arts in Jewellery and Corpus from Ädellab, Konstfack, Stockholm, and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from National College of Arts, Lahore. 12.0 ContemporaryProject12.0

Education
2012-2014        MFA, Jewellery + Corpus, Konstfack, University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm
2010-2011         Design Education in Higher Education, Gernot Lenschow, PIFD Lahore
2001-2004       BFA, Sculpture, National College of Arts, Lahore

Grants and Scholarships
2013                  Ulla Fröberg-Cramérs stipendiestiftelse, Stockholm
2012-2014        Study Grant for MFA, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan
2012-2014        Konstfack International Scholarship
2004                 Award of Distinction, BFA
2001-2003       Merit Scholarship, National College of Arts, Lahore
2002                 Principal’s Honor Award of the year, National College of Arts, Lahore

Work
2018- to date    Research and Publication Manager, Gallery 12.0 Contemporary and Organizer, AiR Program project12.0 at 12.0 Contemporary Islamabad
2015-2019        Assistant Professor, Ceramic and Glass Design Department, Pakistan Institute of Fashion & Design, Lahore
2015-2018         Program Coordinator Ceramic and Glass Design Department, Pakistan Institute of Fashion & Design, Lahore
2017- to date    Member Centre Advisory Board, Glass, Ceramic and Pottery Development Center, TEVTA, Lahore
2010-2015         Lecturer, Jewellery Design, Pakistan Institute of Fashion & Design, Lahore
2009-2010        Visiting Lecturer, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi
2005-2006       Visiting Lecturer, Hunerkada, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Islamabad

Projects
Organizer/ Curated Projects
2020     Second International Artist in Residence Program Project12.0 titled:” Human and Non-human agency in relation to Nature and Ecology” at 12.0 Contemporary Islamabad, 15 Feb – 15 March 2020
2020     Of the Moments, Exhibition, Curated and organized, Gallery 12.0 Contemporary, Islamabad, 18 Jan-02 Feb2020.
2019     Traces Of Memory, Culminating exhibition of research works of first Air Program, Gallery 12.0 Contemporary, Islamabad, 30 Dec – 26 Dec 2019
2019     “Rooh Kich” Research Project – Series of workshops, lectures and presentation by Behzad Khosravi Noori, at Islamabad Art Festival, Gallery 12.0 Contemporary and PNCA Islamabad 31 Oct – 28 Nov 2019
2019    First International Artist in Residence Program Project12.0 titled: Urbanization, Social Identities and Subaltern Cultures in image production” at 12.0 Contemporary Islamabad, 1-30 Nov 2019
2019     Opinion, Knowledge and Truth: knowing to transform, Exhibition of 11 artists at Gallery 12.0 Contemporary Islamabad, 05 – 30 Oct 2019
2019    Opinion, Knowledge and Truth: knowing to transform, Seminar featuring art critics Aasim Akhtar, Amra Ali, Maliha Noorani and Rabeya Jalil at 12.0 Contemporary Islamabad, 05 Oct 2019
2019     Short Stories, Exhibition of Young Graduates, Curated and organized, Gallery 12.0 Contemporary, Islamabad, 19 – 30 April 2019
2019     Orientalism and Visual Culture, International Symposium and Exhibition, Collaborative project of 12.0 Contemporary, Konstfack Stockholm and Center for Culture & Development, 12.0 Contemporary Islamabad, 19 – 24 Jan 2019
2019     Keyboard 1/5, Human-Object Relationship, Co-curated and organized, Zahoor Al Akhlaq Gallery NCA Lahore, 15 – 24 April 2019
Exhibitions
2018      Boiling Springs Art Exhibition of Pakistan “Belt and Road” Exhibition of Pakistani Art Suzhou University Museum Exhibition Hall Beijing China 08-30 May 2018
2018      LBF 01, Pindropdin, Public Appearances, A collateral event with Lahore Biennale, Lahore,17-31 March 2018
2018      LBF 01, Space and Time, A collateral event with Lahore Biennale, PIFD Gallery Lahore,17-31 March 2018 2017      Imago Mundi: Luciano Benetton Collection   Lines in the Sand: Contemporary Art from Pakistan Curated by Amanullah Mojadidi with Ambereen Karamat, Venice Biennale Italy, 2017
2017      The 9^th National Exhibition, Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Islamabad, 19 Dec 2017– 19 Feb 2018
2017      The 9^th National Exhibition (Regional), Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Islamabad, 21Aug-07 Sep 2017
2016      The 3rd International biennial of contemporary metal art “METALLOphone: Bond” Vilnius, Lithuania, 5-29 Oct 2016
2014     The 2nd International biennial of contemporary metal art “METALLOphone: Personally” Vilnius, Lithuania, 2-31 Oct 2014
2014     Degree show, Konstfack, University College of Art, Craft and Design, Stockholm, 15-26 May 2014
2013      Entwined, Group show Adellab, Konstfack, Stockholm, April 2013
2011     Bugsplatz, Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts, Islamabad 2011
2005      3rd Emerging Talent Show, V.M. Art Gallery Karachi, March 2005
2005      All Pakistan young artists show, Alhamra Art Council, Lahore March 2005
2005      Group show of graduates awarded Distinctions and Honors, Alhamra Art Council, Lahore February 2005
2004      Graduate show, National College of Arts, Lahore, December 2004
2004     Group exhibition of Calligraphy, Nairang Art Gallery, Lahore
Publications
2019     Contributor to publication Opinion, Knowledge and Truth: knowing to transform, Gallery 12.0 Contemporary Islamabad. October 2019
2017     Imago Mundi: Luciano Benetton Collection Lines in the Sand: Contemporary Art from Pakistan, Curated by Amanullah Mojadidi and Ambereen Karamat, Grafiche Antiga Spa, Italy 2017
2016     The 3rd International biennial of contemporary metal art “METALLOphone: Bond” Lithuania, Edited by Austeja Laurinaviciute and Guste Skuzinskaite. AV17 Gallery, Vilnius. October 2016
2014     The 2nd International biennial of contemporary metal art “METALLOphone: Personally”Lithuania, Edited by Jurgita Ludaviciene, AV17 Gallery, Vilnius. October 2014
2014     Dagens Nyheter, Sondag Kultur, Kritik by Bo Madestrand. Sunday 18 May 2014 https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/konstrecensioner/konstfacks-elever-har-fatt-syn-pa-omvarlden/
Workshops
2017    “Initiation-II” Workshop on Ceramic Techniques, Gopal Kalapremi, PIFD, Lahore
2016    “Experience, Play, Idea, Edit, Focus” Jonathon Kyle Farmer, FIT New York
2016    “Initiation-I” Workshop on Ceramic Techniques, Gopal Kalapremi, PIFD, Lahore
2013     Yellow workshop “Relics”, Hanna Joris, Damien Skinner, Konstfack, Stockholm
2013     LLP Erasmus, ‘Contemporary Past- Counter Strategies for Greenwashing’ Nida Art Colony, Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania
2013     Yellow workshop “In Between”, Iris Bodemer, Konstfack Stockholm
2012     Experience Design, “Transhuman Design Studio” with Ronald Jones, Nobel Museum and Konstfack, Stockholm
2012     Yellow Workshop “Wearing the World”, Pravu Mazumdar, Damian Skinner, Konstfack, Stockholm
2011     “Bugsplatz”, Hunerkada College of Visual and Performing Arts, Islamabad
2004     Calligraphy workshop” Thulus”, Khursheed Gohar Qalam, NCA, Lahore
2003     Traditions, Mechanics and Techniques in Sculpture, Jamal Shah, Raza Kazim, Asghar Nadeem Syed, NCA, Lahore