Asad Hayee

Biography

Asad is an artist currently working as a curator for the Habib Bank Limited where he is tasked with building a contemporary art collection for the bank. This collection is displayed at branches all over Pakistan, and some international branches of HBL. Asad’s role is to create opportunities for employees to understand art, culture and history through monthly interactive art sessions for them and their family, and by collaborating with individuals and organisations that are working in the field of arts education for marginalised children. In next two years HBL is hoping to have a small-scale museum space in the city of Karachi.

Asad was previously a Curator at Rohtas 2 Gallery, where he curated the exhibition Art Capsule – Parallax for Lahore Literary Festival 2016 at Zahoorul Akhlaq Gallery, National College of Arts, Lahore. He was the coordinator of Lyrical Lines and Colours, an exhibition at Lahore Museum about pahari miniature folios in 2016; objects came from the permanent collection of Lahore Museum, comprising of almost 300 folios. These exhibitions were acknowledged by The British Museum in 2016 International Training Programme Newsletter.

Asad assisted Salima Hashmi with The Making of Meaning exhibition of works by female artists and artisans from the minority groups all over Pakistan (a travelling exhibition in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Multan). The exhibition was created with the help of the Faiz Foundation Trust in collaboration with HRCP and supported by the European Union. The Making of Meaning was co-curated by Shehnaz Ismail, Farida Batool and with Prof. Salima Hashmi as advisor, 2014-15. Asad co-curatored, with Salima Hashmi, The colour of the Narrative which displayed contemporary Art from Pakistan, at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Bangkok, 2012; Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan, Asia Society Museum, New York, 2009; International Art Festival Separating Myth from Reality, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2009; Side B, a group show at Nairang Galleries, co-curated with Attiq Ahmed, Lahore, 2004.

Asad’s dream for museums of the future, is for museums to consider the need to preserve the present. In this active age, technology is changing very quickly, as are human beings. Covid-19 dramatically changed the world and impacted every living being, and he wonders how that time of isolation and loneliness can be captured to share with the coming generations.

At the British Museum
During his time on the International Training Programme in 2012, Asad was based in the Department of Asia and his partner placement was spent at the Birmingham Museums Trust.

In 2012 an element of the programme was a series of presentations, in which participants presented a 10-minute illustrated talk, prompted by the task to consider a new display at the British Museum.  Asad’s exhibition project proposal was entitled Continuing Tradition.

Asad’s place on the ITP was generously supported by the Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust .

Legacy Projects
Since the ITP, Asad attended the Creating museums of world stories workshop in Mumbai from 20 – 21 November 2015 which marked 10 years of the International Training Programme. In his project group, Asad worked on an exhibition concept entitled A Past From the Blast focusing on the city of Erbil in Iraq.

In May 2017 Asad returned to the British Museum to attend the ITP+ Course on temporary exhibitions & permanent display with fellows from China, India, Iran, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, and different ITP years.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 1 (2013), Global perspectives: ‘What do visitors expect from museums today?’