INDUS VALLEY SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

URBAN REPOSITORY ARCHIVE

The Urban Repository Archive (URA) is an archive focused on the exploration and documentation of Karachi as depicted through the lens of student work within the Fine Art Department of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. As art students based in Karachi continue to respond towards varying physical and intangible changes emanating from the urban environment, the city year after year, becomes a key visual resource. Characterised by rapid expansion and intrepid possibilities, the city is a site of production as well as a stimulus for the evolving nature of urban craft and research. As a result, the URA is a digitally curated website featuring documentation of methods, pedagogies and fieldwork which relate to the art school and its contemporaneous relationship with Karachi’s uncontainable identity. Beyond the URA website, this initiative seeks to build collaborative projects with institutes and individuals who value archiving contemporary art practices and are invested in looking at the multifaceted nature of city life.

The URA is a project by Seher Naveed and Veera Rustomji, faculty members and alumni of the Fine Art Department at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture.

THE DEPARTMENT OF FINE ART AT THE INDUS VALLEY SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The Department of Fine Art offers a comprehensive program designed to enhance students' artistic growth across various disciplines: 2D, 3D, and New Media. This integrated approach combines studio practice, theoretical studies, and personal/professional growth, with a focus on nurturing intellectual and aesthetic responses within a global framework. The department recognises the broad diversity of social, political, cultural, economic, and technological contexts influencing contemporary art production and exhibition and encourages its students to incorporate this multidimensionality into their artistic practice.

PARTNER BIOS

Veera Rustomji is an artist from Karachi, Pakistan. Her practice takes reference from stories and archives creating scenarios that deal with gender, geographical power structures and religious iconography. She holds a BFA from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture and an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts at the University of the Arts London (UAL). She is a recipient of the UAL Postgraduate International Scholarship Award and the Mead Fellowship. Alongside her visual art practice, she teaches at the Fine Art Department of IVS.

Seher Naveed, a Karachi-based artist with over a decade of experience in visual arts and academia, explores the socio-political development of urban environments and its impact on daily life. Her work delves into architecture as a reflection of societal aspirations, especially in cities grappling with political instability. Seher earned a BFA from the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, Karachi and an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, University of the Arts London. Currently, she is Associate Professor at the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, where she teaches courses in drawing and painting.