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Preparations for next year’s Karachi Biennale (KB27) are underway and the Karachi Biennale Trust (KBT) is on the lookout for a young artist to feature as part of their show.

The KBT called for proposals in an Instagram post on Thursday to be considered for their EBM Emerging Artist Prize. The winner will be given an award at the opening of the Biennale as well as a commission to realise their proposal, which will be displayed at KB27. The deadline to submit proposals is 11:59pm on September 20.

The theme for the prize is Sediments: Realising Futures, which explores how “memories, ecologies, technologies, trade, communities and collective energies accumulate over time to shape future realities”.

This falls under the umbrella of the Biennale’s overarching main theme: Kal, Yesterday, Tomorrow. Artists are encouraged to apply “ambitious interdisciplinary practices incorporating sound, moving image, digital media, installation, participation, responsive technologies, and public interaction”.

Per the eligibility requirements, aspirants should be Pakistani visual and interdisciplinary artists under 35 years of age with a minimum of five years of sustained artistic practice. They are also required to have studied “a recognised art, design, architecture, media, or related creative discipline” or “demonstrate an equivalent level of professional artistic practice”.

Interested artists may submit a proposal for a site-specific indoor or open-air work which incorporates “visual, spatial, material, digital, sound, performative, interactive, participatory, technological or interdisciplinary approaches”. Organisers have encouraged aspirants to interpret the term “sediment” broadly and not limit the concept to geological material.

Proposals should describe the artwork’s relation to the theme, its technical specifications, site and material requirements, a detailed budget, a production timeline and plans for installation and de-installation.

The winner will be selected based on a number of criteria, including, strength and originality of the artwork, connection to the theme, quality and relevance of the artist’s practice, the artist’s approach to sustainability and overall feasibility.

KB27 will take place from January 16 to 31 at different sites across Karachi. The exhibition is the fifth since the Karachi Biennale was first held in 2017. Noor Ahmed, a former general manager of the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, is serving as curator — the second woman to have held the position.

Cover photo: Karachi Biennale/Instagram