KBT Founders

Almas Bana has primarily worked with not-for-profit organizations, including 14 years with Aga Khan University, where his last held position was Associate Dean, followed by stints in Kenya and Pakistan as CEO of school trusts managing their school networks.... His strengths lie in developing strategic programs and managing their implementation. He enjoys working in multicultural environments. Almas believes that art in all its manifestations not only reflects society but can provide a vision for its positive development. It should be a harbinger of change in an open society. Involvement in the Karachi Biennale provides him with such an experimental opportunity. Almas holds a B.Sc and M.B.A. from Pakistan and a Certificate in International Management from Boston University, USA.

Niilofur Farrukh is a cultural interventionist based in Karachi. Her prolific five-decade career centres on decolonizing ways of viewing, reading, practicing, and writing about art and culture in Pakistan.... In 2016, she co-founded the Karachi Biennale Trust and, as its CEO, led four acclaimed editions of the Karachi Biennale through 2025. This city-wide international project created opportunities for public audiences to experience the transformative power of art with hundreds of works on themes that were relevant to their lives. She is also the co-founder of ASNA, which hosted four International Clay Triennials. She has three books to her credit: A Beautiful Despair – The Art and Life of Meher Afroz, Pioneering Perspectives, and Pakistan's Radioactive Decade.

Atteqa Malik is an accomplished entrepreneur, artist, scholar, and cultural operator with a strong background in international collaboration, creative diplomacy, and civic engagement.... She currently serves as Chairperson of the Karachi Biennale Trust, Director at GIA International Exports Pvt. Ltd., a member of the Executive Committee at Indus Valley School of Arts & Architecture, and Board Director at the Pakistan UK and Ireland Business Council. She leads cross-cultural initiatives and fosters global partnerships.

Bushra Hussain is a Karachi-based freelance fine art consultant, curator, and researcher. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the National College of Arts, Lahore.... During her studio practice, she has worked on commissions for the Pakistan Navy and private collectors. Since 2006, Bushra's expertise has been in Fine Art Administration and Gallery Management, having worked with some of the leading non-profit and commercial art galleries in Karachi, including VM Art Gallery, ArtChowk the Gallery, and Canvas Gallery. She works independently through her consulting practice, Art Advisory.

Amin Gulgee has worked as a sculptor from his studio in Karachi for more than two decades. A graduate of Yale University, he received a BA in Art History and Economics in 1986 and won the Conger B. Goodyear Fine Arts Award for his senior thesis.... He has exhibited extensively both at home and abroad, with more than 30 solo exhibitions and several international group shows. The artist is also known for his performance works and has been active as a curator since the late 1990s. Amin has received numerous awards, including the President's Pride of Performance in 2005.

Dr. Asma Ibrahim holds a Doctorate in Numismatics and a post-doctorate fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.... She served in the Department of Archaeology and Museums from 1990 to 2006 in various positions and as Editor at the Tribune Daily and Travelogue Magazine. From 2006 to date, she has been working as Director of the State Bank of Pakistan Museum and Art Gallery, the first monetary museum in Pakistan. She has established a Centre for Archaeology and Environmental Research as a Founding Member.

Farzana Tunio has worked in the challenging field of design and advertising both in Pakistan and in the USA and received an award at the Art Direction magazine's "Creativity Show" in New York for her calendar design.... Her logo design for Interwood Pvt. Ltd., a furniture company, has withstood the test of time. She is also a visiting faculty member at Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture and is working on her dream project: setting up a "Visual Arts College" at the newly adopted campus, the 180-year-old heritage site NJV School.

Masuma Halai Khwaja is a freelance artist who graduated with a distinction in fine arts from the prestigious National College of Arts in Lahore. She has been an art educator for over two decades and has taught at some of the country's most prominent art institutions.... Masuma has exhibited her work widely in group shows within Pakistan and abroad and has four solo shows to her credit. She has won many awards, including the Sadequain Award and the medal for Star Girl by South Asia Publications.

Ainee Shehzad Salim is a Valedictorian Commonwealth Scholar. She holds a Civil Engineering degree along with a Bachelor in Education and a Master in Education and International Development from the Institute of Education, UCL.... She is the Head of Department of Continuing Professional Development at the Karachi Grammar School, College Section. She is a CIE PDQ Programme Leader, has authored scholarly articles on education and development, and also teaches A and O Level Mathematics. She runs a successful furniture, interior designing, and event management company.

Riffat Alvi is the Director and Curator of VM Art Gallery, Karachi, a leading art space in the country and a concern of the ZVMG Rangoonwala Trust.... Riffat has been practicing as an artist for the last forty years, having graduated from Karachi School of Art. She has worked on projects for UNCTAD GATT, Geneva, for craft development and is the only artist in the country known to work with natural earth and earth pigments as a medium.