Beaconhouse National University (BNU)

Mahbub Jokhio is a visionary artist and educator, shaping the future of contemporary visual arts in Pakistan and beyond. A distinguished graduate of Beaconhouse National University with a UMISAA scholarship and honors, he is now a faculty member at BNU, Lahore, inspiring the next generation of artists.

Jokhio’s work has been showcased on some of the most prestigious global platforms, reflecting his deep engagement with history, memory, and cultural narratives. His selected exhibitions include Partition Perspectives at Crossings Gallery, Harvard Ed. Portal, Allston, US; East Meets West at Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan; Multiple Narratives at Grosvenor Gallery, London; Epiphany at Piazza Sant’Andrea, Palermo; and Commo Museum in Lahore. His critically acclaimed work Museum of Wasted Loves was commissioned for Karachi Biennale 2017, marking a significant milestone in his artistic journey.

Jokhio has received numerous accolades, including the IFTCF Emerging Artist Award in 2018 and a prestigious residency at Villa Poggio Verde, Italy. His impressive list of international residencies includes Gasworks, London; Al-Balad Residency, Saudi Arabia; a Research Fellowship at Harvard University’s Lakshmi Mittal Institute; Maltfabrikken Residency, Denmark; and the esteemed Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Residency in Japan. In 2023, he was honored with the BNU Global Impact Award for his contributions to the field.

Most recently, his work was featured in MANZAR: Art and Architecture from Pakistan 1940s to Today, the most extensive survey of Pakistani art and architecture, organized by Future Art Mill Museum and the National Museum of Qatar in Doha.

With an unyielding commitment to artistic exploration and critical discourse, Mahbub Jokhio continues to challenge perceptions, bridge cultures, and redefine contemporary art on a global stage.

• Master of Arts and Design Studies, Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore
• BFA in Visual Arts, Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore

• UNESCO Madanjeet Institute of South Asian Arts (UMISAA) Scholarship (2010–2014)

• Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Residency, Fukuoka, Japan (2024)
• BNU Global Impact Award, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore (2023)
• Est Nord Est Residency, Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec, Canada (2023)
• Malt Artist in Residence Program, Maltfabrikken, Ebeltoft, Denmark (2021)
• Al Balad Art Residency, Ministry of Culture, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (2020)
• Visiting Artist Fellowship, Lakshmi Mittal Institute of South Asian Studies, Harvard University, US (2019)
• Artist Residency at Villa Poggio Verde, Milan, Italy (2018)
• IFTCF Emerging Artist Award, Italy (2018)
• Gasworks International Artist Residency, London, UK (2017)
• Canvas Gallery and Pioneer Cement Ltd. Residency Program, Khushab, Pakistan (2017)
• ISL Artist in Residence, Karachi, Pakistan (2017)
• Distinction Award, MA in Arts and Design Studies, Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore (2017)
• Distinction Award, BFA in Visual Arts, Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore (2014)

• Aliph Academy of Arts, Mehrabpur (2003)
• 7th Ada Sain and Nuth-Khat Literary Workshop, Hyderabad (2009)
• Art for Social Change, British Council, Al-Hamra, Lahore (2013)

Solo Shows

• In the City of Lost Times, The Tetley, Leeds, UK (2018)

Two-Person Shows

• Partition Perspectives, Crossings Gallery, Harvard Ed. Portal, Allston, US (2019)
• Bureaucracies of Imagination, Canvas Gallery, Karachi (2018)
• Museum of Wasted Loves, Full Circle Gallery, Karachi (2016)
• A Thousand Times to Moon and Back Home, IVS Gallery, Karachi (2015)

Group Shows

• MANZAR: Art and Architecture from Pakistan 1940s to Today, Future Art Mill Museum, National Museum of Qatar, Doha, Qatar (2024)
• Songs of Sky and Earth, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (2024)
• Art as Joke, Basant Hall Gallery, Hyderabad (2024)
• 4 by Four, Curated by Quddus Mirza, Articulate Studio, Lahore (2024)
• Patterns, Canvas Gallery, Karachi (2024)
• IAPEX Art, Pak-China Trade Center Expo, Islamabad (2024)
• The Day After, F9 Park Art Gallery, Islamabad Art Festival, Islamabad (2023)
• A Line That Divides, Curated by Quddus Mirza, Canvas Gallery, Karachi (2023)
• Silent Eyes, Full Circle Gallery, Karachi (2023)
• Revolution/Evolution, Sambara Art Gallery, Karachi (2023)
• Open Studio, MALT AIR, Ebeltoft, Denmark (2022)
• Sculpture/Sculptor, Como Museum, Lahore (2022)
• The Factory, Curated by Rameesha Azeem, Lahore (2022)
• Point of Departure, IVS Gallery, Karachi (2021)
• Shanakht (The Identity), O Art Space, Lahore (2021)
• Exit Strategy, Curated by Risham Sayed, ILF, Pakistan National Gallery, Islamabad (2019)
• Noah’s Arc, Curated by Quddus Mirza, Karachi Biennale 2019, Karachi (2019)
• Culture, Language, and Identity – Perspectives through South Asia, The Mittal Institute, Harvard University, US (2019)
• Epiphany, Piazza Sant’Andrea, Palermo, Italy (2018)
• East Meets West, Preview Show of the Winning Works, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan, Italy (2018)
• In the Beginning Was the Word, Curated by Quddus Mirza, O Art Space, Lahore (2018)
• Multiple Narratives, Grosvenor Gallery, London, UK (2018)
• Open Studio, Gasworks, London, UK (2017)
• Karachi Biennale, Karachi (2017)
• Open Studio, Pioneer Artist Residency, Khushab (2017)
• Premise of Promise, Curated by Quddus Mirza, Canvas Gallery, Karachi (2017)
• Amalgamate, Sanat Gallery, Karachi (2017)
• Open Studio, ISL Artist-in-Residence, Karachi (2017)
• Master’s Degree Show, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore (2017)
• Everything is Embedded in History, Lahore Literary Festival, Alhamra Art Council, Lahore (2015)
• Showdown, Gallerie de Franchise, Karachi (2014)
• Portraits of Discomfiture, Taseer Art Gallery, Lahore (2014)
• Degree Show, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore (2014)
• Extra-Ordinary – 37 Art Ideas for Free, Curated by Rashid Rana, Canvas Gallery, Karachi (2013)
• Project-1, LEC, Lahore (2012)
• Dialogue-1, Al-Hamra Art Council, Lahore (2010)
• Mahbub Jokhio’s Drawings, Sindh Museum, Hyderabad, Sindh (2007)
• Group Exhibition, Aliph Academy of Arts, Mehrabpur, Sindh (2003)

• Pakistani Visual Artists Push Boundaries with Contemporary Art, Buraq Shabbir, Arab News.PK, September 4, 2022
• Reality as Simulation: Sculpture and Installation Art in Lahore, Talal Ismail, Friday Times, September 26, 2022
• In Pakistan, Life and Society Become Art, In conversation with The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University, Published on Mittal Institute Website, March 20, 2019
• I’m Interested in Elements of Theatricality, Clove Magazine, February 19, 2018
• In the City of Lost Times, By Momtaz Begum-Hossain, Asian Culture Vulture, February 16, 2018
• Meaningful Histories, Aesthetica Magazine, February 8, 2018
• Art Residencies – In Pursuit of Origin, Sehr Jalil, Seismpolite, 2017
• An Aesthetic Mentor, Sehrish Mustafa, Art Now Magazine, 2017
• Amalgamate, Rabia S. Akhtar, Art Now Magazine, 2017
• Exploring Possibilities: The Language of Mediums, The Express Tribune, January 25, 2017
• Being at the Biennale, Quddus Mirza, The News, November 5, 2017
• Concept of Belonging Binds ‘Museum of Wasted Loves’, The Express Tribune, April 5, 2016
• Over the Moon, Salman Peerzada, Published in Dawn, September 23, 2015
• Art That Cuts Across the Border, Rashid Rana, Published in India Today Spice, August 2015, India

• Email Address: mahbub.ali@bnu.edu.pk