Arthub Favorite: Week 131

New Collection | Zubeida Agha Archive

The personal archive of Pakistan’s pioneering abstract artist and art patron Zubeida Agha is now available on AAA’s website.

The archive contains a selection of published texts, catalogues, administrative documents, clippings, and miscellaneous ephemera collected from Zubeida Agha’s Islamabad studio and residence. The materials explore four main areas in Agha’s career: the formation of the early fine art societies in Karachi, Lahore, and Dhaka (Dacca); the establishment of The Art Galleries, Society of Contemporary Art in Rawalpindi; the inception of the National Art Gallery; and an introduction to her practice as a painter.

Collection Highlights

Modification of Design of National Art Gallery

This package addressed to Zubeida Agha contains early working documents about Pakistan’s National Art Gallery (NAG), which finally opened in 2007. The documents include the institution’s amended blueprints, a letter from the architectural company, a report from the NAG Advisory Committee, and its meeting minutes.

Exhibition of Contemporary Pakistani Paintings at Galleria San Fedele

This set of four photographs was taken at the 1961 Exhibition of Contemporary Pakistani Paintings in Milan, which was also the first overseas group exhibition featuring modern art from Karachi, Lahore, and Dacca. Zubeida Agha curated the show as a Karachi Arts Council representative in collaboration with the Centro Culturale San Fedele.

Notes on Philosophy

This personal sketchbook features Agha’s notes on Western philosophy, reflecting the liberal arts education that shaped her work. The notebook also includes short discussions on artistic philosophy.

Please click here to check Zubeida Agha newly archived on AAA’s website.