The National College of Arts, Lahore announces the Open Call for Writers from all across South Asia, for An Anthology of The NCA Triennale 2025.
This anthology seeks contributions from writers rooted in the documentation of regional theater, instrumental music, visual arts, archives and museums, literary and cultural history, craft practices, art and design history, education and criticism, and folklore.
All forms of creative nonfiction, poetry, lyrical, meditative, and journalistic writing can be turned in. Whimsical, magical-realistic, and Kafkaesque traditions of writing are welcome. Vernacular expressions and traditional forms of narration and narrative in theatre, music, and dance are invited. Marginalia, notes on craft, and expository writing can also be made part of the anthology. Broad submission formats include Longform Essays, Micro Essays, Personal Essays, and Poetry.
The thematic anchors of this volume are the exhibitions and exhibition formats, performances, residencies and residency outcomes, and workshops held as part of The NCA Triennale 2025. Initially, submissions will be taken in the form of 100 to 300 word abstracts/synopses. Abstract submission deadline is March 02, 2026. The link for abstract submission is: https://forms.gle/7wx6avBmr33wMAFt7.
AI-generated and ChatGPT-oriented content will not be accepted. Authors whose writings contain plagiarized material will be barred from current or future participation on this and related platforms.
Upon acceptance, full-text submission deadlines will be communicated to the authors of selected pieces.
Sitting at the cusp of history, The NCA Triennale 2025 marks the beginning of a milieu. Affording inclusion across geographies, the show pivoted on a collective hinge, relying on the many hands that made it - and continue to shape its contours in subtle, unsaid, micro-ways.
At its heart, there thrives the instrument of cumulative curatorial energies.
Through its conscious choice of birthing rhythms that remain ungoverned by individualistic tilts, The NCA Triennale 2025 became somewhat of an anomaly within the curatorial culture of the region. Some issues of salience inviting the contributors’ attention within the broader matrices and intersections of areas delineated above include:
Dismantling the intellect: what is etched onto the memory of the making hand?
Microhistories of the working hand: oral tellings of craftspeople and the examination of folklore
Intimacies of remembering the undocumented moment: what happens when a private memory shared with a displayed object is no longer exclusive and trespasses into the public realm?
Remembering the inaugural Triennale: memory-making in art historical and art educational contexts across South Asia
The poetics and politics of making and unmaking with the hand within the regional material culture
Re-examining the archival ethos of craft: what do impressions of the hand carry?
In performance: reviving the Mehfil format in Sarangi and Sitar performances
The National College of Arts, Lahore announces the Open Call for Writers from all across South Asia, documenting regional theatre, instrumental music, visual arts, archives and museums, literary and cultural history, crafts practices, art and design history, education, and criticism, and folklore.
The thematic anchors of this volume are the exhibitions and exhibition formats, performances, residencies and residency outcomes, and workshops held as part of The NCA Triennale 2025. Initially, submissions will be taken in the form of 100 to 300 word abstracts/synopses. Abstract submission deadline is March 02, 2026.
AI-generated and ChatGPT-oriented content will not be accepted. Authors whose writings contain plagiarized material are liable to being barred from current or future participation on this and related platforms.
Upon acceptance, full-text submission deadlines will be communicated to the authors of selected pieces.
For further details, head over to The NCA Triennale 2025 website and socials. (Links)
Author’s Name
Country/City
Brief Bio
Email Address
Abstract/Synopsis (100 to 300 words)
The National College of Arts, Lahore announces the Open Call for Writers from all across South Asia, documenting regional theatre, instrumental music, visual arts, archives and museums, literary and cultural history, crafts practices, art and design history, education, and criticism, and folklore, with The NCA Triennale 2025 as the hinge of discourse.
Initially, submissions will be taken in the form of 100 to 300 word abstracts/synopses.
Abstract submission deadline is March 02, 2026.
Although submissions touching upon larger sociological and anthropological issues within South Asia are welcome, we are looking for pieces that implicitly or expressly describe the phenomenon of a South Asian/Pakistani Triennale, specifically The NCA Triennale 2025. Submitted abstracts may shed light on broader discourses within regional debates, however, the presence and precedence of The NCA Triennale and its programming within the evolving regional landscape is the focal point of this anthology. Therefore, submitted abstracts, whilst building on larger issues surrounding South Asian art history, art education, archival practices, etc. may directly address The NCA Triennale 2025, which took place in November 2025 at the National College of Arts, Lahore. For further information regarding The NCA Triennale 2025, kindly visit:
https://nca.edu.pk/triennale/conceptual-footings
https://nca.edu.pk/triennale/themes
https://nca.edu.pk/triennale/events-schedule
https://nca.edu.pk/triennale/events-gallery
Writings in all previously outlined genres are welcome.