The Ishara Art Foundation in the UAE has launched 'Urdu Worlds,' the region's first contemporary art exhibition dedicated to the Urdu language. Curated by Hammad Nasar, the show features a visual dialogue between the late Indian-born artist Zarina and Pakistani multimedia artist Ali Kazim. The exhibition showcases Zarina’s delicate woodcut prints, including her seminal 'Home is a Foreign Place,' alongside an expansive survey of Kazim’s paintings, sculptures, and his new 'Alphabets' series, marking his institutional debut in West Asia.
This exhibition is significant for its exploration of how language and script function as tools for identity and 'world-making' amidst experiences of migration and exile. By centering Urdu, the curators challenge the dominance of English in institutional narratives and highlight the power of visual art to translate untranslatable cultural cues. The collaboration also underscores the shared cultural heritage of South Asia, bridging geographical divides through a common linguistic and poetic history.