Hong Kong's M+ museum has selected Pakistani American artist Shahzia Sikander's hand-painted animated film *3 to 12 Nautical Miles* (2026) for its latest M+ Facade commission, a massive LED media screen. Co-commissioned by M+ and Art Basel, the work will screen from March 23 through June 21. The animation explores entangled histories of empire and commerce, linking Imperial Britain, the Indian subcontinent, and Qing China, and chronicles the Mughal Empire's decline, the East India Company's rise, and the First Opium War.
The commission marks the fifth year of collaboration between M+, Art Basel, and UBS, highlighting Sikander's distinctive perspective on globalization through her roots in Central and South Asian miniature painting. The work engages contemporary art with civic space, inviting reflection on urgent global themes. Sikander, one of the most prominent living Pakistani artists, was also in the news in 2024 when her sculpture *Witness* (2023) at the University of Houston was beheaded by anti-abortion vandals.