A Drop Becoming the Ocean

A project of the Furqaan Ahmed Collection hosted at the Aga Khan University of Arts and Sciences | October 2024 to May 2025

Deliverable/s
Design & Layout | Cover Design

Printed by:
Le’Topical

Published by:
The Furqaan Ahmed Collection, 2025

Project Description
”This exhibition ‘A Drop Becoming the Ocean’ is the first such project from the collection. The exhibition, hosted by the Aga Khan University Faculty of Arts and Sciences for one academic year, aimed to share a curated selection of works with a public audience, in a manner that enriched the university experience by carefully selecting works that were relevant to what is being taught in the classroom. In this case, water was the starting point for broader conversations about migration, climate change, the Indian Ocean, poverty and social inequality, and Pakistani and colonial history. Each artwork related to at least one of the majors offered at the university. A series of public talks by eminent speakers further built on these themes.

This exhibition is part of a larger initiative, Shanakht, a museum project of the collection. Envisioning a museum as a platform, not just a physical space, Shanakht fulfills the multiple functions of a traditional museum including exhibition making, art publishing, research and scholarship, a robust loan program, and building a strong reference library and archive. Most of the projects from the collection explore different aspects of Pakistani identity, hence the choice of Shanakht as the name for the museum platform. This project can also be seen through the lens of identity as the Indus River is central to Pakistan’s identity and survival. ‘A Drop Becoming the Ocean’ is the first exhibition coming from the Shanakht museum platform. Other exhibition projects are currently under development.

‘A Drop Becoming the Ocean’ offers a unique and innovative model for collaboration between a private contemporary art collection and a university. I am grateful to the Dean and faculty of the Aga Khan University Faculty of Arts and Sciences for hosting and facilitating this exhibition and the associated talks.” - Dr. Furqaan Ahmed