Mehwish Abid, M.A

Lecturer, Communication and Design
School of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
mehwish.abid@ahss.habib.edu.pk

Education

  • M.A. Architecture, University of Liverpool, UK (2011-2012)
  • B. Arch, COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan (2005-2010)

Teaching Experience

  • Lecturer (Level-III) at Communication and Design Department, Habib University Karachi (1 Jan 2023- to date): Full-time.
  • Visiting Faculty for History and Theory of Architecture-IV at Razia Hassan School of Architecture (RHSA)
  • Visiting Faculty for the elective course Decolonising Material Culture through Oral Histories at the School of Visual Art & Design (SVAD) (22 Sep 2022 -22 Jan 2023):Part-Time.
  • Head of the department (HOD), School of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism (SADU) at Institute for Art & Culture, Lahore, Pakistan (29 Aug 2021- 4 July 2022): Full-time.
  • Assistant Prof. at SADU (Institute for Art & Culture, Lahore, Pakistan) (1 July 2015- 4 July 2022):Full-time.
  • Visiting Faculty for Research Methods and Architectural Design- IV at National College of Arts (NCA), Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (17 Oct 2012- 24 Oct 2014):Part-Time.
  • Lecturer for History and theory of interior and Interior Design Studio at Rawalpindi Institute of Art & Design (RIAD) (12 July 2010 – 12 Aug 2011 Part-Time.

Courses Taught

  • Forms of Inquiry
  • Decolonizing material culture through oral histories
  • City as an Archive: Karachi
  • Design for Social Change
  • History and Theory of Architecture, Design and Urbanism
  • Architectural design studio (I, II, III, XI)
  • Research Methods
  • Architectural Journalism

    • Biography

    Mehwish Abid is a fellow of Lakshmi Mittal Institute at Harvard University. Abid is the principal architect of the Studio of Architecture, Research, and Design (S A R D). She has received distinctions for both her graduate and postgraduate degrees in Architecture at the COMSATS University Islamabad and the University of Liverpool, UK. She explores the formation of new methods of immersion through archiving & material culture. She experiments with the medium of sound, text, image, and objects as a visual artist. Her academic research focuses on decolonial frameworks of space and body territory. She has previously taught at BNU, NCA and IAC.

    Publications

    Book chapters Publications

  • Abid, Mehwish. 2022. Experiencing authenticity through cultural borders and experimental ethnography. Pg: 115-131, Vol. 1, Border Urbanism: Transdisciplinary Perspectives, edited by Quazi Mahtab Zaman and Greg G. Hall, ISSN2365-757X. Aberdeen: Springer Nature.
  • Mehwish Abid, Ghiasuddin Pir. 2022. “Material Culture and Decolonisation: Post-partition Lahore.” REGION AHRA 2022. Pg 171-189, Leicestershire, In print. UK: Routledge.
  • Abid, Saba Samee & Mehwish. 2021. “Introduction booklet”. Safeguarding the cultural heritage through aware-raising of the general public and mobilizing school-going youth. Lahore: UNESCO.
  • Abid, Mehwish. 2021. “Heritage Booklets (1-10).” Safeguarding the cultural heritage through awareness-raising of the general public and mobilizing school-going youth. Lahore: UNESCO.
  • Abid, Mehwish.2019. Decolonization of modernism: Post-mass-migration. Vol. 2, in Borders with border: Fragmentation, Disposition, and Connection, edited by GUIDO CIMADOMO, In print. Malaga: Springer Nature.
  • Abid, Mehwish. 2019. “The life of Buddha explained through artifacts and oral narratives & Social spaces and practices of Hund .” In Improving the educational role of Hund Museum: Educational Resource Handbook, by Mehwish Abid, Ghiasuddin Pir, Mehreen Mustafa Sajida Vandal, 33-48. Lahore: UNESCO & THAAP.

    • Journal Research Publications

  • Abid, Mehwish. 2021. “Decolonising home through objects.” In Curating Personal Archives, by Curating for Culture, edited by Ishita Shah, 45-48. Mumbai: Curating for Culture
  • Abid, Mehwish. 2018. “Phenomenology of contemplative spaces: Case of Masjid Wazir Khan.” Edited by Pervaiz Vandal. The city: an evolving organism (THAAP) 7: 57-69. doi:978-969-9359-14-9.
  • Abid, Mehwish. 2017. “Being and the city.” Edited by Pervaiz Vandal. THAAP Journal: People and the city (THAAP) 6: 158-172. doi:978-969-9359-13-2.

    • Conference Research papers

  • Mehwish Abid, Serdar Aydin, Marc Aurel Schnabel. 2018. “Reclaiming Heritage by Retelling ‘The Thing’ in Virtual Reality: Decoding Walled City of Lahore.” Edited by Marc Aurel Schnabel. Back to the future: the next 50 years . Wellington : Architecture Science Association (ANZAScA) Austrailia . 15-24. doi:978-0-9923835.
  • Ahmed, Mehwish Abid & Sauban Habeeb. 2017. “Design through: Role of intelligibility.” Edited by Jawad Haider, Alfiya Halai, Tazeen Hussain, Zarmeenae Shah, Syed Ammad Tahir Madiha Aizaz. Design Evolution, Education and Practice. Karachi: Indus Valley School of Architecture & Kennesaw State University , US Department of State. 121-127. doi:978-969-9343-03-2.

    • Exhibition Catalogs

  • Kamran, Sadia Pasha. 2020. The Eighth Garden: modern art from Pakistan. Edited by Mehwish Abid. Lahore: Institute for Art & Culture. https://tinyurl.com/j7js46c8.
  • Abid, Mehwish. 2020. “Tale of life at borders: I am four year old.” Quaranzine. Edinburgh: Coin operated Press.
    • Journalism/ Article Publications
  • Abid, Mehwish. 2022, Decolonizing Home Through Objects: Moiz Uddin Sheikh Recliners, From Frugal to the ornate – Stories of the seat in India, accessed, https://tinyurl.com/23y4pzsw, Godrej & Boyce.
  • Notebook: Read. 2020-present. Notebook : Read (Art & Architecture Magazine). Edited by Mehwish Abid. https://notebookread.wordpress.com/.
  • Abid, Mehwish. 2016. “Badminton courts and swimming pool area by Suhail & Fawad Architects .” Archi times (A+I) .
  • —. 2015. “45 Parkview Residence: an architectural response.” Architecture + Interiors, 74-81.
  • —. 2018. “The meaning making walkthrough of Shahi-Hamam.” Architecture, Design and Art (ADA), 35-45. doi:1997-7891.
  • —. n.d. “Sustainability in Pakistan.” Archinama.

    • Recent Exhibitions

    • Decolonizing home through objects (DHTO) at Ejaz Art Gallery, Lahore in the group show “Baagh” curated by Sadia Pasha Kamran (25 May 2022) – Group show.
    • Gape Within, Decolonising home through objects (6 objects), The End, Project: Ex (IT), Hegira at The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University (29 March- Aug 2022). Solo show, Retelling, and Reclaiming: South Asian Narratives, curated by Sneha Shrestha (29 March 2022-30 May 2022) – Solo show.
    • Decolonizing home through objects (DHTO), Archiving projects at the exhibition, Kitchen to Kacheri, IIC, New Delhi @iic_delhi by Curating For Culture, in collaboration with Khoj Studios and Goethe Institute, India (15,16 March 2022) – Group show.

    Recent residencies and workshops (received)

    • Craft Seminar: Writing About Climate Change with Fatima Bhutto (9th July and 23rd July), organized by the ship managency.
    • Visiting Artist Fellows for Spring 2022 at Mittal Institute (1 March- 30 April 2022), Harvard University. Classes: Migration and Humanities by Homi Bhabha, Himalayan Art by Jinnah Kim, Modernism, and its Counter-narratives by Michael K Hays.
    • Curating Personal Archives (CPA): a four-month-long incubation program offered by Curating for Culture run by Ishita Shah with a series of workshops (oral histories, storytelling, documenting archives, archiving system, and visual storytelling of building archives). (1Sep 2020- 27 Feb 2021).
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