Faiza Butt's Pakistan Pavilion at Venice Biennale Reimagines Punjab's History Through Textiles
The Pakistan Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale showcases 'Punj•ab – A Sublime Terrain', a solo exhibition by Faiza Butt, curated by Beatriz Cifuentez Feliciano. Set in Ex Farmacia Solveni, the display includes textiles, portraits, oil-on-board paintings, and reimagined military medals. Butt honors Punjab's history, spanning from Alexander the Great to the British Empire, through a non-linear textile narrative. Working with artisans, she highlights a minimal carbon footprint and revives indigenous cotton varieties alongside Havelicrafts. Featured works include Butt's 'Phantasmagoric' series and the portrait collections 'Men of Punjab' and 'Women of Punjab'. Additionally, jewellery crafted from military medals, geotagged with Pakistani minerals, addresses the violence of Partition. This exhibition appears in Canvas 123: Venice Special Issue.
Key facts
- Faiza Butt represents Pakistan at the 2026 Venice Biennale with solo show 'Punj•ab – A Sublime Terrain'.
- The exhibition is curated by Beatriz Cifuentez Feliciano and located in the Ex Farmacia Solveni.
- Butt dedicates the pavilion to Punjab, a region in both India and Pakistan.
- The show features monumental textiles spanning nine chapters of Punjab's history.
- Butt worked with textiles for the first time, collaborating with artisans using energy-independent methods.
- She partnered with Havelicrafts to revive indigenous cotton varieties destroyed by the British.
- The exhibition includes 'Phantasmagoric' paintings, portraits of men and women of Punjab, and redesigned military medals.
- The medals incorporate geotagged Pakistani minerals like black quartz and a unique ruby shade.
- Butt aims to elevate craft traditions to fine art, reappropriating regional art history.
Entities
Artists
- Faiza Butt
- Beatriz Cifuentes Feliciano
Institutions
- Pakistan Pavilion
- Venice Biennale
- Havelicrafts
- Canvas
- 193 GALLERY VENICE
- Artribune
Locations
- Pakistan
- Punjab
- India
- Venice
- Italy
- Ex Farmacia Solveni
- Dorsoduro
- Lahore