By Qasim Ali
Lahore:The Lahore Digital Arts Festival 2025 (LDF), themed “Breathing Algorithms,” wrapped up today after an electrifying week of immersive exhibitions, live performances, and thought-provoking dialogues. Spanning venues like Alliance Française de Lahore, R Space, Aangun Cultural Centre, and Beaconhouse National University (BNU), the festival drew packed crowds and critical acclaim.Founded by Najam Ul Assar, LDF united artists, curators, and technologists from Pakistan and beyond, presenting over 15 cutting-edge projects at the nexus of art, AI, climate change, identity, and culture. Highlights included VR installations, AR experiences, digital projections, mixed-media works, and interactive performances—each interrogating technology’s role in reshaping human perception and society.The closing ceremony welcomed luminaries from Pakistan’s art and academia, including Rashid Rana and Dr. Salima Hashmi. Co-curated by Najam Ul Assar and Sarah Rajper, “Breathing Algorithms” advanced LDF’s mission to spark critical discourse on art and technology while elevating regional voices. International talents such as Isabelle Arvers, Mikhail Margolis, Dr. Megan Smith, and John Desnoyers-Stewart shared the stage with Pakistan’s leading digital artists, forging vibrant local-global exchanges.At the finale, curator Najam Ul Assar declared: “This year’s festival proved digital art’s power to unite us—transcending borders and languages—through universal inquiries into existence, memory, and ecology. Lahore’s audience energy was nothing short of electric.”Co-curator Sarah Rajper added: “These works provoke, reimagine, and resist. They affirm that even amid control systems, imagination is our ultimate power.”Organized in partnership with Novembre Numérique and Alliance Française de Lahore, with backing from the Institut Français and French Embassy in Pakistan, LDF 2025 solidified its status as a beacon for innovative art-tech convergence.
