18/12/2025
"NCA 150-Year Living Archive"
A project by Dr. Suffi Bilal, consisting of three interconnected sections.
Echoes of Leadership features all the principals from Mayo College to the present-day NCA.
Echoes of Memories presents imagery of ustads, masters, academicians, and professors from the Mayo School to the National College of Arts.
The third section, Living Archive in Motion, brings the institution’s history to life through dynamic, immersive multimedia experiences.
As the National College of Arts (NCA) marks its 150-year journey, it becomes essential to reflect not only on the institution’s historical timeline but also on the individuals who have shaped its identity; its principals, ustads, academicians, and generations of students. Founded in 1875, NCA has served as a cradle for thinkers, creators, and cultural contributors, continuously evolving through changing pedagogies, artistic mediums, and social contexts.
Living Archive is a site-specific installation proposed for the NCA Triennale, comprising fifty curtains displayed throughout the college building. These curtains function as symbolic layers of memory, suspended across corridors, studios, and transitional spaces where everyday academic life unfolds. Archival imagery of former principals, ustads, and academicians has been carefully researched and collected over an extended period, then reconstructed using contemporary multimedia techniques. These visual compositions honor their presence without rendering them static or distant, allowing history to remain active and resonant within the space.
Ultimately, Living Archive aims to transform the NCA campus into a living archive, inviting students, faculty, and visitors to engage with the institution’s history not as a closed chapter, but as an ongoing dialogue woven into its walls, pathways, and everyday experiences.
