JS Group is pleased to be the lead sponsor of the first Karachi Biennale 2017. Karachi Biennale 2017 (KB) will be the city’s largest, most exciting and inclusive yearlong art event with the aim to connect art, the city of Karachi and its people. Its primary objective is to showcase the Art from Pakistan, the region and the rest of the world in exhibitions to a wider audience, which will include art enthusiasts from the country and overseas. JS Group is committed to expanding the audience to ‘the man on the street’, for which an extensive public outreach program has been undertaken.

A prestigious award “Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation Karachi Biennale Jury Prize” for Karachi Biennale 2017 and for Karachi Biennale 2019 will also be awarded to one of the artists at each Biennale for the most outstanding work presented in the Biennale. The prize will be selected by an independent jury of eminent local and international art professionals. An event introducing the theme, objectives and program of the upcoming Biennale took place at Frere Hall recently. Mrs. Mahvash Siddiqui being the Patron in Chief of Karachi Biennale and Chairperson of the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation was given a vote of thanks for all her support to help bridge the gap between residents of Karachi and some of the best that Pakistan and the International community have to offer in the form of Art.

JS Group conducts its Corporate Social Responsibility through a series of independent charitable foundations led by the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation (MJSF). MJSF was founded to tackle and challenge the issues of poverty through sustainable development in the areas of Education, Disaster Relief, Healthcare and Social Enterprise. Through these and other initiatives, MJSF aims to provide opportunities and provide support to empower disadvantaged members of society.

Regular projects are planned to penetrate local communities and public spaces until October 2017 and KB plans to reach 20 % of this city’s population. KB is particularly keen to focus on youth so their minds can be opened to a world of new possibilities as diverse activities have been planned to stimulate students and young professionals with exposure to innovation, new visual knowledge, hands-on training and cultural links to the context with its projects. “Biennial” is any event that happens every two years and is most commonly used within the art world to describe large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions. The term was popularized by Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895.

Founded in 1970, JS Group is an international investment and industrial conglomerate. In over four decades since inception, JS Group has cemented its position as one of Pakistan’s most diversified and progressive financial services groups, operating market-leading companies in commercial banking, securities brokerage, investment banking and asset management.