Friendship as Practice: A Conversation with Bani Abidi

In December 2025, the Karachi-born and Berlin-based artist Bani Abidi inaugurated Ibraaz’s film programme in Ibraaz’s Minassa space at 93 Mortimer street with a double bill: ‘Gestures Towards Power’ (a curated programme of Abidi’s moving image works spanning 25 years) and ‘Wildfire I’ (a curated programme of short films by Abidi’s filmmaking friends from Berlin). While in London, Abidi sat down with Hammad Nasar (Director of Programmes & Content at Ibraaz) to discuss her sustained engagement with the everyday operations and performance of power across different social and geopolitical spaces, as well as the diverse ways that both artists and citizens subvert and resist oppressive systems through practices of solidarity, friendship, and humour. Towards the end of the interview, Abidi looks forward to the second and third iteration of her ‘Wildfire’ film series, as well as her sound installation Memorial to Lost Words, which will be installed in Ibraaz’s Majlis space from the 11 to 15 February 2026.