The Commonsky Close Looking series, led by exhibitions manager Sydney Barofsky, welcomes veterans and newcomers to the world of art appreciation and the practice of allowing the meaning of artworks to unfold before your very eyes. In this series, we will slow down and spend focused time with selected works from Faisal Anwar's exhibition, Commonsky. Through guided discussions and extended observation of the durational works in the exhibition, we hope visitors will share in the moving experience of environmental storytelling and technological innovation at the heart of Anwar's artistic practice.

Faisal Anwar (b. 1970) is an award-winning Pakistani-Canadian hybrid artist and curator who works at the intersection of art, design, data, and emerging technologies. His transdisciplinary work challenges conventional notions of space, time, urban environments, cultural identities, and human engagement in today's world. Anwar founded CultureLab, a studio that focuses on creating impactful experiences, investigating climate change, wellness, sustainability, emerging economies, and social impact by collaborating with scientific studies and research to engage diverse audiences through immersive installations, public interventions, and data-driven storytelling. Anwar served as the chief curator for the 2022 Karachi Biennial and co-founded ArtAddress, an artist-led collective that promotes creative contemporary discourse.  His work has been exhibited internationally at galleries, museums, and major festivals. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design from the National College of Arts in Lahore and studied at the Canadian Film Centre's Habitat-LAB Interactive Art and Entertainment Program.