Saturday 6 December 2025
2pm – 6pm
Drop in anytime, artist conversations at 3pm
The Allama Iqbal Centre, 157 Cromwell Road, PE1 2EL
Free
Friends + family welcome, suitable for all ages
What to expect
Experience the full collection of outstanding artworks by Seyyed Naqvi and Zain Haider Awan, inspired by the life and poetry of Allama Iqbal and the Allama Iqbal Centre.
Pop along anytime. Family friendly environment, free refreshments available.
At 3pm we’ll be hosting an informal 20-30 minute artist conversation, where you can hear more about the inspiration for the pieces as well as learn about Allama Iqbal himself.
About the Exhibition
To Break the Horizon brings together the culminating works of fine artist Seyyed Ali Ameem Naqvi and mixed-media practitioner and poet Zain Haider Awan during their residency at the Allama Iqbal Centre on Cromwell Road. This special viewing presents a body of work shaped through months of community engagement at the Allama Iqbal Centre, grounding Iqbal’s thought within the lived realities of contemporary Britain. You may have been part of that journey, whether you popped along to the centre to meet the West African Crowned Eagle, or seen the works in progress develop through chats and workshops at Senior Citizens Club, Youth Connect, or at our Allama Iqbal Weekend. Now is your chance to celebrate the finished collection.
Drawing from themes of migration, movement, emancipation, decoloniality, and empire, the exhibition reflects on how Iqbal’s philosophy resonates across diasporic experience. Central to this exploration is the question of khudi – selfhood, and how its cultivation might open pathways toward a more expansive, flourishing sense of being.
Across digital media, pencil studies, pen drawings, paintings, poems, prose, and collaborative installations, Naqvi and Awan reimagine Iqbal for a new generation. Their works invite viewers to encounter the intimate, restless, horizon-seeking spirit at the heart of Iqbal’s imaginings, refracted through the textures of modern Britain.
Commissioned by Peterborough Presents in partnership with Gladstone Connect Ltd. Huge thanks to Pakistan Community Association, The National Literacy Trust, Salaam Radio, The Beeches School, Gladstone Primary Academy, and the staff, volunteers and users at the Allama Iqbal Centre.
Access Information
The Allama Iqbal Centre has step-free access and an accessible toilet.
Parking extremely limited – please walk or use public transport if possible. The nearest pay & display car park is a 5-10 minute walk from the centre: Queensgate, or limited residential street parking on Cromwell Road and Gladstone Street.
The nearest bus stop is on Craig Street. Please visit Stagecoach website for more information.
Standing and seating options available to view the works. Limited chairs with arm rests available – please bring your own if you prefer.
The classroom will be dark and feature projections on the wall.
Refreshments provided.
Children must be accompanied by adults.
