Breathe:Lahore is a public art project created to spotlight the urgent issue of air pollution in Lahore, one of the most polluted cities in the world. British artist Dryden Goodwin collaborated with Abid Omar, an advocate for clean air in Pakistan, to produce over 230 pencil sketches capturing Omar’s breath. These images, now displayed across Lahore on posters, billboards, and digital projections, aim to inspire urgent dialogue on air pollution and its impact on health and well-being.
Breathe:Lahore
Omar joined Breathe:Lahore after Goodwin struggled to find a local volunteer willing to participate. His participation involved intensive, four-hour sessions where he was asked to stay “out of breath” as Goodwin sketched remotely from London. To capture him fighting for breath breathing, Omar would jog or use an exercise bike before each session. Reflecting on the experience, Omar shared, “The experience of gasping for air, feeling the weight of each breath, made me acutely aware of our vulnerability to air quality.”
The Urgent Pollution Crisis in Lahore
Lahore ranked as the second most polluted city on our 2023 list of the ‘25 Most Polluted Cities in the World’. Lahore’s air quality is among the worst globally, with an annual PM2.5 level of 95.1 µg/m³ in 2023, 19 times higher than the WHO’s recommended annual limit of 5 µg/m³.
Today, on Nov 4th, Lahore ordered all primary schools to close for a week in response to soaring pollution levels. The PM2.5 level is above 300 µg/m³, which is 20 times higher than the WHO’s 24-hour limit of 15 µg/m³.
Lahore is a city in urgent need of awareness and action on air pollution.
From London to Lahore: the “Breathe” Series
Breathe:Lahore continues Goodwin’s Breathe series, which began in 2012 and was revived in 2022 for London’s Borough of Culture. In 2023, Goodwin held a special event, Breathe for Ella, on London’s Southbank in memory of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who in 2013 became the first person globally to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. Supported by London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, the series has collaborated with Transport for London, Network Rail, and more than 60 other health, environment, and policy organizations, promoting initiatives like the “Ella’s Law”
This collaborative model is now being applied in Lahore, where Breathe has partnered with Invisible Dust and local organizations such as the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative. By merging art with science and public health data, Breathe:Lahore fosters emotional connections to air pollution and inspire tangible action toward cleaner air.
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