Vibrant, young, and liberal, the city of Lahore has been the progressive capital of Pakistan for over a century. French photographer Matthieu Paley, who has spent years living in and trekking in the country's mountainous region, calls it “the cultural heart of Pakistan.”

The city—created in part to be a haven for Muslim minorities—took on the artistic mantle in an unconventional way. In 1875, when the area was still part of India (and still under British control), a western advocate for the arts named John Lockwood Kipling helped open an art school and a museum there. Kipling was the school’s first principal and the museum’s first curator. His work was to preserve and showcase the crafts, music, and architecture