An ambitious, multi-venue event in Karachi involving some 300 artists and several styles of artistic expression made a strong statement on the relevance of art. Nafisa Rizvi was one of its curators
A three day event, Pursukoon Karachi presented the residents of Karachi a unique opportunity to interact with the arts as an unintimidating, outside-the-gallery experience. We could consider one of the achievements of the Pursukoon Karachi event, and the eponymous NGO, to be the readiness to challenge notions of selectivity in art by supporting inclusivity in all areas, even within genres and disciplines. As the name, coined by architect and curator Arshad Faruqui suggests, the pursuit of a peaceful and thriving city is the sole aim of the endeavor that was born of the anger and helplessness felt at the increasing loss of life and limb in the city at the hands of “Na Maaloom Afraad” (unknown persons), a euphemism for those who spread terror.
Noorjehan Bilgrami, curator and director of Koel Gallery assembled a group of artists, architects and sculptors to brainstorm over possible ways to stand up and speak out. The core group consisted of sculptor Abdul Jabbar Gul, artist Meher Afroz, architect Arshad Faruqui, ceramist Sadia Salim and I, Nafisa Rizvi, the curator. Thespian and director Zain Ahmed joined the group a few weeks later and when coordination and assistance became essential, artist Nurayah Nabi Sheikh and textile designer Sarah Faruqui were brought into the fold for their invaluable organizational skills. Three venues were chosen for the centrality of their locations – Arts Council, National Academy for Performing Arts (NAPA) and Cantt Station.
The group pondered over the possible directions they could take and in doing so enlisted the assistance of Naeem Sadiq who had such an abundance of information on criminal and terrorist activities in the city that the group of artists was overwhelmed. Naeem is part of an NGO Citizens Trust Against Crime (CTAC) that is working on legislature and judicial processes, and liaising with the police to incorporate changes in a muddied system. One of his concerns was de-weaponisation of the city and the statistics that he had sourced from Governmental records were alarming. He quoted documents verifying that there were 20 million guns in the city of which only 7 million were licensed and talked of the ease with which private armies are furnished with weapons.
A poster for the discussion hosted by Sabeen Mahmud
[quote]Children participated in deconstructing a large gun made of coloured cubes[/quote]
Although Pursukoon Karachi began with this kernel of thought, it soon grew into something so vast and organic that the boundaries of concept became blurred. But several of the 27 projects that finally joined the roster of events were based on the idea of de-weaponisation. The sculptural project coordinated by Abdul Jabbar Gul titled ‘Hathiyar Nahin Pyaar” (Love not Guns) proved to be a winning combination of performance and production. Plastic guns once owned by children, who volunteered to give them up after them after they were informed of the negative consequences of playing with guns, were laid in the grounds of the Arts Council and a roller was driven over them in a symbolic gesture of eradication. In other related performances, children participated in deconstructing a large gun made of coloured cubes and young artists made sculptures vilifying weapons.
As many as 53 visual artists participated in a project led by Mehr Afroze called ‘Ehed Karo’ in which a standardized 18” x 36” canvas, screen-printed with the image of a bullet was provided to them. They could manipulate it in any form or manner with the intention of negating the idea of violence. The resulting canvases were a striking array of formalist diversity and conceptual heterogeneity.
Arif Mahmood's work on display at a Pursukoon Karachi exhibit
The amalgamation of art and architecture became a focal point at the Pursukoon Karachi event with ‘Shehr e Mun’, a project curated by Arshad Faruqui, who invited architects, photographers, textile designers and even showbiz celebrities to create installations within an 8 foot by 4 foot open cube framed by metal tubing. Faruqui’s curatorial intervention extended to his stipulation that the resulting artwork communicate hopefulness and cheer rather than despair or anguish. True to the curatorial directive, the installations exuded a festive look and the idea that there was also reason to celebrate, not just mourn the city.
The three-day event eventually involved activity by some 300 artists who came together to play their respective parts. Photography exhibitions by Arif Mahmud and Tapu Javeri showed two sides of the city, the seedy underbelly and the magnificent balconies of Karachi’s colonial architecture. One of the projects at Cantt station initiated by Yaminay Chaudhri included a relational interactive video in which the coolies of the station were asked to present their opinions about their lives, their jobs and the state of the city as a whole. At the inaugural event, the video was projected though a mobile projection unit in a rickshaw. Zambeel Dramatic Readings lead by Asma Mundrawala presented a stellar reading of Asif Farrukhi’s original story titled ‘Samundar ki Chori’a befitting story about loss and identity. There were other unique ideas developed for Pursukoon Karachi. Durriya Kazi’s project ‘Chayn ki Bansuri’ consisted of a 3-minute musical piece by Muzaffar Hussain , an unrecognized flute maker and player. This was then broadcast late on Saturday nights through radio stations and by individuals driving around the city. The idea resonated with the hope that in the stillness of the night, the city would echo with a soothing flute rendition rather than a cacophony of violence and chaos.
Plastic guns being bulldozed as a symbolic gesture
Events like drawing activities and storytelling attracted school-children to the venues, while there were more serious panel discussions inquiring into the historical context of the city’s violence as in the debate moderated by Sabeen Mahmud “Na Maaloom afraad aur shehr kay halaat”. In other discussions the panelists included renowned artists Bani Abidi and Roohi Ahmed who spoke of their engagement with the city and its rising violence that is reflected in their work.
[quote]It was noticed that the intervention did wonders to enhance the motivation of coolies and the people working in and around the station[/quote]
Musical performances filled the air at various times throughout the event with Asad Gojar singing sufi kalaam in his inimitable devotional manner, a fusion qawwali that fluidly amalgamated the sounds of traditional Qawwali and pop, a tribute to Faiz and a tribute to Amir Khusro, performed by students of NAPA
Cantt station porters take a cinema break
The Cantt station project spearheaded by Noorjehan Bilgrami is an ongoing endeavour that involves the restoration and revitalization of the historic building of the Cantt Station and its ambient surroundings. Years of neglect have left the building in a state of disrepair and the project aims to restore it to its previous glory. It was noticed that the intervention did wonders to enhance the motivation of coolies and the people working in and around the station.
A unique idea mixing painting and live street art
One of the projects that garnered much interest was based on the idea of graffiti and its subversive principles, legitimized in this case by the protective authority of Pursukoon Karachi. Graffiti appeared on walls all over the city denouncing guns and promoting peace
The curiosity of witnessing the unique experience of seeing so many artists from all disciplines come together on a single platform open to the public was in itself a motivation for audiences to visit the event. The fact that no art object was for sale was also a differentiating factor as was the fact that all persons involved gave freely of their time and resources with no expectation of monetary gain. These are the ideals of an organization that hopes to continue its journey towards bringing peace to the city of Karachi or at the least in raising a voice that says clearly: We want our City Back.
