International Public Art Festival launched to promote unity, spread awareness | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

International Public Art Festival launched to promote unity, spread awareness

Pakistan Press Foundation

The International Public Art Festival (IPAF) 2020, an initiative by I Am Karachi (IAK), an organization that is working to rebuild the diverse social and cultural fabric of the city was launched on Friday.

With temporary and permanent creative art installations, the festival revolves around promoting unity, spreading awareness, instilling ownership and widening the spheres of it as a medium of expression, rejuvenation and inclusivity.

The IPAF had introduced various original initiatives, with the largest public art mural in the country which was Pak-Italian collaboration at the General Shipping Agency (GSA) House, said the founder chief of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) and patron of IAK, Jameel Yousuf.

“The timeline of Karachi was printed on stone and now it is a permanent outdoor exhibition near Hassan Square. It is first of its kind curated exhibition that reached everyone in the city, and not just one class.”

IAK, according to Yousuf, by using art saved the city from wall-chalking and being defaced by placing hate slogans. “The IPAF embarked upon spreading happiness by beautifying the walls with paintings, and public spaces with upright gardens and plantations,” he said.

“It involves hundreds of school children from 80 schools in affluent to the less privileged areas in the city, including Ibrahim Hydri, Guzar-e-Hijri, Pehlwan Goth, Korangi, Nazimabad and Balida.”

The former chief said the poorest of the poor areas showcase the students through the medium of painting on the school walls.

Through the IPAF, he said, they would also reach out to over 300 special children, who are usually neglected, by teaching them to lay the stories through video and photography. Students from several high schools and colleges, including University of Karachi, Karachi School of Art and Karachi Grammar School, were given opportunities to design walk paths and gardens.

The IPAF had also initiated many vertical gardens plantation drives under the bridges and in industrial areas that presents a beautiful soft image of the city.

“All this want to give a message to spread happiness, tolerance, love and compassion,” he said.

IAK had three foundations when it was initially formed, according to President IAK Amin Hashwani. The first one, he said, was reclaiming public spaces, and the second objective was to bring like-minded people together.

“Like-minded does not mean that everyone sings the same song, but it means to bring in diverse people from all walks of life around a common objective to change society through arts and culture,” he said.

The third objective was about being inclusive. “Arts and culture is usually associated with the elites of every society,” he said, adding that the people living in underserved communities did not have access to it.

He said that they make sure to bring people from all parts of the city, especially the underserved community. In the next few days, Executive Director IAK Ambareen Kazim Thompson said, the city would witness some spectacular art, not just from Pakistan artists but also from international artists.

“Karachi is the city of over 22 million people, we have one Arts Council,” she pointed out and added that the city and the country face numerous challenges that need a creative solution. Sadly, she said, that the society was not producing people that could think creatively.

“When art culture and music is set aside, so is the soul of the society and its very identity,” Thompson said.

The IPAF 2020 would institute 30 fellowships for students on heritage, urban planning and culture management. “This is resource building and awareness for our next generation of architects, planners and engineers,” she said. With the help of the Karachi Port Trust, the IPAF would work towards the restoration and rejuvenation of the Karachi port. “Designs created by students of Habib University will be displayed on all the pillars of the KPT.”

The News International


Comments are closed.