‘Reimagining the Walls of Karachi,’ an initiative by ‘I Am Karachi’ that is being steered by the fine arts department of the Indus Valley School (IVS) in collaboration with Abdoz Arts, aims to wipe ugliness off of the city’s walls. The three-tiered project planned over three to four months has several institutions, such as the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi School of Arts and Karachi University, helping to push forward with the transformation.
Several artists have hopped on board I Am Karachi’s reclaiming the city’s walls project to replace hate graffiti with positive images. The project on MT Khan Road is underway. PHOTOS: ATHAR KHAN
Supervised by artist and teacher Munawar Ali Syed, the first tier is the Stencil Art Project, which employs the skills of artists who regularly take up the task of embellishing the walls of the metropolis. These artists will come up with ideas to daub on the walls, implementing them with the help of stencils.
Meanwhile, the ‘Wall Project with Children — Bachon Se Tabdili,’ led by artist Rabeya Jalil and art critic Shahana Rajani, is an extension of another ongoing project. Providing drawings made by children from areas such as Shireen Jinnah Colony, Lyari and Sharae Quaideen for the walls in the same localities, this phase aims to motivate children to appreciate the artwork and reclaim their public spaces.
The Individual-Led Artist Project, on the other hand, seeks to hpeople’sle’s ideas materialize Karachi’shi’s walls with the aid of other visual artists. Slowly taking form on the container compound wall at Moulvi Tameezuddin Khan Road, it will enable artists to use art as a weapon against escalating extremism and give them a canvas to show their feelings for the Metropol”s.
“Implementing this project was a nightmare at fi”st,” says Adeela Suleman, an associate professor at I”S. “However, commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui and the assistant commissioner, Shahzeb Shaikh, took a personal interest in it and have been extremely helpful throughout the proc”ss.”
Several artists have hopped on board I Am Karachi’s reclaiming the city’s walls project to replace hate graffiti with positive images. The project on MT Khan Road is underway. PHOTOS: ATHAR KHAN
According to Wajiha Naqvi, ‘the ‘IKarachi’chi’ campaign manager, the consortium is trying to create a counter-narrative to promote tolerance, peace and diversity through reclaiming public spaces in the ci”y. “With this project, the aim is to reclaim the walls of Karachi that are often covered with hate graffiti towards ethnic groups and political sloganeering, replacing them with images that depict positive values.”
For her, the idea behind ‘Reimagining the Walls of Kar’chi’ is to evoke a sense of civic activism, unity and interest among the residents of Karachi, inspiring individuals and communities to take ownership by protecting their walls, their spaces and, ultimately, their city.
