TAABIR — Artists Collective

Outsider art. It’s an interesting term. Used to describe art produced by untrained people or people beyond the sphere of the art world. Personally, I think that the term should have been unnecessary and it is unfortunate that it isn’t so. Art shouldn’t be elitist; it shouldn’t require qualification or expertise to produce. If something is created with the intention of evoking, communicating and connecting, it should suffice as art no matter the expertise or background of the creator.

I understand the other half of the debate too though. What about all the development of skill and hard work artists do to hone their techniques? And if everything is art then nothing is. etc etc.

I get that, and I’m not saying that everything should be classified as art. I just mean that it wouldn’t harm the artistic community to be a little less tight knit. Give a little, involve a little, allow art-lovers and hobbyists to learn, grow and participate in what they love as much as established artists. So to chip my bit into making this utopia I have begun the Facebook group ‘TAABIR — Artist’s collective’.

‘Taabir’ is an urdu word with a rather unique meaning. It is not easily translatable into other languages. It signifies understanding, clarity of vision, catharsis. It means connotations, innuendos, signs and expressions. It denotes an association of ideas, a movement, a transmutation and a rendering into form. It means interpretation, especially of dreams. Taabir is a word that defines art in my mind.

Taabir — Artist’s Collective, aimed so far at Pakistani artists worldwide, is a forum to express, learn, overcome and connect. It will be an interdisciplinary forum with no boundaries to define what art is. In short:

Art is meant to be boundless, a language understood and appreciated in different ways by every audience. So let’s bring down all walls and give each artlover a chance to join in, learn, and pursue their passion for art.

Leave a Reply