Tag: children

The Untold Edition — Tree Planting Drive with Akhuwat Foundation

I had been researching a lot of public art projects and they inspired me to recreate the idea that public art can break walls. Literally. So the first thing I did when I landed in Karachi was go and buy bricks. Yup. 500 red bricks which we then painted a pale terracotta and stenciled with ‘The Untold Edition” name. The idea was to build a wall out of them along with 500 plants and to invite people to pick up a brick, take home a plant and plant it with the brick placed next to it. Symbolically, and literally, public …

The Untold Edition — BTS

This project has consumed the last few months of my creative energy. So much work has gone into conceptualizing and executing it that it is difficult for me to even pen it down. I am literally answering emails and in meetings at all hours trying to set things up with collaborators and coordinate with team members and participants, approving and creating graphics, getting stuff printed and god knows what else. It has literally been so much work that last week I reached the point where I asked myself the question we often ask in the middle of a painting that …

It’s not your fault, mom

Yesterday I was racked with guilt. Yesterday, my son woke up from his nap before I had a chance to pick my daughter up from school. Since time was short, I trundled him into the car with me. Of course, the short trip turned into the stuff nightmares are made of. The kids bickered and kicked and cried. They fought over the cupcake my daughter had made in school and didn’t want to share. They took everything out of her school bag and threw it around in the taxi. By the time we reached our apartment building, I was a …

Art Sparked Hope

“I want to be a teacher,” she said. And in the neatness of her braid, the primness of her posture, the clarity of her speech, you could tell she wanted to be a teacher. Every child I met that day, had such hopes and aspirations for their future. They, who would probably leave this room and wander the streets till dusk, braving dangers I could never imagine, never having a home to return to because their parents needed to work every single minute of the day simply for them to survive. Children are so alive with hope, a stethoscope around …

Artprenticeship Day Two

After last session, Manahil and I spent the whole week missing our friends and how lively the house had been last Saturday. So as the weekend approached once again, we couldn’t contain our excitement. We bought chocolates for everyone, hauled and moved furniture to make space, spread plastic all over the floors and fairly hopped in anticipation. Then the bells began to ring as one by one the eager toddlers trickled in. The first thing we did was warm-up. Because warm-ups are essential to getting those creative juices flowing! The toddlers absolutely loved it and it geared them up for …