Curatorial courage

Artists donated work, some of which has never been seen before, to raise money to help the flood survivors.

KARACHI: The usually serene courtyard at Koel cafe and gallery inside are buzzing with activity and colour. On the walls, as well as the floors of the space are the works of 52 artists from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, the UK, Canada and the US. They have all donated work, some of which has never been seen before, to raise money to help the flood survivors in Pakistan. The works have a starting or floor price - between Rs10,000 to Rs600,000 - but Koel is holding a silent auction for the exhibition, titled “Drowning in Despair”, that opened at 11 am on Tuesday. Individual notepads with details about each artwork were tucked away underneath each piece.

The floor price, which is the lowest price the artists expect, goes up gradually through bidding. Buyers can participate in person or online. Because it is a silent auction, no one knows who is bidding. But if the bids are any indication to go by, people were in a mood to help.

Art lovers wove their way through the gallery, which was sprinkled with some of the artists whose works were on display. Most visible among these were Noorjehan Bilgrami, Ussman Ghauri, Noraya Nabi, Arshad Faruqui and Amean Jan. The others created a list of the who’s who of the art world.

All proceeds from the auction, which will end today at 6:30 pm, will be donated to the flood survivors.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2010.