Did you know? The Second Floor (T2F) runs out of funds

So far, there are no plans of shutting down the space.

The Second Floor (T2F), which is among the most popular spaces in Karachi, has claimed that it has run out of funds. Founder of T2F Sabeen Mehmud uploaded a note on the T2F website and Facebook, calling for support and generating funds.

An excerpt from the note reads, “We are reaching out to you, the community that powers T2F to come together and help us with this year’s operating system maintenance and upgrades. If a lot of people contribute just a little, we can keep the dream alive and we are confident that we will get by with a little help from our friends.”

Mehmud tells The Express Tribune that it has never been smooth sailing when running T2F and it was about time that she reached out to the public for financial support. “Apart from the two years that we got support from the Open Society Organisation, T2f has always been difficult to handle, but somehow, we had managed,” she says.


“One option is to increase the ticket prices of our shows, but if we do that, then we would not be able to accommodate a lot of people in our space,” she adds. Someone even recommended charging people money from those who can afford it on entrance at T2F, but how do we determine who can and cannot afford to pay?”

The note marks the beginning of the fundraising campaign, which will be followed by events organised by artistes to generate funds for the setup. “Like anywhere else in the world, any alternate medium for arts has its fair share of woes, but we will keep working till we can,” shares Mehmud. So far, there are no plans of shutting down the space.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2014.

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