Restrained: Artist vies space to exhibit masterpieces
Authorities recently forced Munir Khan to move out of Kohsar street.
Authorities forced him out.
ISLAMABAD:
The year dawned with new hopes for artist Munir Ahmed Khan, who is still on a lookout for a space to resume his practice and display his artworks again.
Khan, a father of three, lives in Farash Town, in the capital’s suburbs. He said he was asked by the police and Capital Development Authority to vacate his modest setup from the upscale Kohsar Market, where he had been exhibiting his paintings for the last six to seven months.
Business was good there, he said, adding that passersby would frequently notice his artworks and purchase them or place orders.
Now, he paints from home but the chances of marketing his product are next to none in his own locality. “People are not really aware of art in my area,” he said, adding that he would like to exhibit his artworks in a more art-appropriate setting where his work could attract a potential clientele and help him earn sustenance.
While he has stocked his paintings in some art galleries and framers’ shops in the capital, he is seeking a designated space for painting and exhibiting on a regular basis.
Three years ago, Khan was working out of a shared, rented space in Lok Virsa. “My elder brother, who is a businessman in Lahore, was helping me pay off the rent but I could only afford to stay there for about three months,” he said, adding that his artworks failed to get a favourable response at the venue.
From a total rent of Rs8,000, Khan’s share was Rs4,000 which he could ill-afford and so he had to look elsewhere.
This led him to pursue a fine arts course at the Rawalpindi Council of the Arts. “I was actually able improve my creative skills under the tutelage of established artists such as the late Arjumand Awan and Ehsanullah Khan at the council,” he said.
Khan, who has also worked as a salesman at an apparel shop in Satellite Town’s Commercial Market, said that art was his calling and he wanted to pursue it full-time.
He said like him, other artists also exhibited their paintings on the streets of the capital, but they usually had alternate streams of income, which he did not.
Despite repeated attempts on their mobile phones, Kohsar Police Station’s SHO and SP (City) could not be contacted for their respective versions.
Moreover, Khan does not blame anyone for his plight. “What can they [the officials] do? This is just how our social conditions have become,” he said. “I’m still hopeful since there are other prospective places for art in the city; I just wish to find one that will help me earn a decent living through my artworks, which is my sole source of income and the passion of a lifetime,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2015.
The year dawned with new hopes for artist Munir Ahmed Khan, who is still on a lookout for a space to resume his practice and display his artworks again.
Khan, a father of three, lives in Farash Town, in the capital’s suburbs. He said he was asked by the police and Capital Development Authority to vacate his modest setup from the upscale Kohsar Market, where he had been exhibiting his paintings for the last six to seven months.
Business was good there, he said, adding that passersby would frequently notice his artworks and purchase them or place orders.
Now, he paints from home but the chances of marketing his product are next to none in his own locality. “People are not really aware of art in my area,” he said, adding that he would like to exhibit his artworks in a more art-appropriate setting where his work could attract a potential clientele and help him earn sustenance.
While he has stocked his paintings in some art galleries and framers’ shops in the capital, he is seeking a designated space for painting and exhibiting on a regular basis.
Three years ago, Khan was working out of a shared, rented space in Lok Virsa. “My elder brother, who is a businessman in Lahore, was helping me pay off the rent but I could only afford to stay there for about three months,” he said, adding that his artworks failed to get a favourable response at the venue.
From a total rent of Rs8,000, Khan’s share was Rs4,000 which he could ill-afford and so he had to look elsewhere.
This led him to pursue a fine arts course at the Rawalpindi Council of the Arts. “I was actually able improve my creative skills under the tutelage of established artists such as the late Arjumand Awan and Ehsanullah Khan at the council,” he said.
Khan, who has also worked as a salesman at an apparel shop in Satellite Town’s Commercial Market, said that art was his calling and he wanted to pursue it full-time.
He said like him, other artists also exhibited their paintings on the streets of the capital, but they usually had alternate streams of income, which he did not.
Despite repeated attempts on their mobile phones, Kohsar Police Station’s SHO and SP (City) could not be contacted for their respective versions.
Moreover, Khan does not blame anyone for his plight. “What can they [the officials] do? This is just how our social conditions have become,” he said. “I’m still hopeful since there are other prospective places for art in the city; I just wish to find one that will help me earn a decent living through my artworks, which is my sole source of income and the passion of a lifetime,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2015.