Karachi arts council 2
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Karachi arts council 2
Where is the Arts Council headed?
By Shanaz Ramzi
Among its founding members of Karachi is a highly respected name in art circles, Jalaluddin Ahmed, while its first nominated vice-president was Princess Abida Sultana. With such luminaries laying the foundation of the Council, its aims and objectives were clear –– to foster and encourage the development of fine arts and crafts, literature and the performing arts, writes Shanaz Ramzi
Passing by M.A.Kiyani Road, one cannot miss the huge building that occupies an almost triangular piece of corner plot, its projecting end boasting the hoarding of a restaurant. A broken signpost is evident and after some guesswork one realises that it’s the Arts Council of Pakistan –– an organisation that has weathered many storms, literally and figuratively, and which has survived for almost as long as the state of Pakistan.
Strangely enough, its history of ups and downs is not very different from that of Pakistan’s –– it, too, has been abused and neglected for the better part of its existence and its current building and facade are also reflective of both the development and destruction that has become a part of the history of the nation.
The oldest non-governmental institution dedicated to the arts and culture in the country, the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi came into existence in 1948 initiated by some art lovers of the city, and made its beginning as the Fine Arts Society of Karachi. It received its present name in 1954, when it was also officially registered with the Registrar Cooperative Societies under the Societies Act of 1860.
Among its founding members is a highly respected name in art circles, Jalaluddin Ahmed, while its first nominated vice-president was Princess Abida Sultana. With such luminaries laying the foundation of the Council, its aims and objectives were clear –– to foster and encourage the development of fine arts and crafts, literature and the performing arts through the holding of exhibitions, seminars, workshops, lectures and shows.
As per the Memorandum and the Articles of Association, the Council was to establish an art centre with an art gallery, a theatre and a library in Karachi. It would also publish an art journal, books and pamphlets for the advancement of the aims of the Council and whenever possible, provide technical help and advice to artists/artistes. The acquisition of property for the purpose of the Council was also part of the Memorandum.
In all fairness, the Arts Council did start off on the right foot, even if it veered from its chartered course somewhere in between. The members managed to get a piece of land measuring 11,270 square yards, which belonged to the late Atiya Faizee, allotted for the Council. It’s foundation stone was formally laid in 1958 by the First Lady, Mrs Viqarun Nisa Noon, wife of Feroz Khan Noon, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan. Within two years, thanks to donations from philanthropists and those interested in promoting arts, the Arts Council building was erected with provision for further development at a later stage.
What’s more, over the years the Arts Council has provided many of the facilities that it was meant to from its genesis. Studying the history of the Council, one discovers that perhaps because its membership and funds were limited, other than getting the land allotted and constructing the Arts Council building on it, there was not much developmental work done in the first two decades. The open-air theatre had, however, been constructed in this period, along with the Manzar Akbar Hall, where exhibitions and programmes are still regularly held.
Nonetheless, in spite of the shortage of funds, a number of quality programmes –– which included exhibitions, musical shows, dramas and children’s exhibitions, as well as performances by international cultural troupes –– were held regularly by the governing bodies of the first two decades or so. The Arts Council became a haven for scholars, artists and thinkers, to get together on a common platform and while away their time. But, this situation didn’t remain the same for long, a faction of the membership went into litigation with regard to membership recruitment, with the result that a stay order didn’t allow elections to be held for seven years.
It was in 1978 when the court dismissed the plea and the electoral process started once again. Over the next few years a number of projects were started by the Council including the A.R.Fareedi permanent art gallery, a commercial art gallery, Maulana Mohammed Hussain Azad Library, an audio-video reference library, a music academy, an interior decoration institute, a monthly Arts Council newsletter (Khabarnama), a monthly calendar of events, restaurant, a members’ directory and an auditorium.
Despite the fact that for the next almost three decades a lot of work took place, the Arts Council didn’t really manage to take off as a prestigious institution for cultural activities. Perhaps the main reason for this was that it was given a pittance of a grant for a long time, which precluded the possibility of holding high profile events. Till 2004, the Arts Council was getting a grant of Rs10,000 a year from the government of Sindh and Rs 40,000 as federal grant –– as compared to the Rs7.5 million which the Lahore Alhamra was getting in annual aid. Not surprisingly, there was never enough money for maintenance and hence the run-down look.
Another reason why the Arts Council began to flounder from its objective of promoting arts and culture, was that the quality of membership over the years deteriorated drastically. In an attempt to fill up the organisation with people that would constitute a potential vote bank for those seeking power, members were recruited in large numbers, the strength steadily growing to the present roughly 4000, most of whom are not even remotely interested in art, literature or culture. Since the Council’s constitution is not stringent about the membership criterion, it merely states that artists and art lovers are eligible for membership subject to the approval of the governing body. The ratio of artist/artiste members when compared to those who have little to do with the profession is abysmally low.
Whatever the reasons may be, one feels that in the long run the city has lost out on culture and art, as the one organisation that was supposed to cater to both couldn’t really manage to deliver. While there was a time when cultural troupes used to visit on a regular basis, high quality plays were produced, and exhibitions of renowned artists were held, all that gave way to a large number of lacklustre activities.
The plays that are put up now can make no one proud and while there will be a calendar full of activities, it mostly comprises book launches, an occasional mushaira, ghazal programmes, lectures and seminars related to health and social issues.
Although there is no cause for it as such, the Council has taken on programmes that don’t really fall in its periphery, at the cost of culture-related activities. While one could have made allowances for the organisation till a couple of years ago, when the Council was strapped for funds, there is absolutely no reason why it should not be able to deliver the best of programmes now, when the governor of Sindh has increased the grant beyond their wildest hopes, to the tune of Rs 4 million, not to mention additional grants for minor development works.
Which brings us to the Arts Council’s modern theatre, the construction of which had been initiated in 1992, with a view to encouraging serious theatre. The theatre had remained in limbo till 2004 due to the paucity of funds. However, it was finally given a Grant-in-Aid of Rs 50 million by no less a person than the President himself, and the theatre was finally completed in 2005. Sadly, since then, there have been no major dramatic productions on the part of the Arts Council, Karachi which could signify that serious attempts are being made by the organisation to improve the state of theatre in the city.
When this writer asked the management of the Arts Council the reasons for this, their answer was, “Not even one of the theatre gurus of the country –– Rahat Kazmi, Aslam Azhar, Talat Husain –– has expressed interest in putting up plays here. Meanwhile, we are incurring the running costs of the place –– salaries, utilities and so on –– so we have compromised and are now holding symposiums, quiz shows and seminars.”
The gentleman, who prefers to remain anonymous, admits that the Arts Council didn’t really make much effort either, to rope in the artists. But, he adds “Talat Husain, the creative director of the theatre, has given us a proposal for three stage plays to be performed by different groups in a month, so we will hope to have parallel theatre for say twenty days of the month and maybe seminars, etc. for the remaining ten.”
Vice-President of Arts Council, Karachi, Saif-ur-Rehman Grami, on the other hand justifies the under-use and perhaps, wrong use of the theatre, by saying, “In order to promote theatre we will have to run an entire campaign in the country, as our public is no longer interested in serious theatre. One day’s show of serious theatre costs us Rs150,000-200,000, in addition to which we spend Rs22,000 on just using the auditorium.
“ Yet, we made an attempt to introduce a good play, by bringing in Kamal Ahmed Rizvi’s drama which was a super hit in Lahore –– Aadhi Baat –– written by Bano Qudsia, which also starred Rizvi and we spent about Rs700,000 on it, but no one came to see it, even though it was for free. We did another serious play after that, but that too didn’t prove to be successful. Unless sponsors get involved it is very difficult to put up good plays. Nonetheless, we are committed to promoting theatre and will try to do so in the future.”
However, one does feel that the Council has to do a lot more, and the management seems to agree, in order to make its presence felt. The predecessors of the current governing body reportedly left the Council in a far better state than it had been in for a very long time. The first ever female vice-president to win the elections, Khushbakht Shujat was responsible for getting the grant increased from Rs10,000 to 1 million and reportedly, doing enough fund- raising to not only remove the debt of Rs150,000 she had been left with, but also leaving the exchequer with a surplus of 2.5 million.
During her tenure, the current administrative block was constructed, as well as the completion of the theatre. She also floated the idea of a cultural village which was approved by the governor, and a variation of which has been adopted now.
However, with all these definite advantages to facilitate the current governing body, one feels enough is not being done to breathe more life into the Council. For one thing, one feels that the Arts Council is lagging behind in the promotion of arts through the holding of regular courses, which is supposed to be part of the Arts Council’s objectives.
Although it does hold the occasional workshop in different genres of arts, it would have been befitting for the Council to have held courses in choreography, theatre and music, similar to the ones that are now being conducted by National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA). Though some governing members agree, the Vice-President, Saif-ur-Rehman Grami feels otherwise.
According to Grami, “The NAPA is an institution meant for arts education, not for the promotion of arts and culture. Arts Council, on the other hand, is an NGO and its purpose is to support cultural events in the city so as to bring about their revival. It is not our duty to provide training. However, we have provided the premises to Central Institute of Arts and Crafts to impart training in fine arts, and have a music academy which holds classes twice a week. We also hold various workshops.”
It’s time though, that the Council started to use its funds wisely so that it becomes an organisation one could be proud to be a member of. Speaking to Irfan Husain, who had been on the governing body for around 23 years of the Karachi Arts Council’s existence, one gleans some valuable tips that could be used by the current and future committees for the benefit of all the members and the organisation.
For one thing, he says “It is commendable that a ‘ghazal festival’ was held in the Arts Council premises last year, which proved to be highly successful, but it was organised by PNCA. If the Arts Council organised similar events, and with increased funding, it is indeed possible –– it would certainly be appreciated by the members.
“Similarly, although a cultural village of sorts is in operation every Sunday, it is a far cry from the permanent village that had been initially proposed by the Arts Council and approved by the Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, which comprised the Karachi Arts Council, Faizee Rahmen Art Gallery, National Museum and the Burn Garden. Admittedly an ambitious project, it was nonetheless an attractive one in which visitors could walk at leisure along the area and appreciate not only the beauty of the historical sites but also be exposed to various cultural activities organised there.”
In the recent past, certain facilities that were offered by the Karachi Arts Council have been discontinued, such as the Interior Decoration Institute, Maulana Mohammed Husain Azad Library and the Audio Video Reference Library. Rather than closing down existing facilities and wasting assets, one feels it would be more advisable to come up with a mechanism to make them more effective and popular.
The strength of any membership organisation that aims to provide healthy activities for its members is, undoubtedly, its programmes. According to the budget presented to the General Body in 2005, out of nearly one and a quarter crore rupees, roughly only 1.8 million was spent on programmes organised by the Arts Council. According to a member of the governing body, there are 18 committees that do programmes throughout the year for the Council, and each is given an annual budget of Rs 50,000. If they face a shortfall, the committees have to raise the funds themselves.
Considering that the Council can now afford to spend more on its programming, it might be worth its while to re-evaluate the allocation for programmes so as to ensure that there is both quality and quantity of programmes to keep its members occupied.
Also, in the past there were certain practices that ensured records of the Council were transparent and the general body was in the picture of where and how money was being spent, and who were being inducted as members. If money was spent on programmes, the general body would know exactly how many programmes were held –– whether they were plays, musicals, exhibitions, etc –– and how much was spent on each.
Similarly, if members were inducted, whether life or ordinary –– their names would be put up on the notice board for all to see. Unfortunately, these practices are being done away with, so that there is not only a lot of unnecessary conjecture among members, the matter often winds up in court and is given bad press, giving the organisation a poor name and distracting it from its main functions. So, it would be in the organisation’s interest to try and remain as above board as possible.
Irfan Husain has yet another recommendation for the Arts Council of Karachi. In keeping with the aims and objectives of the organisation as stated in their Memorandum of Association, he feels it should invest in the publication of an art book or journal.
The Karachi Arts Council is now in a financial position to be able to run at its optimum and provide facilities and arrange pogrammes that can truly be instrumental in promoting the arts and culture. Let us hope that it doesn’t become the victim of politics, like so many other organisations, and fulfills its role as it is meant to do. And it should begin by revamping its image and fixing its broken signboard!
