Karachi residents have long become inured to ugliness on the streets, from the piles of refuse that the city administration has no capacity or will to clean up to unfettered, haphazard construction and the perennial problem of encroachments.

Amongst the more disturbing eyesores is the graffiti that walls across the city end up being smeared with, often consisting of messages of sectarian and communal hatred.

Recently, though, commuters along M.T. Khan Road — one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city — were in for a pleasant surprise: instead of the usual graffiti on the long wall of the container terminal, there is now a series of paintings.

Take a look: In Karachi: When hate on the wall disappears

As an I Am Karachi initiative that is being steered by the fine arts department of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in collaboration with Abdoz Arts, the admirable aim is to wipe off ugliness from the city’s walls, replace it with positive images, and establish ownership of public spaces.

In addition to the Individual-Led Artist Project under way on M.T. Khan Road, there is also the Stencil Art Project and the Wall Project with Children, the last comprised of drawings made by youngsters from low-income settlements, that are being put up in public spaces in their areas.

This is an initiative that should be taken up by the city administration. As it is, public officials have been involved in helping in the implementation of the Karachi project. There is really no reason why, now that a route to a brighter environment has been demonstrated, it cannot be expanded to other cities, too.

There is no argument that Pakistanis need to take ownership of their country and the streets they traverse each day. This is a low-cost scheme that could bring thousands of artistically inclined adults and children out to improve the face of their cities.

That it is able to do so whilst removing messages of toxic ideologies that have been allowed to permeate the social fabric far too deeply would make it even more of a win-win situation.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2015

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