KARACHI: An area otherwise known to be impoverished and often ignored by the town settlers, Machhar Colony saw children playing around with different art installations as Numaish Karachi held the last of the series of events which aimed at giving Karachiites a feel of interactive public spaces.

Part of the ‘I Am Karachi’ movement, the final event was in collaboration with Imkaan Welfare Organisation, an NGO which looks into different issues of infanticide and abandonment of children. With a prawn selling shed converted to a recreational centre, the small part of the colony came alive as children raced toward swings and different convivial activities arranged for them.

Travelling from Frere Hall to Markaz-i-Ilm-o-Saqafat to Gandhi Gardens, Numaish Karachi saw its final installment in an area which was much different from the rest. A diminutive of Machhiara Colony, Machhar Colony is a settlement for fishermen and their families. Although the area allocated for the event was larger in previous locations, the colony’s portion was abuzz with children, some of them students, ranging from seven to 11 years of age.

Saima Zaidi, curator of the event, shared that even though there was a sharp contrast with other areas of the city the event was well-received.

“We tried to encourage recreational and creative activities by providing an outlet to the children in an area where such energy is almost non-existent. We couldn’t take too many things because the space was restricted. However, the children were fascinated by different pieces like Seema Nusrat’s bird forms and Dr Anzar Khaliq and Dr Oliver Faust’s Newton’s Cradle.”

Director of Imkaan, Tahera Hasan, also a part of the Numaish team, was also present and played with the younger lot. Some children were eager to learn photography and could be seen handling a professional camera under supervision. The organisers had also placed drawing boards and make-shift walls on the un-cemented ones to encourage them to participate in drawing. Origami also attracted children toward itself and many were keen to discover the Japanese art of making objects using paper

“The children went from one to place to another carrying the bird forms made out of dried palm leaves and some even took them for fishes and played with their imagination.”

She added that it was not easy to keep an eye on the children because out of excitement some were getting a bit disorderly.

“These children don’t have access to such activities so it was expected but there were also many others who didn’t cause any fuss and played along.”

As Numaish Karachi came to an end, Zaidi emphasised on the importance of reclaiming public spaces: “It was quite a wonderful process and we showed that it was possible. Throughout the events we received a very positive response from the people and all attendees were highly appreciative of our work. Even if it’s not done on a larger scale, it can be done by anyone who is willing to make public spaces interactive and one doesn’t necessarily have to be an artist for that.”

Led by Zaidi, the Numaish team included different creative and likeminded individuals namely, artists Aamir Habib, journalist Mahim Maher and lawyer Tahera Hasan.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2015

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