Machar Art

Since March 2000, through CFC’s Community Driven Development Project the organization has made efforts to counter the deplorable conditions of Mohammadi/ Machar Colony. Mohammadi Colony is located in Karachi, behind the railroad tracks on Maripur road. Its illegal status deprives it of water, sanitation, education and health care. At this point CFC’s most dominating component in the Community Driven Project is Education and using art to raise awareness and funds is exactly what CFC aimed at as part of its education component in Mohammadi Colony.

Every year CFC organizes a summer art program. Professsional artists and photographers from Karachi, along with interns from local schools and colleges are recruited to give instruction to the children from participating school in Mohammadi Colony. Several topics or themes are selected each other to encourage children to use art as a medium to tell stories about their lives. Through this “narrative therapy”, mutual themes emerge and can serve as a basis for uniting the community leading to more effective problem solving. An exhibition is then held displaying the art work and photography created by these children. Proceeds from the event are ploughed into the CFC’s Community Driven Development Project. In addition to the art exhibition for the larger Karachi community, exhibitions are also held in each school that participated, allowing students to see and discuss their work with parents and peers.

This year our Art Coordinator Adnan Lotia together with artists Saleem Ansari, Hina Farooqui and Zohaib Zuby handled the art component. Photography was overseen by four year vetran Photography Coordinator Kohi Marri along with esteemed professional photographers, Arif Mehmood, Tapu Javeri, Yousuf Bashir, Stephan Andrew. We were also excited this year to welcome two up and coming young photographers, Mustafa Mohsin and Jamal Ashiqain. Helping the professionals out was a team of thirteen interns most of whom were first year students from The Karachi School of Arts.