Commune Artist Colony - Recently Updated Pages

INTERACTIVE STUDIOS

Commune-ArtistColony — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 02:43:12 CST

Interactive Studios

The interactive studio is a concept that encourages collaboration and discussion between participants and instructors. The interactive studios focus on integration and exploration of skill and concept. These interactive studio sessions are aimed at adults who are interested in learning specific skills related to the self, art & art making processes. The Commune Artist Colony provides a creative environment where participants will have the chance to explore their interests and work with instructors who are all artists and practitioners. The studio sessions are scheduled such that they can be conveniently attended by working adults. The duration of each studio is mentioned with its details.

REGISTRATION FORMS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE COMMUNE ARTIST COLONY OR REQUEST ONE VIA EMAIL

To register kindly fill out a form and submit a cheque made to the Commune Artist Colony, we are open Monday - Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. For details/directions contact us at:

021-2440279/ 021-2440538 raania.durrani@gmail.com

NOVEMBER

KINDLY REGISTER LATEST BY THE 30th OF OCTOBER 2006

VISITING ARTIST : Kristine Michael (India)

Ceramics: Egyptian paste and low-fired clays

Egyptian Paste was used, as the name implies, by the ancient Egyptians, as far back as 7,000 years ago. Ornaments made from this material have been found in most Egyptian burial tombs. Egyptian Paste is a self-glazing, low-firing clay body that was probably discovered by accident when a mixture of sand, clay, potash feldspar and soda ash were fired. The Egyptian Paste body contains soluble salts that rise to the surface while the work is drying. This layer of salt acts as a flux, glazing the surface and also helping the clay body itself to vitrify at low temperatures.The most traditional color which the Egyptians used themselves is the turquoise color known from ancient beads, amulets and scarabs.

Egyptian Paste is usually fired to a temperature range of 1650 o - 1800 o F (900o - 1000o C, Cone 010 - 06)

Duration: 14th – 19th November 2006 Fee: 3000

ABOUT KRISTINE MICHAEL Born in New Delhi, India in 1960, Kristine Michael is a ceramic artist who initially trained in industrial ceramic design. She apprenticed with Ray Meeker and Deborah Smith at the Golden Bridge Pottery, Pondicherry, and with Alan Caiger-Smith at Aldermaston Pottery and at Dart Pottery, UK. From 1984, she has worked in New Delhi and Pondicherry exploring the possibilities of clay sculptural and functional objects through stoneware, porcelain and earthenware, and the glaze techniques of wood firing, salt glazing, raku, pit firing and lustre ware. She has held over fifteen solo exhibitions in cities in India and participated in international group exhibitions which include 'Made at the Clay Studio' Philadelphia, USA (1998), 5th World Triennale of Small Ceramics, Zagreb, Croatia (1997), Fletcher Challenge Ceramic Exhibition, Auckland, New Zealand (1990), Ceramics '88, International Potter's Conference, Sydney, Australia (1988). Her work is in the permanent collection of South Asian Contemporary Art at Bradford Museum, UK, and The British Council Collection, UK. She has been awarded among others, the Lalit Kala Grant (1986), Junior Fellowship, Department of Culture (1987-'89), Charles Wallace Trust, Festival of India Arts Award (1992), Sanskriti Fine Arts award (1996). In 1998, she was the Visiting Guest Artist at the Clay Studio, Philadelphia and a Nehru Trust scholar to the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, London researching 19th century Indian glazed pottery in 1999. She has taught pottery and sculpture at both secondary school and college level. She presently teaches ceramics at The British School in New Delhi.

DECEMBER

Ceramics: hand-building - Basic Instructors: Raania A.K Durrani / Shazieh Gorji This workshop will address the basics of hand-building: functional and sculptural works in clay. Experimentation with form and surface will be encouraged. Projects may include vases, boxes, tiles, bowls, wall sculptures and more. Participants will be expected to purchase their own clay; clay will be available for purchase at the venue as well. A list of tools will be provided upon registration. Don't forget to dress-for-mess and bring an old towel to class.

Duration: 3 weeks

Monday & Thursday 5-7 pm, Saturday studio hours 12 - 3 pm

Fee: 8,000

Outdoor painting

Instructor: Sarah Bakhtiyar This particular project will focus on exploring mediums for painting in a diverse way. Participants will be dealing with colour, forms, technique, concept and scale. It will also be a session to develop the thinking process which involves research. Outdoor painting is challenging and most exciting as it depends on several factors such as venue, environment, weather and medium. This project will also be a chance to work with others as a group, developing camaraderie and benefiting from collaboration. Duration: 3 weeks Tuesday & Thursday 5 - 7 pm, Saturday open studio 11am - 4 pm Fee: Rs.6000

PRESS

Commune-ArtistColony — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 03:36:43 CDT

For Alumni Alumni Events

Alumna-Directed Artist Colony Hosts Mural
The Commune Artist Colony in Karachi, Pakistan, for which Raania A.K. Durrani ’03 serves as director, is currently displaying Pulse, a mural based on Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath Tale” by Sarah Bakhtiyar.

Location: Commune Artist Colony (Miskeen Gali in Karachi, Pakistan)

May 28, 2006

A revival of radio

By MADEEHA SYED
Set in a warehouse in the Commune Artist Colony, K’la (Art in Hindi) performed its first ever play, Tihai, to an interesting mix of audience: those well known and working within the media industry as well as students of the Indus Valley School among others. The play, written by Omar Kasmani, was co-directed by himself as well as Amean J. The cast and crew included Natasha Mukarram, Ali Hayat Rizvi, Rubab Paracha, Arsalan-ul-Haq, Amna Iqbal, Amean J, Imran Khan, Yousuf Bashir, Mansoor Wahab, Leena Naqvi, Marvi Mazhar and Rabia Ashfaque.

There were three showings of the play, one of which was scheduled at the last moment, and all three of them started relatively on time. The set was simple, with transitions between different acts done by alternate lighting. The event started with Omar Kasmani giving a brief introduction of the group and the play. K’la was formed as a result of a group of individuals meeting every weekend to share literature and art, and seeks a revival of drama on radio. This was clearly apparent as the play concentrated more on the script, its rendition and expression within the voice rather than on the visual aspect, body language or facial expression. Although it must be mentioned that the actors did not entirely fail in that department, there definitely seemed to be more concentration on how the play ‘sounded’ rather than how it ‘looked’.

The play centred around three stories of different genres: Sartaj Nahin Maharaj: Breakfast with a Family; Platform No 3: The Final Dialogue and Meri Pyari Su: A Monologue Letter from a Friend. Well-written, the transitions between the different stories within the play had been cleverly done.

Sartaj Nahin Maharaj centred around a typical early morning breakfast table with a family comprising both parents and a son, with a little bit of satire thrown in. Natasha Mukarram played the typical mother, fussing over her son, her husband, the breakfast, the neighbours, the chickens — yes, apparently the family had half-a-dozen chickens running around the house. She displayed all the attributes of an irritated housewife with great ease. Ali Hayat Rizvi displayed a maturity in his acting that easily made him stand out from among the rest of the cast. Playing the role of the father, the timing of his dialogues matched his facial expressions to perfection. Arsalan-ul-Haq in the role of the 11-year-old son was entertaining to say the least. However, his acting lacked the subtlety apparent in that of the other actors.

With the family tuning in to listen to a radio drama, the second story, Platform No 3 begins with Omar Akhtar performing an original piece, Nazar, on his acoustic guitar. A story of two estranged individuals, Platform comprised confessions of a college infatuation by Sarah, played by Amna Iqbal to an arrogant Asad — intent on leaving — played by Amean J. Throughout their conversation, Sarah seems reluctant to let go of what happened, or rather what did not happen, between Asad and herself with Asad focused on moving ahead with his life, preferring to leave the past behind. Natasha Mokarram delivered well in terms of clarity of speech and expression, but her timing was a bit off. Holding an open folder with papers stacked in it, one wondered whether Amean was carrying his script around or whether that was just a prop meant to compliment the role of Asad as the lawyer; a role that seemed to come naturally to him.

Finding ourselves back with the family around the breakfast table, the third story, Meri Pyari Su, is introduced as a letter mistakenly delivered to the wrong house and is read by Imran Khan, dressed in a full black veil, playing the role of Su’s childhood friend. The letter is about the adventures of two friends, their many loves and their many marriages. Read in a manner similar to that in old, subcontinental movies and punctuated by giggles that invited laughter from the audience, Imran Khan delivered the punch lines in the letter to perfection. The audience loved him; and after the satirical humour in the first and the seriousness in the second act, Meri Pyari Su proved to be the perfect ending to a pleasant evening.

Although in the first showing, the sound system fell short of delivering clarity of speech, it was a pleasure to see that this problem had been rectified in the second and third showing. For a first performance that was sold out within two days of its announcement, K’la did well, and appear to be promising as a group. Omar Kasmani, on naming the group K’la says: “We do not want to restrict ourselves when it comes to theatre. We have a lot of other skills. I have a background in classical dance, Amean is a photographer, there are other people who have theatre background, someone can sing and so on. Our objective was to keep such a generic name so we could fit in all kinds of performances. K’la is a result of that thought.”

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Preparations for WSF in full swing

300 students volunteer services for the mega event

By our correspondent
KARACHI: Around 300 students belonging to different universities, NGOs and other civil society organizations have chosen to volunteer for the World Social Forum. In a meeting of volunteers attended by the students at the World Social Forum Secretariat on Sunday, they were briefed about the charter, themes, events and the logistic requirements of the WSF. According to a press release, Coordinator WSF Tazeen Javed highlighted the purpose of WSF which is to provide a platform for free exchange of opinions and concerns on issues ranging from globalisation and its impact on the environment and ecology,
militarism, urban growth and
disparities. She also informed about the International WSF Council’s reasons for conducting the event in Karachi this year for which approximately 30,000 to 40,000 participants are expected to participate and attend the WSF. The participants include foreign
delegates, NGO professionals, academicians and civil society
organizations. Coordinator Volunteers Junaid Hassan and member of Logistics Team, Mian Khalid, said that more than a hundred activities a day are planned simultaneously for the five-day event that will provide an excellent opportunity for the volunteers to work for an international event and enhance their exposure and interaction with a variety of people. A positive response to WSF’s call for volunteers was answered by the students of NUST-Karachi, IBA, various departments of Karachi University including Mass Communication, International Relations, English, Sociology, Pakistan Studies and Area Study Centre for Europe, National University of Modern Languages, NED, CBM, the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA), AIESEC, Sir Syed University, and Al-Badr Islamic Society. Meanwhile, the cultural issues in Pakistan and various aspects of our dynamic cultural values were discussed during an interactive session with the artists, musicians, and different cultural groups that were organized by
the Cultural Committee of World Social Forum at the Commune Artists Colony. The session of the expressive event was moderated by a famous theatre artiste Khalid Ahmed and Anushae Alam (Culture WSF). The participants felt that an event like WSF has provided Karachiites with a great platform for voicing their views at a global level and that every individual should come forward to avail this opportunity. While talking to The News, Mehar Afroze, a teacher at the Indus Valley School of Arts, said that WSF has given the people of our society a chance to voice our grievances. "One feels horrible and helpless to listen and view human sufferings on the media but through WSF we are being given a chance to interact with different people and exchange our cultures," she said. Shirin Niazi, President Medical Equipment Aid said that the issues and views of a common man can be highlighted through this forum which is a great deal. However Qamar Bharoocha, a Photographer and Yoga Instructor, felt that events like these should not be restricted to mere interaction only. She felt that the Pakistani society is very much segmented where no one is willing to actually fight for a cause and shoulder the responsibility. "Apathy is the root cause behind being unmotivated that leads to the lack of awareness towards global issues that eventually leads to scapegoat," added Nilofar Farukh, an artist and critic who preferred calling herself a ‘concerned citizen’ first. She said that one needs to channelize his energies to work towards the individual empowerment and be well connected to global issues in order to contribute towards the development of his society. The other prominent personalities like Karamat Ali, Naeem Bokhari, Shahnaz Siddiq, Sheema Kirmani, Menezeh Ali, Irfan Mufti Ilva Taseer from Sweden, Nafeesa Shah and Rania Khan and Yousaf from the Commune also participated. Moreover calligraphic and block printed dupattas were also launched that are exclusively made for WSF 2006. A documentary on Karo-kari in Sindh was also shown.

September 23, 2006

Fresh ideas and approaches

By Amra Ali

Driving down Miskeen Gali, off Old Queen’s road in Karachi, one encounters an old run down neighbourhood, with the elderly sitting on charpoys, overlooking small children playing on the street. A few glares suggest that this intrusion through an almost private street has not gone unnoticed. They seem to know why I am passing by and eagerly direct me to the old ware houses turned artists’ colony further ahead. Called the Commune, a group of equally old warehouses transformed into a sapcious gallery space, offices, meeting room and artists’ studios, is the brainchild of two creative people, ceramist Raania Azam Durrani and fashion designer Yousuf Bashir Qureshi. This space aspires to be a new breathing space for the visual and performing arts, in which the emphasis shifts from the finished work to incorporate a larger framework of creativity focusing on short and long workshops, talks, artists’ residencies, and a meeting place for creative people. Its multidisciplinary approach is what may separate the Commune from the commercial galleries in town, if it is able to establish its credibility as a center for nurturing the arts.

While the task of realigning established mindsets and patterns of habit will be a challenging one, I sense an energy that could contribute very positively toward a more open yet professional approach to art. The gallery itself will be suitable to larger works that are able to be viewed with proper lighting and adequate space around them. One of the gallery artists giving her time to help with the Commune, Sarah Bakhtiyar, showed her large scale works at the gallery’s opening show last year, and is presently conducting a workshop in mural painting. The façade of each of the warehouses located in the compound is ideal for murals, and in one of the projects Sarah has worked with the local children of Miskeen gali to involve these kids in creating the art on the walls. Apart from engaging the area community in art projects, the artists working here try to cultivate a sense of community and sharing by distributing clothes and other essentials to the surrounding area residents. Several other programmes such as short evening courses in fashion design and ceramics are also being offered to accommodate those working during the day.

On the day I visited, a show of paintings by Fareen Butt was being mounted. Butt, a visiting artist of Pakistani origin from New York displays small oils on canvas (about 8” x 8”), in sets of three, five, six or eight. The pairing of paintings into groups provides a rhythm to the overall concern with colour, space and form. Pointilist in treatment, each work, though appearing to be similar to the other, provides an interesting shift that sets the pace of the viewer’s engagement with the work. The show titled the Akasa Series reflects Butt’s approach has been informed by Zen philosophy; hence the site of the exhibition appears to be an experience that would lead the viewer to ponder, wonder and simply meditate in front of the paintings. While Minimalism seems to be an integral concern, there is more to the works that reaches beyond the academic and into the realm of philosophy. In one sense, this is difficult work, for the approach is so universal that the artist’s approach defies any limitations of geographical or political boundaries. The freedom it elicits seeks to search for a universal harmony, through shedding away the excess. Less becomes more and speaks of clarity and vision. The dialogue between light and movement establishes the inner context of the paintings. This body of work is particularly refreshing for the local audience; for it seems that we are all too used to artists regurgitating stylistic patterns that mock the viewer’s appreciation of their ‘art’.

Commune Artist Colony - Events

Commune-ArtistColony — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 03:24:58 CDT

Coffee Bar

Ali Azmat performing at the UFONE - UCLUB event July 2006

Gallery Space - Pulse by Sarah Bakhtiyar 2006

Gallery space - Pulse by Sarah Bakhtiyar 2006

OPEN DAYS AT COMMUNE ARTIST COLONY

Commune-ArtistColony — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 03:04:58 CDT

COMMUNE ~Artist Colony

Off Old Queens Road, Miskeen Gali ~ Karachi, Pakistan

Phone: 021-2440279/ 021-2440538

READ.THINK. INTERACT

OPEN HOURS AT COMMUNE ARTIST COLONY

Monday to Saturday
4pm - 6pm

All are welcome

Electrical Outlets for laptops are available on request

MAP

Home

Commune-ArtistColony — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 02:33:11 CDT

COMMUNE ~Artist Colony

Off Old Queens Road, Miskeen Gali ~ Karachi, Pakistan

Phone: 021-2440279/ 021-2440538

Commune is situated in Sadiq Godaam; a colony of old warehouses. The sounds and lights of urban Karachi and the colours and chaos of Miskeen Gali, surround it. Commune is a creative gathering space for artists. The agenda is promotion of visual and performing arts and strengthening of the artist community in Karachi and beyond. Commune provides an alternative exhibit and performing space to artists as well as a platform for discussion. The colony in Miskeen Gali aims to become a center point for art and art related activities.
Commune is currently equipped with; two large well-lit multi-purpose spaces which are ideal for exhibits and performances, and a small coffee bar. Warehouse spaces can also be rented out by production houses/filmmakers. Artist studios are available for rent as well as space for lectures/seminars by individuals or organizations. Workshops, exhibits & performances are a regular feature at Commune. We also provide design consultancy and resident artist opportunities. Commune will be soon providing a one-stop shop for artists, with the following services available at the premises: Documentation of artwork: photography, catalogues & printing.
Commune welcomes the community, and seeks their support and participation. Kindly contact us for further details/inquiries.

RECENT EVENTS

PULSE by Sarah Bakhtiyar
Mural & Paintings
Gallery hours:
MONDAYS to SATURDAYS 5:00 to 7:00

The mural titled PULSE is a combination of drawing and painting on a wall 64 feet in length, on the front face of a warehouse. The concept for this mural is based on a literary text 'The Wyf of Bath', by Chaucer. It plays on the author's idea of women desiring sovereignty in relationships. The concept of working towards power and at gaining it the immense sense of satisfaction is being underlined through this project. There are a series of large scale paintings and smaller studies which accompany the mural and are displayed in the Commune gallery. The large paintings range from 12ft to 16ft in width and / or length. Power, energy and movement are the themes employed. The smaller studies are made with a minimalist approach.

Sarah Bakhtiyar is a graduate of the Indus Valley school of Art & Architecture. Her work mainly consists of large paintings on canvas and paper. She is currently affiliated with Commune ~ Artist Colony, where her solo show is being held. Sarah's next project is a mural in Detroit, USA .

"Tihai" a recital by K'la
May 2006
Tihai is a three-part recital inspired by radio plays.
K'la as a theatre group is dedicated to the revival of audio/radio plays.

UFONE : UCLUB
July 2006
Featuring Ali Azmat unplugged

FIFA: Football final 09.07.06
July 2006

Akasa Series
September 4th 2006

Fareen Butt is a New York based abstract pointalist. The Akasa series is based on the writings of Suhrawardi, a Persian sufi saint, who explored light, space and sound. The series physically consists of 101 paintings, done on gallery wrap canvas. Fareens's work is being featured at the Christie's auction house in November.

Ghazal evening by Sultan Amir Khan sponsored by the Hadeedian Association
September 16th 2006

INTERACTIVE STUDIOS

The interactive studio is a concept that encourages collaboration and discussion between participants and instructors. The interactive studios focus on integration and exploration of skill and concept. These interactive studio sessions are aimed at adults who are interested in learning specific skills related to the self, art & art making processes. The Commune Artist Colony provides a creative environment where participants will have the chance to explore their interests and work with instructors who are all artists and practitioners. The studio sessions are scheduled such that they can be conveniently attended by working adults. The duration of each studio is mentioned with its details.
REGISTRATION FORMS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE COMMUNE ARTIST COLONY OR REQUEST ONE VIA EMAIL
To register kindly fill out a form and submit a cheque made to the Commune Artist Colony, we are open Monday - Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. For details/directions contact us at:
021-2440279/ 021-2440538
raania.durrani@gmail.com

NOVEMBER
KINDLY REGISTER LATEST BY THE 30th OF OCTOBER 2006

VISITING ARTIST : Kristine Michael (India)

Ceramics: Egyptian paste and low-fired clays

Egyptian Paste was used, as the name implies, by the ancient Egyptians, as far back as 7,000 years ago. Ornaments made from this material have been found in most Egyptian burial tombs. Egyptian Paste is a self-glazing, low-firing clay body that was probably discovered by accident when a mixture of sand, clay, potash feldspar and soda ash were fired. The Egyptian Paste body contains soluble salts that rise to the surface while the work is drying. This layer of salt acts as a flux, glazing the surface and also helping the clay body itself to vitrify at low temperatures.The most traditional color which the Egyptians used themselves is the turquoise color known from ancient beads, amulets and scarabs.
Egyptian Paste is usually fired to a temperature range of 1650 o - 1800 o F (900o - 1000o C, Cone 010 - 06)

Duration: 14th – 19th November 2006
Fee: 3000

ABOUT KRISTINE MICHAEL
Born in New Delhi, India in 1960, Kristine Michael is a ceramic artist who initially trained in industrial ceramic design. She apprenticed with Ray Meeker and Deborah Smith at the Golden Bridge Pottery, Pondicherry, and with Alan Caiger-Smith at Aldermaston Pottery and at Dart Pottery, UK.
From 1984, she has worked in New Delhi and Pondicherry exploring the possibilities of clay sculptural and functional objects through stoneware, porcelain and earthenware, and the glaze techniques of wood firing, salt glazing, raku, pit firing and lustre ware. She has held over fifteen solo exhibitions in cities in India and participated in international group exhibitions which include 'Made at the Clay Studio' Philadelphia, USA (1998), 5th World Triennale of Small Ceramics, Zagreb, Croatia (1997), Fletcher Challenge Ceramic Exhibition, Auckland, New Zealand (1990), Ceramics '88, International Potter's Conference, Sydney, Australia (1988). Her work is in the permanent collection of South Asian Contemporary Art at Bradford Museum, UK, and The British Council Collection, UK.
She has been awarded among others, the Lalit Kala Grant (1986), Junior Fellowship, Department of Culture (1987-'89), Charles Wallace Trust, Festival of India Arts Award (1992), Sanskriti Fine Arts award (1996).
In 1998, she was the Visiting Guest Artist at the Clay Studio, Philadelphia and a Nehru Trust scholar to the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, London researching 19th century Indian glazed pottery in 1999. She has taught pottery and sculpture at both secondary school and college level. She presently teaches ceramics at The British School in New Delhi.

===========================================================================

DECEMBER

Ceramics: hand-building - Basic
Instructors: Raania A.K Durrani / Shazieh Gorji
This workshop will address the basics of hand-building: functional and sculptural works in clay. Experimentation with form and surface will be encouraged. Projects may include vases, boxes, tiles, bowls, wall sculptures and more. Participants will be expected to purchase their own clay; clay will be available for purchase at the venue as well. A list of tools will be provided upon registration. Don't forget to dress-for-mess and bring an old towel to class.
Duration: 3 weeks
Monday & Thursday 5-7 pm, Saturday studio hours 12 - 3 pm
Fee: 8,000

Outdoor painting
Instructor: Sarah Bakhtiyar

This particular project will focus on exploring mediums for painting in a diverse way. Participants will be dealing with colour, forms, technique, concept and scale. It will also be a session to develop the thinking process which involves research. Outdoor painting is challenging and most exciting as it depends on several factors such as venue, environment, weather and medium. This project will also be a chance to work with others as a group, developing camaraderie and benefiting from collaboration.
Duration: 3 weeks
Tuesday & Thursday 5 - 7 pm, Saturday open studio 11am - 4 pm
Fee: Rs.6000