Written by: Varda Nisar
Posted on: May 08, 2019 | 
| 中文
She has different goals by Kanwal Tariq
The potential of art has been recognized the world over for its social impact. In Pakistan too, there is a growing awareness of how art can transcend the boundaries of class, culture, politics and language to convey a message that may leave its mark. This can be assessed by the growing number of festivals, biennales and art shows taking place in Pakistan, and in particular in Karachi.
Over the weekend, a show titled GRASP was displayed at V.M. Art Gallery, Karachi, which highlighted the success and struggles of female athletes in the country. The project was spearheaded by Qulzum Foundation, a collaboration of young professionals from the academia, media, sport and social development sectors, working together since 2017 to increase awareness of human rights and ‘Alternate’ Education.
GRASP (Girls Revolution through Arts and Sports in Pakistan) was designed to highlight the social issues which prevent participation of girls in sports. The project collaborated with 2nd Year Students of Graphic Design Faculty at the Visual Studies Department, University of Karachi, the Naseem Hameed Sports Academy and Karachi Kickers Football Club, where the exhibition has previously been displayed. It was supported by the U.S. Embassy, in partnership with Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network. Over the course of twenty days, the students visited the clubs to better understand the problems faced by female athletes, received lectures from experts working in the field, and finally developed the posters.
The posters were all vividly colourful and potently strong in terms of content, emphasizing the balance most athletes are forced to find as they embark on their journey. The visual language made sure that everyone and anyone could understand the message of these works, and one was hard pressed to believe that this was the work of second year students.
The first prize winner, Sadia Habib’s poster showed a girl straddling two worlds, moving from playing in her street to playing in the football field. The caption ‘Hamari Jeet Me Hai Pakistan Ki Jeet,’ (In Our Win, Pakistan Wins) pointed out that female athletes could also make the nation proud, just like male athletes.
Dua Mehmood Khan’s second prize winning poster, in bright red, yellow and blue hues, depicted a female footballer boldly facing the world. Its caption, ‘Aurat Bano Aurat,’ (Be a Woman) was a playful reminder that female athletes are excellent role models for young people.
The third prize winner, Kainaat Ahmed, reflected on how sports are traditionally considered unfeminine, through a pale blue and yellow palette. Her female protagonist kicked away the slew of negative comments society directed at her, just like she kicked her football.
Another attention grabbing poster series was by Areesha Hamid, with the messages “Khel Mera Junoon” (Sports, My Passion), “Rok Sako Tou Rok Lou” (Stop Me, If You Can) and “Mae Tou Khelungi” (I Will Play). Through simple silhouettes and bold colours, Hamid addressed the sheer determination that has made these athletes break down the walls of tradition.
Kanwal Tariq’s work showed a girl donning a bridal dupatta and kicking a football, moving from a background of a wedding to a football field, with the message “She has different goals.” The intelligent play on the word ‘goal’ was a comment on the dreams of many female athletes confined to their homes.
“Kar Har Maidan Fateh” (Win in every field), by Misha Najam, was another work featuring two female athletes, whose scarves blow in the wind as they run around a track. The work reflected how certain athletes, undeterred by their veils, are blazing new trails even as they maintain their personal values.
Haris Jadoon, the board member who designed this program, talked about how these posters have been useful in conveying the feelings of many young female athletes to their own families. He further described how it was critical for the athletes to converse with the design students, so that the end result could be entirely rooted in reality.
The entire show was a marvellous endeavour, though the limited time of its showcasing meant that a vast populace will miss out on viewing these posters. One also feels that more attention could have been paid to the language; most of the works were in English or Roman Urdu, though Urdu would have had a wider outreach. Overall, GRASP was a collaborative effort which brought forward the struggles of many sportswomen and athletes. Surely, more can be done to provide them with support and opportunities. This exhibition was one such step towards encouraging Pakistani women in sports!
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