Painters and art lovers, among others, gathered for the highly intriguing session, ‘Arts and the Politics of Our Times,’ well before the scheduled time. The place was buzzing with excitement, but more significantly, anticipation. Some of the panelists, who had still not been formally introduced, were already engaged with members of the audience. The enthusiasm was expected as the discussion was meant to revolve around politics, which is quite comfortably a subject of extreme interest to any average Pakistani. In addition to that, it was about to be discussed in the light of arts.

Artist Quddus Mirza, who was moderating the session, started by introducing the three panelists — who preferred to be called artists — Durriya Kazi, Muhammad Zeeshan and Gemma Sharpe. Kazi, artist and the head of the department of visual arts at the University of Karachi, initiated the discussion: “There is no denying that the element of politics has seeped into our arts since 9/11,” she said, adding that “we should first try to define arts. It can be categorised as follows: propaganda art; art that simply highlights issues just to make them memorable; and art with consequences which is the best type and unfortunately, not promoted much.” Kazi then went on to highlight how political narrative in art is present everywhere. The making of art in itself is a political act, one that cannot and should not be suppressed. “What we forget is that life is a fast-paced, on-going phenomenon; it is art that captures and ceases a moment and allows us to engage with it.”

This comment made a profound impact on the audience. Building up on Kazi’s comments, Zeeshan added: “I think we should thank 9/11. I mean, after all, it gave us a whole decade to ponder on and work with.” He continued in a little more serious voice by insisting that we cannot eliminate politics completely from our art as it is present everywhere: “among our families, jobs, and even academic institutions.”

Sharpe almost immediately took exception to Zeeshan’s earlier jovial remark: “I don’t think we should thank 9/11 and its influence on Pakistani art. It’s not that Pakistani art was nothing exceptional before it, or it wouldn’t get its due esteem had 9/11 not occurred. To me, the simple reason why we see so much of politics in art as compared to literature is that unlike painting, where you get immediate results, it takes quite some time to write a book, and today the trends of the world change at a dramatic pace. Sometimes, one has to keep the commercial aspect in mind too.”

At this juncture, the speakers lost control of the discussion as the mere mention of the commercial aspect got everybody involved. From among the varying opinions, Kazi spoke of how an artist’s work becomes weaker if she starts thinking consciously. Zeeshan shed light on the manner in which galleries dictate to artists and tell them what sells and what doesn’t.