This month, the Daachi Foundation – a not-for-profit initiative that aims at promoting the local arts and crafts – hosted a wonderful art exhibition at Lahore’s glorious Old Tollington Market.
On a nippy December day the market was abuzz. Amidst stalls and tables, local artisans from all over Pakistan had put up their wares for sale; everything from Swati furniture, ethnic ceramics, Sindhi tiles, pottery, one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry pieces, bags, apparel, lamps, decoration pieces, truck art, and various colorful goodies to decorate the home with. To my surprise I bumped into Haji Sahib’s son who was at the exhibition selling his father’s truck art! (Haji Sahib is one of Pakistan’s veteran truck artists who I had the pleasure of interviewing last month for these very pages).
[quote]”This year we had about 80 different people from all over Pakistan”[/quote]
There was music and food: delicious vegetarian bran bread sandwiches, chaat, hot coffee and chai sold at a cute little food court, set up right outside the entrance for tired, hungry shoppers.
“Fairs like Daachi’s are the backbone of poor, hardworking craftsmen and a gold mine for people like us,” stated Mohyuddin Khan, of ‘Forgotten Crafts’. Khan’s products had taken up a large section in one of the halls. Stunning hand-woven baskets, rugs and furniture were spread out in a haze of colors. Dressed in a bright yellow kurta and jeans, the bespectacled Khan stated that local artisans don’t have the privilege of getting a foot in the door vis-à-vis international markets. “Daachi is one platform that allows hardworking craftsmen to display their products to art lovers. I have seen craftsmen grow through Daachi and other platforms,” he said, “We do have a very rich culture and [the country] is producing amazing art. The West is amazed by the artwork we produce and the quality we maintain.”
Right next to ‘Baji Kay Bastay’ – a charming initiative by an entrepreneur called Amra Khan, who sells the prettiest ethnic hand bags, purses and wallets, I came across Durre Sameen’s stall of intricate truck art pieces. I wanted to buy up her stall full of intricately worked boxes, trays and mirrors. I was excited to meet Sameen in person since I’d been following her work for a while through her Facebook page (which goes by the name of ‘Rangdey Truck Art’).
“Exhibitions like this in any healthy society should be the norm,” Sameen said, when I called her up a few days after the exhibition. “Tollington Market should be handed over to Daachi – there should be regular exhibitions at a permanent place like Tollington for our artisans, else they will continue to flounder.”
Ayesha Noorani, a faculty member at the National College of Arts (NCA) and a committee member at Daachi, stated that this exhibition was the foundation’s fourth and they hope to make it a bi-annual event. “A demand from both the visitors and the craftsmen made us go for another one this year,” she said.
[quote]”Fairs like Daachi’s are the backbone of poor, hardworking craftsmen and a gold mine for people like us”[/quote]
For Noorani, an architect by profession, Daachi stands as her true calling. “Daachi Foundation is a collective effort by a dedicated team of volunteers from varied professions such as architecture, design and education,” stated Noorani, “Our vision is basically to guard our heritage. This entails improving and upgrading our crafts and giving craftsmen opportunities for earning.”
Currently Daachi is hard at work trying to raise funds to build an ‘artisan’s village’ on Lahore’s Raiwind Road. “That is our ultimate goal,” Noorani says. The village, Noorani informed me, is due to have approximately 55 stalls for local craftsmen and entrepreneurs to sell their arts and crafts, an eating area for families and visitors, a workshop and performance area, a gallery, and also, best of all, living quarters for the artisans.
Given the number of craftsmen at Daachi’s recent exhibition it can’t have been an easy feat tracking down artisans across Pakistan. “It involved years of effort of visiting different forums, travelling all over Pakistan and approaching various entrepreneurs to showcase their work,” she says, “This year we had about 80 different people from all over Pakistan, only some of them were sponsored, we paid for travel, accommodation and free tables for the rest. However, some of our craftspeople did so well after our firstexhibition that they were able to buy stalls from us this time around. That is our success story. We gave them a platform and the rest was their effort.”
Does the country still nurture a strong demand for Pakistani arts and crafts? Yes, Noorani says emphatically. “So far judging by the turnout at our exhibitions, I’d say that there is a great demand and appreciation for our crafts. Not only do visitors look forward to Daachi Exhibitions each year but the craftsmen also deeply appreciate the opportunity to showcase their work and participate enthusiastically. I’d say our crafts are definitely not dying out.”
Sonya Rehman is a writer/journalist based in Lahore. You can reach her at: sonjarehman@gmail.com
