Karachi floods: Pakistani artists launch online fundraiser

Artworks on sale during the Artists for Flood Relief (AfFRK) fundraiser on Sept. 1, 2020. (Photo courtesy: AfFRK)

• Launched on Saturday, Artists for Flood Relief is accepting artwork submissions until Friday, Sept. 4
• Dozens of people have died since last week in what is considered the worst flooding Karachi has suffered in its history

RAWALPINDI: As recent floods have devastated Karachi and surrounding areas in Sindh province, three young Pakistani artists have launched Artists for Flood Relief, a fundraiser to help those affected by the calamity.
Numair Ahmed Abbasi, Shaheen Jaffrani and Shanzay Subzwari — graduates of Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in 2014 — could not get over the countless images of destruction they saw on social media, as homes were washed away by floodwater. Footage showed buildings and bridges submerged in water, and furniture, cars and large containers floating through the streets. Dozens of people have died since last week in what is considered the worst flooding Karachi has suffered in its history.
“Saying they were horrifying is an understatement. And this was going on while we all sat in the comfort of our bedrooms,” Abbasi said.
The 28-year-old remembered he had works from his student days, which he could sell and donate the money. He realized it was likely his schoolmates would do the same. With support from fellow artists, he, Jaffrani and Subzwari wasted no time to launch Artists for Flood Relief.
“It was immediate crisis disaster management,” Jaffrani said, “It was now or never.”
On Saturday night, Jaffrani, Subzwari and Abbasi set up an Instagram page and by Tuesday had nearly 150 submissions from artists in Pakistan, Germany, Dubai, and India. The deadline for artist submissions is Friday, Sept. 4.
The artists are working with organizations run by persons they personally know to oversee every step of the initiative and make sure all donations will serve the relief purpose. “Knowing who we were working with and maintaining control was a main concern to us,” Jaffrani said.
They have partnered with The Environmentalist, The Garbage Can, Shine Sunshine, and Food for Thought, which cover different relief needs — water draining, waste removal, food distribution — in Karachi and other affected areas in Sindh.
Artists for Flood Relief will be selling art prints for a duration of three weeks on their social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook.
They say the coronavirus outbreak has made them realize how powerful a tool the social media is with its ability to keep people connected.
“During the pandemic, we have learned the power of virtual community,” Jaffrani said.
Earlier this summer, a similar fund relief initiative, Prints for Pandemic Relief, raised nearly Rs4.5 million for Pakistanis whose livelihoods were upended by the coronavirus outbreak.
“People want to donate, but I feel like when there is a creative twist or creative element added to anything people become more enthusiastic,” Subzwari said, “For artists, their art isn’t just a pretty picture for some people.
When artists realize through their creativity they can reach out and help a bigger cause — they do it.”