This is a series of videos of several venues in the city. They deal with notions of self-organization, biopower, space, anonymous multitudes, the unconscious concrete, the invisible city and people entangling with physical and bureaucratic regulation. There is the subtleness of regulation, the thriving of life, its compartmentalization, the sense of Being (at home and living Here) with the quest to Become. They are snaps of unplanned planning, between the planned and chaotic – forms of lived urban phenomena in Karachi. The camera zooms from above. The image is of forever being tangled in a lover's curls ( Zulf زلف : Persian ).

Mauj is at Station No.7 at Shanaakht.



Evening Schedule
http://citizensarchive.org/?page_id=74

Day Schedule / Permanent Exhibits
http://citizensarchive.org/?page_id=68

The Citizens Archive of Pakistan

Imperial Gardens (Do Talwar, Clifton)

November 9, 10 &11, 2009

Open to Schools between 9 A.M. – 1 P.M.

Free and Open to the Public between 3 P.M. – 9 P.M.

Mauj installation
13-23 October,
Academy of Arts
Uzbekistan

Mauj partners with Shanaakht
9-11 November
Karachi

Article on Suzanne Hogendoorn,

Reacting to the events at the Shanaakht festival,

For me personally it is clear that the contested image is unproductive and simply too easy a collage in terms of artistic work. For this I would if Iwere in any way responsible offer a public apology. In all nations, notonly in the East, freedom of speech is debated. In the country I was bornin, Holland - Geert Wilders is stretching his limits and the least we cansay is that does not lead to more cooperation, understanding and trustbetween people of different religions, stories and opinions.

In the West there are also clear boundaries to what can legally be said. The Holocaust is incontestable. If you belittle or deny that charges will be broughtagainst you.The fact that the artist and the head organizer responsible are takingthemselves ( perhaps rightly and certainly understandably) out of thepicture should signal that the persons who take responsibility now can notbe associated with the process of selection, curation, and exhibit.They are concerned with the violent, hostile and irresponsible reaction ofcertain parties that led to the organizers feeling they could no longerensure the safety of the hundreds of children, families, young students,foreign artists and participants in the festival.

It is very unfortunate that the reaction resulted in halting a veryimportant cultural event that people from all walks of life were reallyexcited about.For this reaction has only strenghtened the already global view that theworld has of Pakistan. Here we do not politely discuss (although there isa longer tradition then anywhere else in the Persian region of a realmulticulturalism), here we do not engage in dialogue and maybe first tryto understand the others point of view (although the strong and mightySufi tradition brought the very idea of a pragmatic dualism into theworld), no here we barge in with men and guns, big bullies shoving peopleaside. How brave on a family festival.And although I certainly do not want to belittle the understandable reaction to this picture, I do feel that if this picture had not been there, another one could (would?) have been singled out to give such offense so as to cause this rioting. Maybe there are certain parties who can not stand that people come together for a week through cultures andthe arts and simply have a good time? As if this is possible in thecurrent climate! And it was.

Their irresponsible behaviour has caused that people will stop to wonder very hard if they are again willing to invest so much energy into organizing something positive for all, free for all. What they have probably only contributed to is that artistic events will go undergroundand into the galleries available for an elite. It is very unfortunate as this picture which could have served as the perfect test case. We must for sure take into account that the artist is not Pakistan based but living inan iconic culture in which collages of this kind are being discussed as pure form, any reference to the real living people reduced to a tinysecond shock moment, because nothing in imagery ever seems to get throughto us anymore. I'm certain that had she known that this could have happened, she would have withdrawn it.

The best thing that could now happen is a real open discussion between the party workers that stormed in, the organizers, and the artists. Then the protesters can share their pain and sorrow, the organizers can explain their curatorial philosophy of anything goes as it is a gift, and the artist can express her righteous anger for having to have to live abroad and not being able to work in the counrty of her origin because of the violence and hardheadedness of men who do not want to give up theirpriviliges,

Rob van Kranenburg

Rob van Kranenburg was present at the Shanaakht festival during therioting. He had come to Karachi as a guest of Mauj and Nukta Art Magazine to host a workshop on new media criticism, sponsored by Mondriaan Foundation and ASEF.

The Asia-Europe Foundation is supporting logistic expenses occurring for events organised during Rob Van Kranenburg and Suzanne Hogendoorn's visit to Karachi, the events include:

• Evening on Media and Activism, 7 April
• Shanaakht Festival, 8-12 April
• Writing Workshop on New Media Art, 10-11 April

Schedule of T2F Events at the Shanaakht Festival 2009
Join us at Karachi Arts Council from 8 - 12 April 2009.

Wednesday April 8

7:00 pm
The Elephant in the Subcontinent: Conversations in India and Pakistan featuring Ethan Casey

Thursday April 9

7:00 pm
Sheereenié Guftar: A selection of prose and poetry that highlights the sweetness of the Urdu language, presented by Irfan Sattar

7:45 pm
Unforgettable Cricket Memories: A slideshow of rare images presented by Iqbal Munir and Saad Shafqat

Friday April 10

7:00 pm
Pakistani Poetry Over the Years, curated and presented by Asif Farrukhi and Zaheer Kidvai

Saturday April 11

7:00 pm
One Man Theater Performance of Necropolis by Indian Theater Activist, Parnab Mukherjee

About Necropolis
Necropolis is a riveting photo-performance that provokes, angers, saddens and mesmerises ...
Two men meet on the street. They have to make a deal. Or rather they want to make a deal. One has something to sell and the other needs something to buy. The Dealer is unsure what to peddle or whether he wants to peddle anything in the first place. The Client knows what he has to buy but does not know exactly how to. A cat and mouse game begins between these nameless, faceless, shapeshifters who have to make a transaction which they are not sure why they would make.

8:00 pm
Readings and Conversation with Nadeem Aslam, Author of Maps for Lost Lovers

Sunday April 12

12:00 Noon
Personal Histories: Mrs Zeerak Raziuddin and Prof Manzoor Zaidi

Mrs Zeerak Raziuddin
Daughter of the fabled Dr Ashraf ul Haq of Hyderabad, she was the niece of Shahid Ahmad Dehlavi and played in the lap of Josh as a child. She was one of the first women to drive a car in Karachi, open a boutique, run a business and make a film.

Professor Manzoor Zaidi
One of the leading physicians in the city, Dr. Zaidi headed the Radiotherapy unit at the JPMC. As a young medical student, he vividly recalls the September 47 riots in Karachi and the transition from Delhi.

6:00 pm
Mushaera featuring leading Urdu poets from Karachi

On All Days

Mauj, a collective that uses open technology for art, culture and empowerment, will interpret the theme of identity in different projects using helium balloons, a collaborative cellphone photo project with Amsterdam called City Ragas, sounds of Karachi bus conductors and more ...

Art Activities for School Children

Thank you CAP for providing T2F with a space at the Karachi Arts Council.