By Noor Ul Huda aka Sheikha / Pakistan
The average life of a Pakistani artists has turned into a shade of bleak gray. Taste of food, colors, and scents, everything feels so watered down. Diluted to a mush.
Perhaps that’s what happens in a society where the sole objective of the day is to put food on the table. However, we forget art is the reason we stay alive. It gives us motivation to live and fight another day. Grief becomes melancholy; joy is enhanced. Art is how lovers communicate.
Sadly, we are too busy to appreciate poetry or stare at the painting a second longer. Pakistani artists behind them have disappeared into anonymity.
Yet, we continue to exist. We eat, we sleep, we cry, we breathe. Above all, we live. Not easily, mind you. Every day is a struggle, but it’s worth it. Annoying, ineradicable hope blossoms in each of our chests. Our work will be seen for its true worth. Not today, but someday. And Quill Quest is bent on making such voices heard.
Average Life Of a Pakistani Artists and Opposition From Society
Courtesy: Mehrosh Alam Instagram
It’s hard enough to convince your family that being an artist in Pakistan is a real profession before the backlash from society begins.
Aspiring actor or musician? Damned for eternity.
Writer or a painter? Tolerable as leisure activities, but not good enough to lead a decent life. Pick up a real profession.
God forbid, if you’re a female and have developed a taste in literature. The accusations are doubled down, and rumors start around a supposed affair. Apparently, love is a crime in a country where brothels are open 24/7.
This is why most aspiring artists in Pakistan keep their creative endeavors hidden. Perhaps, they will pick up a degree in college completely different from their desired path, pursue a 9-5, and adjust their most prized works in wee hours of the night, or the sanctity of weekends, to remember who they really are. It’s like living a dual life, only less exciting and more miserable.
All of us are hoping for a big breakthrough once the work has reached its full potential. The criticism is bad enough when you have only expressed the idea of joining an art field. You don’t want to find out what happens if you fail.
The scarcity of resources and organizations needed to pursue an actual career, without selling a limb, adds the cherry on top.
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The Financial Side
After convincing your family and a handful of friends to support you on your journey, the time comes to take the first step, which is harder than you initially thought.
The real world is more thorns than roses, and when the conclusion is applied to Pakistan, it has never been truer. Don’t get me wrong; I’m as patriotic as the next person. However, the unfairness and prejudice held against Pakistani artists is concerning and increasingly unacceptable.
If by some miracle you get an admission into your desired college and degree program, and manage to graduate while balancing freelancing gigs on top of ever-piling coursework with a caffeine-addled brain… Well, congratulations! However, the rough ride was only a glimpse into the real world. You still have to get that job, land that audition, get that sponsorship or deal, and hope people will show up. Because that’s the whole point, isn’t it?
On Scarcity of Resources
Courtesy: Quill Quest Magazine
The country has a few art schools, mostly located in bigger cities like Karachi and Lahore, with a budget higher than most can afford. Pakistani creatives belonging to the lower middle class rule themselves out, even if they get a green signal from family and the support of friends. Most can’t even afford higher education, let alone admission into the National College of Arts or BNU. Short summer courses and diplomas offer little market value, but many enroll just to experience what art school feels like. Besides the scarcity of dedicated art academies, comprehensive universities are reluctant to add art courses into their degree programs because of their apparent lack of practical value, a notion not only abundant among counsellors, but also the student body.
Emotional Journey of Pakistani Artists
Courtesy: Barira Khan Instagram
No one talks about the exhaustion creative effort causes. About 70% of the general population suffer from imposter syndrome, and 87% among them are artists. Imagine working on a project for months, or even years, pouring your energy and soul, just so the art could exist and be seen. Still, the shadow of not being good enough never passes.
Often, you come across a post of a painter who recently opened his gallery, or a woman who finally got that book deal, perhaps even an actor, previously reduced to side roles, finally making it to the big screen as the main character, like they always deserved. A part of you is happy for them, glad that at least one of your community members is finally on the path to success. Although it is a trickle compared to the larger whole, it is still progress.
The other side is, however, confused. You feel a twinge of jealousy at the attention they grab from the audience and brands eager to sponsor them. Is their work actually that good, or a tad better than the AI slop circulating on the internet? Or perhaps, you are the one who will never be good enough. These thoughts (often accompanied by guilt) often drive a person to the brink of an existential crisis.
You forget your whys, hows, and whats. Why put in the effort when you’re never going to reap the reward? How are you going to get the agent or license when you don’t even have a reference? What is even the point? This is the side of life of a Pakistani artist that usually gets swept under the rug. Quill Quest Magazine, being a staunch believer on mental health awareness, requests you to not take these struggles lightly. Don’t be afraid to get help when you need it. If a therapist, many NGOs like Taskeen and Umang exist to help you make your emotional journey easier.
Best Case Scenario
Courtesy: Ermina Khan Instagram
You become a teacher and spend the rest of your days passing knowledge and advice you gathered over the years, while being deemed acceptable by society. You might still work on personal projects, but they are no longer the focal point of your existence. They get reduced to side hobbies, something you do for the love of it, rather than to achieve a goal.
Social Media
Although social media might be the bane of our existence, it has many perks we can’t deny. It has allowed artists of Pakistan to connect and build a community and support each other. Pakistani artists can make their presence known, having a free medium to showcase their art to potentially millions of people. PR matters a lot these days. If you have been able to connect with even a handful of people, and your work resonated with them, there is a chance they might spread the message to the next person.
However, the activity of authentic and quality content creation is quite time-consuming. Contrary to public opinion, it takes much more effort than just perfecting your prompt to ChatGPT and Gemini, or choosing the right filter and audio to go with it. The effort and time that could be dedicated to your creative projects is now being spent on scrolling through social media, finding a better way to boost your posts to show up in the algorithm.
Being a Pakistani artist and innately introverted, I am aware of how annoying the importance of social media sounds. The creation of art should be enough in itself to draw appreciation. Sadly, that only works if you’ve made it big and are cashing deals with sponsors, while your managers handle the posting for you. Before that, spending a little time building your online presence might not be a bad idea.
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Bottomline
Courtesy: Quill Quest Magazine
The average life of a Pakistani artist is not easy. You can dedicate months or even years to a project, but people will hardly bat an eyelash before sidelining your work, deeming it not “good enough”. That’s just how the industry works.
One might argue that a degree in the arts is neither necessary nor valuable, but it can certainly help. My advice to you as a Pakistani artist is, even if you aren’t going for a formal degree or course, spend some time getting to know your line of work. Look up other artists who have succeeded and try to get in touch with them. This will help you not only understand the industry better but also align your work with its standards.
Besides working on your art, you will need a more reliable source of income on your side to fund your expenses. Being an artist in Pakistan is hard enough; you don’t need people calling you “unemployed” or “broke”. Remote jobs are the best, considering they save you both time and money that you’d be spending on commuting.
Apart from financial and technical nitty-gritty, don’t forget your why; the reason you started creating art in the first place. You receive enough criticism from society, you don’t want your voice to get lost in the midst of all the noise. Preserve your sanity in the aesthetics, and don’t be afraid to put your work out there.
