After nearly two years of helming T2F, artist and activist Arieb Azhar is returning to Islamabad to be with his family and to focus on his music. Under his tenure, the much-loved Creative Karachi Festival was held in 2019 after a gap of 3 years and was meant to be a tribute to the founder of T2F, Sabeen Mahmud, who was brutally murdered outside the premises in 2015.
Since then, others have taken on the role of director before Arieb Azhar stepped in and for the last two years did his very best to keep Sabeen’s legacy alive of welcoming artists, poets, scientists, as well as hosting healthy debates, film screenings, panel sessions and interactive sessions on various issues.
On March 11 (yesterday) post the Aurat March, T2F, under the guidance of Arieb Azhar held an event called ‘Reclaiming Our Bodies: Women’s Reproductive Rights in Pakistan’ featuring a panel discussion.
As Arieb heads back to Islamabad, and says goodbye to the city of lights for the time being, giving up his position as director, he plans to say farewell in the most beautiful way - via music. Joined by friends including Malang Party and Surkhwaab’s guitarist Zishan Mansoor and prolific drummer/percussionist Aziz Kazi, Arieb plans to “regale us with an evening of Punjabi, Urdu, English and Balkan songs”. Scheduled to take place on March 12 (today) at T2F from 7 pm to 9 pm with tickets priced at an economical Rs 500, this will be a not-to-be-missed musical night. There is no better way to celebrate Arieb Azhar’s accomplishments during his time at T2F than this gig.