CAREER PATH

The world is your canvas

People frown at you and question, “What would you do with a degree in arts?” Roam around with a brush in one hand and a palette in other looking for a canvas to paint on? Or post pretty pictures of your paintings on Instagram and wait for orders?

For some arts students, these questions could be quite discouraging; they would put down their paint brushes and get on the bandwagon. However, there are artists who don’t care about what others think and just keep doing what they love.

After graduating in Fine arts, Syed Kashif Ali Mohsin held several exhibitions to show what he was capable of. The most popular exhibitions were Deconstruction at Full Circle gallery and Live out loud at AQS gallery. When people started taking interest in his work and his paintings began to attract customers, he felt motivated.

Then, it didn’t take long for him to get into the exciting world of filmmaking.

Breaking into film industry

Here, Mohsin was lucky to receive his parents’ support when he decided to join the film industry. Though his father always wanted him to be an actor, he didn’t mind his son doing work that was largely behind the camera.

It all started when Mohsin was hired as the Art Director for the movie “Jawani Phir Nahi Ani”. His job was to creatively compose and balance the visual elements of the film. He set the frames and kept a check on the wardrobe and accessories; he also had to make some important decisions on the set like deciding the locations for different shots in the movie and then also figuring out how things would   really appear on screen. His work got recognized and people began to see him as a passionate artist. He also got a chance to work for movies “Zinadgi kitni haseen hai” and “Lahore se agae”.

“I remember my first day on the film set was quite stressful; I thought I wasn’t doing things correctly,” Mohsin recalls.

But, at the end of the day, a pat on the back from the boss assured him that he was doing great.

 Too many hats!

“I usually work on my film and drama project in the evening, so it means I have time to teach filmmaking courses at Ziauddin University in the morning,” Mohsin mentions. Teaching is the best way to transfer what you have; and it’s not that you are only teaching, you are also learning at the same! And of course, Mohsin always finds out time to paint and make illustrations for different publications like Oxford University Press. No matter how hard it gets, his passion keeps him moving forward.

 Keep your spirits high

Art is a vast field and all those who want to opt for it as their career should never underestimate the opportunities it offers. Once you have the basic knowledge about arts, you can go in any direction. Just because you are a fine artist doesn’t mean you have to make portraits and paint sceneries only; you can try your hands at filmmaking or industrial designing, for instance. Theatre is another option, as it can help designers set up better stages for the plays. Don’t hesitate to explore new things and always look out for rich experiences.