The archbishop of Karachi, Joseph Coutts, inaugurated the 2nd prototype reel of the ‘Reel On Hai’ project, painted by celebrated cartoonist and artist Feica and his daughter Fakeha, at the St Patrick’s cathedral on September 23.

Reel On Hai is the main public outreach project of the Karachi Biennale 2017.

Through this project, artists, designers and architects will come up with innovative ways to transform empty cable reels into artworks.

Karachi Biennale has undertaken an ambitious project to recycle cable reels generously donated by Fahad Chinoy of Pakistan Cables to add colour and creative vibrancy to the city. This cable reel can also be seen as a symbol of the industry that changed a sleepy harbour town into the manufacturing powerhouse of the country.

Karachi is also a city made ugly by the excessive garbage it produces. So, art from discarded objects is a powerful green gesture that can recycle waste and elevate it with imagination and innovation.

The genesis of using everyday used objects in art can be traced to the 1960s Italian movement of Art Provera. Today, it has re-emerged in ecologically conscious art practices.

In keeping with the Karachi Biennale 2017 mandate, to penetrate the fabric of the city, 100 art objects crafted from cable reels will be created and installed in schools, public parks, hospital and universities. Each unique work will engage the community with activities that aim to sensitise them to art, and the role it can play to project peoples’ dynamism.

The inauguration ceremony of the reel painted by Feica and Fakeha was attended by artists and art enthusiasts from across Karachi.

The Karachi Biennale Outreach Programme has many components. The first outreach initiative, which was held in collaboration with the Goethe Institut, titled ‘Tech For Life’, was launched in February 2016, at the Orangi Pilot Project head office. The second component is a series of talks on urban regeneration, led by the Outreach Committee member Marvi Mazhar. Spanning over six months, the talks on urban regeneration would comprise of six talks that will trace the intellectual evolution of art and its practices in Pakistan, with focused discussion sessions on the emergence of new media art forms, public art, art law, and art therapy.

For the Reel On Hai project, an open call was sent out to artists, designers and architects for the Karachi Biennale at the end of May 2016. Meantime, it was decided to prepare two prototype reels to kick-start the project. The first prototype reel was placed at the Orangi Pilot Project Head Office. Calligrafitti artist Sanki King was invited to paint this reel. He painted one side of the reel with poetry by Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan, the other with a saying by Abdul Sattar Edhi, and the spine has sayings by Parveen Rehman. The reel was inaugurated by Faisal Edhi.

Niilofur Farrukh, Chairperson of the Karachi Biennale 2017, spoke about the biennale emotionally as she mentioned that the reel was installed at her school, where she had learnt about art.

Archbishop Joseph Coutts reminisced about the first time he had come to Karachi as a young boy. He said he was happy with this initiative as it was a step towards involving everyone in a creative activity, and taking Karachi back toward peace.

Feica, a graduate of the National College of Arts Lahore, spoke about his journey as an artist and the challenges of painting the reel.