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Name, Place, Animal, Thing

This week-long group project was developed with final year students from the Department of Fine Art in September 2024. Students were asked to explore and document a unique site in Karachi, creating a ‘story-map’ i.e. a narrative built with multiple sources of research ranging from sound and video to images written responses. Divided into four groups, this week-long investigation was part of a course called ‘Professional Practice’ which has recently been introduced for Semester 8 Fine Art students to help align their future goals with knowledge and practical skills post graduation. By asking students to examine the city of Karachi’s history, culture and ecology specifically through the lens of their selected sites, these ‘story-maps’ required the usage of factual data but were interpreted with creative and sensitive approaches that are inherent in art students’ approach. References such as Forensic Architecture, The Atlas Group, Karachi La Jamia, Mapping Archaeological Heritage of South Asia (MAHSA) and Pakistan Chowk Community Centre (PCCC) were provided to them through the project outline, to help navigate how initiatives and collectives use multiple forms of data to portray complex narratives on site-specific research. 

These four sites were selected by the students themselves; Karachi Zoo, Clifton Urban Forest, Tea-Time (a local dhaba) and bakeries of Karachi.

Their images and resources per site were composed by thinking about four core elements provided by the assignment’s guidance: a name (an individual), a place (a site), an animal (living thing), and a thing (an object), each tied together by the physical and intangible dynamics of their sites.

Story Map Essays

With overlapping concerns in their then ongoing thesis projects about public spaces, moving in and out of neighborhoods, inherited memories, climate change and animal mythology, students divided themselves into small groups selecting the above-mentioned sites in Karachi as a response to broadening their thesis research through the collection of interviews, maps, photographs and illustrations sourced from public libraries and archives, emphasizing the usage of varied materials encouraged in art academia. 

These responses and collaborative efforts resulted in four ‘Story Map’ essays, which coexist with facts and narratives alongside personal written content and artistic responses.

Key learning outcomes

  • Collaborative Art: Working in a group-dynamic in the art school, learning about communication, with roles assigned to maximize each artist’s strengths to document the site.
  • Investigative Research: Understanding the role a city like Karachi has to play across businesses, environmental conservation and hierarchical structures and how do young art students in Karachi enter these spaces and respond visually? 
  • Digital Storytelling: Using a web-forum like StoryMaps to present research in an interactive format and bringing together multiple voices in a coherent narrative. 
  • Critical Thinking: Avoiding superficial or romanticized narratives, students instead focusing on thoughtful, nuanced representations of people, places, and objects.

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