Khayal Khana was a series of public art projects, primarily geared towards encouraging art appreciation and making art accessible for the masses and responding to the local aesthetics of the city. An off shoot of the Vasl Artists’ Collective, Khayal Khana was conceptualized by a group of fresh graduates.

The Khayal Khana project was co-ordinated by Mariam Ahmed, Samar Zia and Seher Naveed from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Sahar Rashid and Madiha Suboor from the

Department of Visual Studies at the Karachi University.

Khayal Khana has participated in the following events:

Shanaakht Festival: The Identity Project, 2007

Sunday Bazaar Intervention, 2008

Shanaakht Festival 2: The Identity Project, 2009

14th August Celebrations at the Indus Valley School, 2009

Birth of Pakistan, in collaboration with CAP, 2009

Khayal Khana kicked off in 2008 with an art outreach program. Conducted at ‘Itwaar Bazaar’(Sunday Market), these activities were meant to introduce art to the children visiting the bazaar including the young laborers working in the market.

The idea was to introduce them to art and provide them with an object that they could experiment with. In this particular activity, the children painted on bags that were later sold by them.

The working members included Samar Faisal Zia, Mariam Ahmed, Sahar Rashid, Madiha Saboor and Sana Ahmed.