Each workshop in every location has its own flavor. A vitality and energy, pulled together by a combination of forces - location, people and work process. And so, the first Vasl International Artists Workshop was very much rooted in its own cultural space. Over half the artists participating were from various parts of Pakistan. As a result, visiting artists related to the rich culture of Karachi and Gadani/ Pakistan, learnt from it and contributed to it. It was also a process of
de-centering - the relationship between perceived center and margins is veiled and often difficult to approach. Interestingly, for the Pakistani artists it was an
opportunity to discover work by our contemporaries, some of whom had not met each other before!

Open day
An estimated 600 people attended the Open Day, an unprecedented number at an art event! This turned out to be an intense and informal interaction between artists, critics, patrons and art students from the city and elsewhere. Sheema Kermani and her theatre group Tehrik-e- Niswan, performed a short story from the play ‘A thousand and one Nights’, on the cliffs against the sea at sunset.                                                          

The work produced at Gadani was installed at the Amin Gulgee Gallery, a challenging task , considering the site specific nature of some of the work. Nayan Kulkarni’s performance was followed by the seminar at the Gulgee Museum
Many questions were raised over subsequent weeks about the nature of such a workshop, its relevance, its role as catalyst, and the resistance to change within the hierarchies of our system. Such a debate was an important and welcome response for us. There is certainly an unfulfilled need amongst artists within Pakistan to be part of a process in which they have a higher stake. And there is a need for communication through work process, with cultural practitioners within the country and elsewhere in the region. These and other issues can be effectively addressed by being part of a broader network
 

Dates
Open Day January 26th 2001, Gadani Beach, 11 to 06 pm.
Seminar January 29th 2001, Gulgee Museum, 03 to 06 pm.
Exibition January 29th & 30th 2001, Amin Gulgee Gallery, opening 06 to 08:30 pm.

VASL Working Group
Amin Gulgee, Anwer Saeed, Huma Mulji, Khalil Chishti, Lala Rukh, Maryam Hussain, Naiza Khan, Samina Mansuri

Sponsors
Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development   
Rangoonwala Foundation
The British Council
Hubco
Standard Chartered Grindlays
International Power
Khoj International Artists' Workshop, New Delhi
Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture
Millat Tractors
Arfeen Group
Marriot Hotel
Attock Cement
Sayyed Engineers
Adamjee Diesel Engineering
Friendship Textile Mills