This artist hub in Karachi aims to be a safe haven for freethinkers

To have a parent support the artistic endeavours of their children is nothing short of a blessing in a conformist society like Pakistan's ─ one in which a large majority actively discourages critical thinking, clips freedom of thought and moderates choices in its pursuit of convention. And that is what the creators of The Grid Club ─ a newly opened community centre ─ aim to counter.

Known as The Grid, the community centre is located in a bustling, hip and happening part of Defence, an area of the Karachi associated with wealth and a liberal demographic ─ pul ke uss par (on the other side of the bridge) as they say. It has a library, an art gallery and a performance venue, where artists, writers, musicians and all liberal arts enthusiasts can band together to create, perform and share. 'The Grid is a madrassah for the left' "The right has opened so many madrassahs all over the city and they're thriving," Syed Aftab Shah, the man behind The Grid told Images, saying that in Pakistan, creativity and artistic expressions ─ be it in the form of painting, poetry, music ─ are socially regulated, structurally censored and most of the times, systematically killed.

"I saw the need for a safe space where dissent would be welcomed and where people could express themselves without fear of backlash," Shah said. "We at The Grid want it to become a madrassah for the left, a safe haven for those who are religiously in touch with their creative side." The founders ─ Shah and his childhood buddy Abid Baloch ─ are both millennials in their late 20s, working as professionals in the field of mental health and real estate, respectively. For them, The Grid is a place to help artists hone their talents, learn new skills and coach them in establishing passions as a career. 'A career in the arts is not impractical' "One of the biggest reasons young men and women abandon art as a career option is because they are told they cannot make money from it or sustain themselves and their families," Shah said. 'We need to look after our musicians, our artists, our youth' Shah has set up an internship programme at The Grid where he works with high school and university students to help them in their creative pursuits, polish their talents, develop soft skills and become healthy, productive adults.

'The Grid is an on-going experiment' No interior designer was hired to decorate The Grid, Shah tells Images. "There is a lot going on on the walls; the art and decoration you see is a self-reflection of all the people who helped us with the creative process." If The Grid is able to thrive via crowdfunding, its founders plan to replicate the model in other areas of Karachi or even Pakistan. "It is an experiment ─ if successful, The Grid will open in other areas with its model tweaked as per the needs in that community," Shah said. However, its essence ─ a safe space for artistic expression ─ will remain, he added. The Grid is located at Bukhari Commercial in Phase VI, DHA. It is open seven days a week from 12pm till midnight.