Written by: Bilal Sohail
Posted on: January 18, 2022 | 
| 中文
Dancers performing at the show 'Sway With Us', in The Colony Lahore in 2020
As the new year kicks into full swing, Lahore witnesses an essential overhaul of the performing arts industry, as the patterns of content consumption continue to change in today’s interconnected world. In a growingly polarized environment, new-age experimental art forms continue to thrive as audiences gain more and more access to digital content. How these patterns affect real-world experiences is fairly intriguing. Back in the day, venues promoting performing arts functioned much like television channels. If you don’t like what’s on, you could always try a different venue. Also known for its cuisine, be it local or foreign, Lahore’s restaurants have also promoted the culture of live music.
However, many establishments primarily focus on recall rather than discovery. They hire talented musicians but their act design is centered around renditions of mainstream music. Audiences continue raving about their favorite Mehdi Hasan and Kishore Kumar hits, rather than engaging with the artist on stage. This model still exists and works too, because it sits well with older generations. Back then, Indian and Pakistani film was the main source of music discovery with a fair deal of homogeneity. Many local musicians have been greatly influenced by this model as they sing what they believe their audiences already like. This kills creativity whilst alienating artists from the prime motivation of art itself, which is to express, not assess.
Qamar Agha Khan performing at Salt’n Pepper Village, Lahore
As our discovery patterns change through the onslaught of social media platforms and other streaming services like YouTube and Spotify, it seems like the longstanding homogeneity continues to fade. Art discovery is more personal than ever today. Within as little as 10 minutes of scrolling through your feed, you can listen to that new single, laugh out loud at some sketch comedy and go through a rollercoaster ride of emotions with the latest short film released by that label you follow. This is because nowadays, people want everything at once! They want comic relief, while also being up to date with the latest news. Stage theater has been an integral part of Lahore’s comedy culture, but in recent years local audiences are more inclined to get their comedy fix from television, where stage artists react to current affairs. In recent years, Lahore has seen a sharp decline in its theater industry. Rescuing the cultural epicenter of Pakistan from the perils of stagnation is imperative, and this is exactly what many art enthusiasts are beginning to realize.
Puffball Studios is a design, animation and music production studio working on animated shorts. Noteworthy titles include ‘Shehr e Tabassum’ and ‘SWIPE’. ‘SWIPE’ managed to bag the Special Jury Award at the 4th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival. Even though it was highly appreciated by film enthusiasts internationally, local outreach is still lacking. This further intensifies the need to rethink everyday walk-in entertainment, where discovery is prioritized.
The Colony Choir
‘The Colony’ is a relatively new and refreshing addition to the performing arts culture of Lahore. Located in Gulberg, it is an intimate space where artists can openly express themselves. Currently engaged in directing choreography for Coke Studio’s latest season, The Colony has emerged as a multidiscipline arthouse. Not only do they regularly organize live music, dance and art exhibitions, but they also conduct workshops where the audience can interact and learn from experts.
A singer Imran Hashmi singing at Strictly Social
Olomopolo Media has also been doing much of the same in terms of introducing all kinds of contemporary art and artists to the Lahori public, including standup comedy. This is what performing arts is evolving to be, rotational, bold and interactive. While taking inspiration from these art centers and media houses, maybe we want our eateries and cafes to also function more like our social feed. There is usually a variety of dishes on the menu for everyone’s taste buds at popular eateries. Similarly, our taste in art diverges; the average performing arts display can also evolve into an all-you-can experience buffet, rotating through different art forms in an interactive, engaging and entertaining way.
Fawad Khan at Olomopolo Media for his Dastaangoi (oral storytelling) show
This was perhaps Strictly Social’s mantra which is a karaoke bar and cafe, also located in Gulberg. They invite artists, serve food and drinks and host open mic and karaoke nights among other activities, to keep their walk-in customers entertained.
It is getting increasingly difficult to glorify dated models of live entertainment where, as soon as the fad dies, so does the attendance count. We could really use such creative hubs to discover local talent more effortlessly.
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