Pakistani Art Export Booms Amid Covid-19: Dawn

According to a Dawn article, amid the covid-19 pandemic, financial experts were monitoring the country’s export and much to the surprise of many, Pakistani art emerged as a discipline field that showed a positive graph in terms of numbers. 

Since its arrival, the covid-19 pandemic had badly affected the economies around the world.

Fortunately, so far, Pakistan has survived the situation but the imposition of another lockdown still remains an alarming call for the citizens.

Dawn quoted that as per the data provided by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday, the country’s export of artwork, collectors’ pieces, and antiques has increased exponentially in the current fiscal year.

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The SBP figures of artwork from the last financial year reported $386,000 (July-March), whereas in the current year, it has increased to $36,594,000 for the corresponding period.

Moreover, Dawn said, “According to SBP data, export of artwork, collectors’ pieces and antiques valued over $36.6m in the first nine months of this fiscal year”.

The article also questioned if the covid-19 situation has impacted all economic sectors, then why Pakistani art export turned out to be a shining exception.

Answering Dawn’s question, the owner of Ocean Gallery Khaleel Ahmed said, “I’m not surprised by the rise in export. In the past what used to happen was that people (buyers) from abroad would come to Pakistan to attend art events, buy artworks and take them to their respective countries”.

Ahmed added, “Due to the pandemic, for the past one year, they have begun to buy paintings online. They would look at a work of art on a website or Whatsapp and place an order. Just a few days ago, I sent abroad four boxes in which there were 17 paintings. To boot, they pay the delivery charges themselves”.

Analyzing the main reason behind an increase in sales, Ahmed said, “Importing art from Pakistan proves to be a cheaper proposition for them for a significant reason: framing (of a painting) in Pakistan is far less pricey than it is in North America or Europe”.

The article also highlighted that Pakistani art reaches almost everywhere in the world including the US, Canada, Turkey, Europe, and Egypt.

Surprised to know about the SBP figures, Art Chowk gallery owner, Shakira Masood, said, “I know the number has increased. People are buying art, it is going out, but the figures that you’re quoting are mind-boggling. There is a positive turn, for sure. Our gallery has an upturn in sales in recent times, but still unless they are selling antiques out of museums”.