A tribute to Riffat Alvi at the Arts Council brought together dozens of people who know and love her. Among them were friends and fellow artists such as Meher Afroz and Ghalib Baqar— we have all known Riffat for nearly half a century. Riffat Alvi quietly entered the venue in a wheelchair— a far cry from the Riffat we once knew, whose confident stride would echo across the VM Gallery. Once settled, she softly greeted all who gathered around her. I was struck by how frail she appeared, yet her eyes still carried the same twinkle. It was clear she was happy to be among friends, even though illness has taken a toll on her memory and physical strength.

I first met Riffat in the 1970s near the bookshop on the grounds of the Arts Council. She was carrying a microphone and recording equipment, on her way to interview someone well-known. At the time, she was working as a radio reporter with Radio Pakistan before later joining Sindh Small Industries. Among the interviews from that period, the one she often recalled was with Suzy Gablik, the American art theorist whose book was making waves in the 1970s.

At the tribute, Hammad Nasser described her as a quiet titan, someone whose way of working was to achieve so much without ever drawing attention to herself. This sentiment was echoed by others, including Meher Afroz and Abdul Jabbar Gull. When Riffat established the Gallery for the ZVMG Rangoonwala Trust in the late 1980s within the vast Rangoonwala Community Centre in Dhoraji Society, many were skeptical of its future. The space itself was an awkward, narrow, elongated hall which, in Riffat’s own words, reminded her of a train platform. Its location, far from the city’s southern districts where most collectors lived, was seen as an additional challenge.

All this did not deter Riffat, for she had her own vision. Over the next four decades, she built the VM Art Gallery into a space for young talent, where she mentored and created opportunities for an entire generation of Pakistani artists. Artists like Fahim Rao, whose career gained momentum through a scholarship from the ZVMG Rangoonwala Trust that Riffat helped establish for graduating students, often spoke of those crucial moments of support. The scholarship funded his thesis, marking the first step toward the successful practice he enjoys today.

Having studied at the Karachi School of Art, Riffat was deeply aware of the struggles of her peers. In the 1960s and 1970s, KSA produced a remarkable number of male artists whose tenacity and passion for art helped them confront resistance at home and in society. Riffat understood their hardships and was determined to create a space that could showcase their immense talent.

The gallery became Riffat’s life, and she poured all her energy into giving it direction. Gradually, the VM Gallery gained prestige, and she was able to add two more large exhibition halls, making it the biggest private exhibition space in the country. She instituted a prize for outstanding young artists, a scholarship for graduating students, and the flagship annual Emerging Artists Exhibition. This was the project closest to her heart. She would often travel across Pakistan to attend thesis shows, personally selecting entries for the exhibition.

Her words carried empathy, humility, and a sense of responsibility when she said: “I cannot turn any artist away from the gallery.” For her, giving every artist who came to her a chance was central to her vision. Often she mentored those who needed guidance, and offering them an opportunity to exhibit became her way of giving many their first chance.

Riffat somehow managed to run the gallery on a small budget. At times, she even contributed her own money to provide snacks at exhibition openings, ensuring that young students—many of whom came directly from art school in the evenings—could feel welcomed and cared for.

As an artist herself, Riffat understood the importance of creative freedom, especially in how a show was installed. Artist Sumera Tazeen remembered how, when she brought her multi-media show to VM Gallery, Riffat was open, enthusiastic, and encouraging. She was always eager to introduce innovative technical solutions for installations, and her expertise could be seen in the immaculately hung exhibitions. According to Bushra Hussain, who served as Assistant Curator, Riffat had a unique method: she would first floor-mount the show—placing the works on the ground—before deciding their final position on the walls, a process that involved much thought and discussion.

Under her leadership, the VM Gallery became a bridge between Pakistan and the international art world. Stefan Winkler, former Director of the Goethe-Institut, recalled the many exhibitions of prominent German artists held there. He also remembered the rediscovery of a forgotten collection of German prints from a 1990s exhibition that Riffat had carefully preserved in the gallery’s storeroom. The collection was later exhibited in a farewell show before being returned to Germany. VM Gallery also hosted its first glass artist, Lale Andic, who sent a video message for the tribute, filled with fond memories. Art historian Marcella Sirhandi recalled how generously Riffat shared her knowledge of the masters when she came to Karachi to research her book. Similarly, when the ZVMG Rangoonwala Trust acquired the Wahab Jaffer Collection, Savita Apte, tasked with cataloguing it, noted in her tribute that Riffat’s deep knowledge of the art scene made her work far easier.

The Resource Center and Library at VM Gallery was another of Riffat’s initiatives, completed under her guidance by Bushra Hussain. It housed not only her meticulous newspaper clippings on art from local dailies but also a valuable collection of books, including those that accompanied the Wahab Jaffer Collection, and material from the Lincoln Corner that was once part of the Community Centre.

Because she devoted so much of her life to the gallery, Riffat was not a prolific artist herself. Yet her own practice was defined by experimentation with new mediums. After being introduced to colored clays in Zimbabwe, she began collecting them wherever she traveled, building a rare collection that she later used in her earth paintings. One of her most unusual works was created with petrified wood salvaged from a termite attack. Always resourceful and unafraid to push boundaries, she even turned to candle soot during times of curfew and electricity shortages, creating her haunting “smoke paintings.” These works captured the meandering shadows of fear and isolation, making tangible the anxieties of that moment.

In many ways, these works best describe the spirit of Riffat— she thrived under pressure, resilient and unyielding, always finding ways to transform adversity into strength.