A question I have often asked myself: what made Rabia Zuberi, a young woman in the 1960s, commit all her energies to building an art institution? To undertake such an ambitious project thereby leaving her no time to raise a family and to have only a few hours left for her first love— sculpture. For over half a century Karachi School of Art (KSA) was the pivot of her life and remained so till she passed away on January 16, 2022. It all makes sense when you see thousands of her students mourning her, artists and designers of two generations whose lives she transformed at KSA.

‘Niilofur, I have built this school brick by brick… spent countless hours in government offices to get the land and persuaded countless donors to donate funds for cement and iron.’ She would often share her struggles, not with regret but pride, and carried them like a badge of achievement. Rabia Apa, as she was fondly called with respect and affection, came from a fairly traditional family that believed in progressive education. After migrating to the newly independent Pakistan, her father encouraged his daughters Rabia and Hajra (both art graduates) to set up Mina Art School, this was the genesis of the longest running art school of Karachi.

The 1950s and 1960s was a time when people who had relocated to Pakistan were highly motivated to contribute to the fledging country; Rabia Zuberi felt the need for an art school in Nazimabad, as the only other one run by Sheikh Ahmed was located in PECHS. In the early years, most students came from her neighborhood, eminent artist Nahid Ali, was barely out of high school when she joined Mina Art School because Rabia Apa was able to convince her burqa clad mother. Migrant parents felt safer sending their children, particularly daughters to study nearby as many of them were still finding their way in the new homeland. Another prominent artist, Meher Afroze remembers being excited on seeing the board of Mina Art School on her way home from the train station when she moved to Pakistan from Lucknow in 1971. Later she discovered that Rabia Apa was a fellow alumnus of Lucknow College of Arts and Crafts and it led to a lifelong friendship. The senior artist took her under her wing and generously introduced Meher to the local art circle. As Mina Art School rapidly expanded it was renamed and eventually shifted to a purpose built campus behind the National Stadium.

In the early 1970’s when I met Rabia Zuberi for the first time as an art student attending the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts (CIAC), she was better known as the founder of Karachi School of Art. The art scene was small with only one art gallery and two art schools. Art students from the two schools KSA and CIAC (by this time Sheikh Ahmed’s art school was barely functioning due to his ill health) interacted mostly at the Arts Council that hosted shows frequently. Both institutions were shaped by the distinct vision of their heads. Rabia Zuberi who had studied at Lucknow Arts College had a stronger traditional lens, guided by an intuitive approach to Modernism and a rigorous skill- based training; on the other hand, Ali Imam, who was the Principal of the CIAC, had just returned from UK and was keen to introduce the avant garde in art education, prioritizing critical thinking and experimentation. Within a decade of its establishment, KSA graduates like Lubna Agha, Anjum Ayaz and Zaheen Ahmed had begun to gain recognition. In the 1980s it’s strong watercolor program, established by the Modernist Mansur Rahi, who had studied under Zainul Abedin in Dhaka, led to the Watercolor Movement with Zaheen Ahmed, Ghalib Baqar, Abdul Hayee at its helm. All this propelled KSA to the forefront of art education in the country.

Rabia Apa was always well turned out and meticulously coiffured. She had a feminine style that remained constant throughout. It echoed her dealings with people, which many remember was more like a family elder than a detached professional, particularly when it came to conflict resolution. She was ambitious in her own gentle way, preferring to focus on the objective with sheer hard work. This was her unique strength.

As an artist Rabia Zuberi was true to her context and experience, as a skilled sculptor she tackled monumental scale with ease and also enjoyed working on intimate sized pieces. Her subtle feminism led her to document the quiet struggles of the women whom she encountered. The dupatta-clad and homely protagonists were often determined mothers who defied opposition at home to allow their daughters to pursue professional education. She inspired confidence in mothers, supported their endeavors with scholarships, fully aware of what the leap meant for them. Her ode to the laborers was clearly connected to the years she spent with the construction workers on the site of the school while it was built in phases, determined by the availability of funds. Gradually the laborers began to populate her drawings and sculpture.

Her magnum opus was Plea for Universal Peace, comprising of life-size figures standing in a circle of harmony, currently installed at the National Art Gallery in Islamabad. While speaking of her inspiration and working on it, I saw a new energy emerge in Rabia Apa who was growing frail with ill health. It was as if her fervent prayer for her city and her country, that had been traumatized by violence, was taking a tangible form. This sculpture can also be seen as her epitaph as it encapsulates her long journey as a socially sensitive artist and change-maker committed to her people.