Staff Reporter
Country’s first 18 days long art residency program, Heritage Live, organized by Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund and Foundation for Arts, Culture and Education (FACE) concluded at Lok Virsa, Islamabad. 20 indigenous musicians including 10 maestros and 10 apprentices graduated from the program.
The basic aim was to help the vulnerable musicians to generate sustainable income by exploring alternative means, especially as COVID-19 restricted musicians’ abilities to play gigs as a primary source of income.
Heritage Live introduced these indigenous musicians to new platforms for monetization by familiarizing them with digital mediums. The program taught the musicians how to utilize digital platforms like Youtube and Instagram for income generation; the artists learnt how they could monetize their talent and build a brand identity through these dynamic platforms. Experts gave in-depth sessions on content generation, editing, filming and engaging viewers on social media. They briefed the musicians on effective use of mobile phones for recording and sharing of content on digital mediums. Free of cost mobile phones were distributed amongst the musicians for them to understand and readily use the latest technologies.
Aspects of personality development and personal grooming were also explored during the program. Prominent singer and composer, Areeb Azhar taught the artists about negotiation skills and how to market talent.
Together, PPAF and FACE shortlisted the artists from all over Pakistan based on the poverty scorecard. These musicians belong to marginalized areas and have limited resources for income generation. PPAF not only funded the entire program (including their traveling, accommodation costs and daily stipends so artists could participate without any worry) but also spent years effectively researching and defining the concept to ensure that the structure of the residency was conducive to the needs of the artists.
