Muhammad Mussa (CEO), Mustafa Salman Abedin (CFO), and Areebah Akhlaque (CMO) deployed the platform to sow and reap prosperity for art and artists in Pakistan. The awe-inspiring journey of this incredible online art gallery dates back to February 2020, somewhere around the definite arrival of COVID-19 in the country.
For the art fanatics and appreciators, Fitoor prices the paintings reasonably so that art is no longer narrowed to a select group of people.
About 8 months into the business, Fitoor has already created employment opportunities for over 300 artists across Pakistan. I undertook a research project very recently and learned that there is a sprinkling of brick-and-mortar art galleries in Pakistan that only exhibit the works of a few, eminent artists, retailing for exorbitant prices.
It is also essential to note that many Pakistani artists are dispirited by the prevailing mentality in the country pertaining to the incompetence and inability of artists to do something noteworthy.
Fitoor invites the latent gems of the country to showcase their artwork and reach out to the masses.
It encourages the creation of a visual emotion to normalize a view of the world through an artist’s eyes, instead of through the lens of a camera.
Pakistan has a rich history of visual arts. Art and artists adorn our culture.
A philosophy extending to all facets of art girdles our creativity and panache. Each of the arts moves us to use our senses as five distinct modes of perceiving the world. It is rather unfortunate how we use our limited senses in a manner that constrains the output even further.
However, there is no denying that paintings assist human beings in perceiving the world profoundly. The manner in which artists secure the tangibility of their ideas is commendable – although these are subject to the apprehension and admiration of people.
Art goes beyond culture, beyond nations.
Art transcends time.
It transcends the artist who engendered the creation of a wondrous masterpiece and smashes to smithereens the rigid barriers of language, class, religion, gender, age, and wealth to voice its purport.
It rises above every discarnate blockade to manifest concert among people. Art may elicit mixed emotions, but it has a plethora of capacity to move people to contemplate, to perceive, to observe, and to respond. It jogs our memories of the values we uphold. It is a blissful reminder of how freedom, friendship, and love are irrefutably common to all of us despite our diversity.
Salute to all the artists out there, you are EXTRAORDINARY.
You have made us realize how important it is to pursue our passion and express ourselves. Your art impels us to think profoundly. You acutely paint the reality of the world on your canvas and share some of your internal, intimate emotions with everyone.
Thank you for expressing with your art what we cannot put into words!