Mariam Ali Baig: Hello, today I would like to introduce Maria Aslam, the founder and editor of ADA Magazine. She’s going to talk to us briefly about her career and her magazine, but mostly about the upcoming awards that are scheduled. The deadline for submissions is scheduled for August 15th. So Maria, tell us first of all about your journey, what you did before you joined ADA and what brought you to ADA.

Maria Aslam: Primarily, I’m an architect by profession and I had the opportunity to travel around and stay in different parts of the world and that’s when I realised that the representation of Pakistan, the recognition – leave the recognition right now – the presence of Pakistan in the (global) creative industry was totally missing. And I’m a bookworm; books were not there at all – no journals, no books, no nothing. So it just so happened that I came back to Pakistan and of course I started my own design studio, but immediately parallel to that, I started a publishing house.

I literally jumped in and the impetus came from Arshad Abdullah. I will have to give him that credit. He asked me to join his office and I said, you know what, I have a certain keera in my mind and I don’t think I would be doing justice to your office because I know I would be pursuing that too. And he asked me, “What is it that you want to do?”

And I shared with him; I said, “I want to write but I don’t have the platform. I mean, I’m not saying that I need to write an op-ed or an editorial once a month; I want a compilation of the creative industry.” So he said, “do it.”

I said, “I don’t have a platform.” And he very easily, very comfortably, sitting in his chair, he said, “create it.” And that was like, you know, him telling me to just do it.

I mean, I looked at him as my mentor, as my teacher, as a father figure and it was like a command, you know. I was so shaken by that. I didn’t have money; I had some Rs 700,000 in my account. I had had a small baby then, and I used all of that on the first edition.

And this is how it happened.

MAB: So that was ADA?

MA: That was ADA.

MAB: And what year was that?

MA: That was 2008.

MAB: So you are now what, 16 years?

MA: Yes. The last cycle awards were the 15th year of ADA itself.

MAB: OK, so tell me more about ADA in the sense of who reads it, who is your audience and also the editorial orientation. What exactly do you cover?

MA: So the contents of ADA are primarily architecture, design, art and life in between. And the idea was not to just push for architecture projects just because I’m an architect myself. I feel that the creative industry has no boundaries and yet, we tend to categorise them, we tend to bind them, we tend to box them.

And where I was coming from, I saw a very seamless, very organic, infiltration of all three. So it was a very, very conscious effort to have contents that were all about art and design. To date, we struggle with design because there aren’t many writers who actually talk about design and design is huge in itself.

And of course, architecture. So I think what ADA did was not only it; it kind of assimilated its contents; it actually generated its writers. We reached out to people; we groomed them on what to write, how to write, what to submit.

So I think we kind of initiated another line of writers,bloggers that you may call in today’s time, and thinkers who started talking, thinking about the impacts of these three design genres that we call architecture, design per se and art. I would like to mention the magazine Nukta also. It was folding over and I was heartbroken. I wish I could have acquired it.

MAB: Which magazine was that?

MA: This was Nukta.

MAB: Okay.

MA: And it was all about art, but it was all about art. There was no reflection on architecture – hardly any. So when that folded over, we then realised what a huge responsibility we had because we were addressing architecture, design, and now art, and then urbanity came into it, sustainability came into it, lifestyle patterns came into it, and our criteria of writers, international organisations joining, believing in us.

And that kind of collaboration that initiated itself was tremendous. We then channelled ourselves into an activism portal. We were making noises and voices in the right direction.

We were questioning the authorities as to why and what is happening. People like Arif Hassan groomed us, Yasmin Lari, and people who were in the direction of not just a single entity of a building, but what is the impact of that built structure to the environment, to the people, to the community? So I think we have come a long way just by showcasing single projects or interiors.

We’ve come a long way into addressing issues, challenging them, and talking about the impacts, bringing the government on board. We’ve tried. We continuously keep trying to reach out a hand towards the government as to how things can be better.

And, you know, whatever it is, the bylaws that come in, how they impact. So, I mean, we are continuously writing about that. So our content is very dynamic.

You know, we work on three editions prior, knowing that there will be something that will crop up and need our attention. So we can’t just lock them; this is what we have for the year. Because I think we are in a timeline that is quite volatile, which is addressing and kind of seeking an answer in today’s time.

So the contemporary lifestyle is that you never know what you will be talking about today or tomorrow. I mean, I don’t want to bring in politics, but our neighbouring countries are a force in themselves. So all of that gets into our pages and finds a space because it impacts us.

MAB: And apart from the sort of art, architecture and design community, do you have a general readership? For example, do students read the magazine?

MA: Yes, all of the academia from the north to the south of the country subscribe. And if they do not subscribe, we keep sending them issues and pushing them to subscribe. So there are certain universities that may be coming up or settling in. They do their subscriptions and the student body picks it up. I mean, it’s very heartening for me if I am at a bookshop and I see people just flipping through it, looking at the residences or interiors at least. So it’s the masses also that pick it up.

So our print run is quite long, you know, and that is why we need to sustain ourselves because of the paper, the printing cost and everything else. But still, I am resisting that I will have a printed version. We are online; all editions are online, but I still want to have that fulfilling feeling of having the copy in my hand.

MAB: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Now, tell me, tell us about the awards. Now, how did those come about? When did they start, and why?

MA: Well, so it was our 10th year. Mariam and I were seriously questioning ourselves: What is it that we are working on? I thought that we were kind of, you know, in a boat that was not rocky enough; we were maybe not charting a newer direction.

I felt we were not doing enough and I have been invited to many international juries and awards, and that’s when I started questioning myself. How about if we start recognising our creative minds? And immediately I turned to the Aga Khan Award for Architecture because I’ve worked with them in different nuances and they supported us.

They kind of created a guideline as to the process because the process is huge and very sensitive, and you have to be very mindful, unbiased and all of that. So with that grounding and teaching, we kind of again, you know, it was like the 10th year; we needed to move ahead; we needed to show the world that there’s something different that we are bringing through the ADA and we just jumped in. So it was, I think, 18-08-18 when we announced the awards and launched them and 19-01-19 we have had our first ceremony.

So within a span of five months, I think, we just went crazy, as if that was not enough because of the process, the submission call, the juries, and we had live juries. This is pre-COVID; we had live juries. Indus Valley (IVS) had the entire jury at their campus, Habib University holding the seminar and the Governor House holding the awards. So I felt that the entire city was with us, you know, and it was beautiful, absolutely wonderful and it happened. It just happened.

I mean, I couldn’t believe it. To date, I mean, it was actually broadcast by a TV channel, but to date, I don’t have the nerves to actually go and revisit that night. The President was with us, so anything and everything that could go wrong or right was happening that night.

But it happened. I think the fraternity, the professional fraternity, be it the architects, interiors, urbanists, engineers, artists, or designers, and when I say designers, like I say, it’s a bit of a huge industry that is prolific with graphic designers, editorial, UI, UX – you name it. They were all geared for it.

They were actually waiting for somebody to take that initiative, and it happened, and here we are with the fourth cycle.

MAB: So how are this year’s awards shaping up?

MA: I think they are shaping up very well. They are being steered by their chairs, which are by Yasmin Cheema, a very senior architect in Pakistan. She’s the chair for architecture. And then Tazeen Hussain for design. She brings in immense knowledge and experience. She’s also an educator at IVS and now at Habib University. And of course, our one and only Imran Qureshi, who is the chair for the arts. And these are the guys who actually take forward, as in the categories, what is it that they want to see in the submissions, because they are aware of their own subjects, of their own disciplines.

Hence, these guys are the ones who take forward the award categories every year. And of course, then the decision of the juries, the selection of juries, you know, having a conversation with them – all of this cannot be possible; it’s not possible without the chairs.

MAB: So how many categories are there?

MA: So there are some, almost like around 25 categories. The art categories have been lumped in, like 2D, 3D, interactive, multimedia, and all. But underneath that, there are many subcategories.

So in totality, if you were to ask me, there are absolutely, like, around 30 categories. And then we have our own special awards: the Environment Leadership Award, which has not been taken so far, and the Socially Responsive Award, which has been taken twice. So these are the special awards that are actually pulled in by the jurors.

You do not submit to this category. It’s the jurors who select if they feel that any project, be it in art, design, or architecture, is worthy and of merit to be recognised with the Environment Leadership and Socially Responsive Awards.

MAB: So what are the criteria for participating? I mean, in order to participate?

MA: So you can participate as a firm; you can participate as an individual, as long as the credit for the work that you’re submitting is solely yours. Well, we do check all the copyrights and everything.

There’s a huge guideline mandate as to how you can submit, what you can submit, and the selection of your categories. It’s a very easy form. You just go to the website, register yourself, log in, submission opens up, and then you select the number of categories that you’re working on, upload your PDF, and then hit submit. Voila!

MAB: And what is the website?

MA: So our website is awards.adapk.com and submissions close on August 15th. We have full intentions of not extending the deadline. So do come forward, submit by the 15th, and make a name for yourself.

MAB: Well, I wish you the best of luck!

MA: Thank you so much.

MAB: Thank you very much.