Driving ambition: Pakistani truck rolls into US art museums

The elaborately ostentatious trucks of Pakistan have become one of its most common cultural symbols.

A Pakistani-American artist, Asheer Akram, has taken on a journey to display the decorated trucks to audiences in US. However, Akram and his associates have given a Midwest twist and a new function to the truck.

Akram will be displaying his project at the Wichita Art Museum in Kansas.

In a Facebook post, the artist wrote “I am certain about one thing- this project and it's off shoots are as important today as they were when it first rolled out.”

“Not only as a tool for spreading cultural awareness but as a method of opening up a dialog about current events with younger generations. We are thrilled to have her still rolling strong. Fighting #racism and #bigotry since 2013,” he added.

In 2011, Akram, who stems from Kansas, came up with the idea of the project while he travelled to Pakistan for a residency programme. During his stay, he was introduced to the decorative trucks of the country.

His stay inspired him to use the image to promote a positive image of Pakistani culture, after which the Pakistani Cargo Truck Initiative was born.

The truck, which comprises of traditional, contemporary motifs on Pakistani cargo trucks, seeks to “captivate everyone and inspire them to investigate cultures outside of their everyday surroundings,” reads the initiative’s website.

“We wish for this project to influence the understanding of social and cultural identities,” the artists’ explain.

The artists have used a 1952 Chevrolet grain truck as a shell for the project and enmeshed it with basic format of the traditional Pakistani cargo truck.