Australian HC pays tributes to Pakistani artists, their talent

LAHORE: “The relationship between our two countries (Pakistan & Australia) goes a long way. Art from this region represents a unique heritage in Australia, with the relics of the Macassan Traders of North Australia and the Afghan Cameleers of Central Australia, serving as the most celebrated of Australian Islamic legacies. Pakistan is also famous in Australia, and around the world, for its beautiful genre of truck art”.

This was said by the Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan HE Margaret Adamson while speaking at the inauguration of an exhibition at Zahoor-ul-Akhlaq Art Gallery, National College of Arts (NCA) here on Tuesday, by Pakistani artists Rasheed Araeen, Nazia Khan, Waqas and Ali Kazim, who will be participating in Australia’s 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT, Australia this November.

High Commissioner Adamson highlighted Australia’s support for Pakistan’s contemporary art scene and underscored the importance of nurturing artists as part of Pakistan’s social and cultural evolution.

She said: “Through artistic collaborations like APT9, we want to show the longstanding cultural and people-to-people links and parallels between our two countries under a different light, the light of art, colour and creativity. Art has a unique capacity to connect the diverse people of Australia and Pakistan and help us understand each other better,” Ms Adamson said. The Australian High Commissioner also paid rich tributes to late Asma Jahangir for her bravery and her untiring struggle for human rights all over the world.

The High Commissioner paid rich tributes to the Pakistani artists and their talents. She commented: “Pakistan has every reason to be proud of these five wonderful artists. Their work will be appearing in an exhibition whose unique mix of existing new art and cross-cultural insight has attracted three million visitors since 1993.”

It is pertinent to note that APT is the only major exhibition series in the world to focus exclusively on the contemporary art of Asia, the Pacific & Australia. It will run from November 24, 2018 to April 28, 2019 at the Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Brisbane. One of the Artists, Aisha Khalid, will show a major new work at APT-a large-scale sculpture tapestry-to commemorate the 25th anniversary of QAGOMA’s Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. NCA Principal Dr Mustaza Jaffri and renowned artist, art teacher and former principal of NCA Madam Salima Hashmi received the Commissioner.