Islamabad :The first-ever Islamabad Art Festival 2019 (IAF-19) will begin tomorrow (Monday).
Sponsored by the Serena Hotels under its Cultural Diplomacy to promotes art and culture in the country, the 13-day event has been organised by a consortium of public and private educational institutions, art galleries, and artist associations from across the country, including support from international embassies.
Led by its president and chief curator, Jamal Shah, the IAF-19 will be held at several locations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, including museums, art galleries, educational institutions, and public parks.
Jamal Shah said the event focusing on the ‘dialogue between tradition and modernity’ would be inaugurated on November 18 at 11am at the Pakistan National Council of Arts and will continue for 13 days.
He said the festival was expected to engage around 500,000 people from diverse backgrounds and ages, while the participants would include over 200 people from 34 countries and around 400 people from across Pakistan.
“For the first time, the expression of almost all art forms will be showcased together. Painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, textile design, dance, music, film, puppet shows, theatre, fashion design, and performing arts from across the world will be there to satisfy the cultural aesthetic of people,” he said.
Jamal Shah also said literature from different lands was also in focus.
“An international literary conference is part of the festival. Among discussants will be noted writers and poets from around 20 Asian African countries. They will assemble under the banner of the three day International Writers Conference, Islamabad, 2019,” he said.
Jamal Shah said the deliberations and poetry recital sessions would engage literature and academia circles to promote understanding of the cultures and mores of people from different parts of the world. All these art forms are being presented in venues open and accessible to the public," he said.