Mountains of Pakistan showcased in art exhibition

Islamabad

More than 50 oil-on-canvas paintings depicting mountains of Pakistan were put on display at the Art and Craft Village Sunday afternoon to mark the Pakistan Independence Day celebrations. Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) and Islamabad Devcom Centennial Leo (IDCLC) organised the youth art show aimed at engaging youth in connection with the Lions Club International Global Youth Week.

Sameena Baig, the world’s first woman mountaineer who scaled seven highest peaks of the seven continents, was the chief guest on the occasion. She believes the mountains and their culture is Pakistan’s treasure. Every Pakistani shall explore it, and every government and non-government organisation shall put all efforts to showcase and project the Pakistan’s mountains across the globe. She praised the young women for painting mountains on the canvas.

Devcom-Pakistan Creative Director and Cambridge art teacher Riffat Art Baig conducted the art competition, and curated the exhibition. She said, “The paintings on display reflect the creativity of youth to portray the magical beauty and grandeur of the marvellous mountains of Pakistan. The variety of style and variation of expression shows the skills and talent of the young women studying art in different girls’ colleges at graduate and undergraduate level.”

It was a great experience of managing the art competition and witnessing how quickly and creatively the young artists painted the wonderful mountain landscapes, said Shaaref Munir, the IDCLC president. The youth is brimming with creativity if only they could have better resources and opportunities.

One of the participants Ushna Azeem said we need to have grand inclusive events to celebrate Pakistan Independence Day where all segments of society shall take part in variety of activities. It would reflect solidarity and integrity of the nation. Engaging youth in art would help enhance the peace and harmony in the society.

Munir Ahmed, Executive Director Devcom-Pakistan and IDCLC Adviser, while talking to this scribe said, “This is quite unfortunate that men’s colleges have no art faculty, therefore, we hardly see any participant taking part in our art competitions. To engage male youth in art and creative pursuits, we have to put much more efforts and time to reach out different organisations to find out the interested ones. The colleges and universities only make them learn art, but later, there is no fair chances to groom them as a professionally sound and marketable creators of art.  We strongly need to market our mountain tourism, trekking and mountaineering.