Annual young artist exhibition preparations finalised

LAHORE:Preparations for the 16th Annual Young Artist Exhibition under the auspices of Lahore Arts Council (LAC) have been finalised. Executive Director, LAC, Saman Rai reviewed the artwork on display at the art gallery and they were briefed by Director Arts and Culture Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi at Alhamra Art Gallery, the Mall.

This yearly exhibition is one of the most promising attributes of the Alhamra Art Gallery in which young artists across the country from several different art institutions submit their artworks for this exhibition. Each participant will submit two artworks for selection and Director Art and Culture Alhamra Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi will make the final selections. The upcoming show is 16th in the line since Alhamra took this initiative back in 2005. This year Alhamra has received approximately 500 artworks from all over the country, created by 400 artists including, paintings, miniature paintings, drawings, print-makings, sculptures, installations, videos, ceramic and graphic arts.

Director of Arts & Culture, Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi said ten best artists would receive the cash prizes and “Young Artist Award”. This award is considered one of the most prominent and recognised awards ever awarded to young artists by a government organization for exhibiting their best artworks.

Expressing her views on the occasion, Saman Rai said that every piece of art displayed in this exhibition has some subtle message which will be of interest to the viewers. She said ‘our youth is endowed with immense talents, and we are promoting peace through art’. Saman noted that the encouragement of the youth would be the guarantor of their bright future that’s why Alhamra creates room for young souls and promote them to show their skills to the masses and the masters as well under one roof to encourage them. We hope to continue this exhibition for upcoming years with more zeal and improvement she added, she said.

Besides, this year Alhamra will upload a virtual tour of the art on display, along with catalogue which will also be available online at Lahore Arts Council’ s website, which will allow art lovers to purchase any artwork of their choice and interest.