Daily Times

LAHORE: An art exhibition to celebrate three decades of efforts by the Nomad Gallery to promote art, culture, crafts human rights and peace kicked off on Wednesday.

The exhibition titled Safar – The Journey 2017 features works by 45 Pakistani artists.

Speaking on the occasion, former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Abida Hussain praised Nageen Hyat, the founder of Nomad Gallery, for her efforts for promotion of arts. She said Hyat’s energy, dedication and capacity to always remain focused on her objectives was a source of inspiration.

Hussain said that over the years Nomad Gallery had grown and its work flourished. “I wish her all the best for her future projects. She has very ambitious plans to further institutionalise her work and I would support that whole heartedly,” she added.

Hyat said that since its inception Nomad Gallery was focused on projects through which it could raise awareness about social issues including empowerment of women and other under-privileged communities. She said that one such projects was Art for Social Change, Activism and Peace initiative. It was an initiative for promotion of human rights and women’s empowerment through awareness-raising and economic empowerment, training, seminars and workshops. Visitors on the opening day of the four-day event included the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) director general, the Lahore Arts Council (LAC) executive director, senior artists, art students and art enthusiasts.

The exhibition features artworks by Amin Gulgee, Abrar Ahmed, Akram Dost Baloch, Ahmed Habib, Ali Sajid, Ayesha Siddiqui, Anjum Ayub, Asad ur Rehman, Abdul Jabbar Gul, Changez Sultan, Farrah Mehmood, Farida Batool, Hurmat ul Ain, Iram Wani, Jamil Baloch, Komal Shahid, Kamal Hyat, M A Bhatti, Meher Afroz, Masood A Khan, Mussaratt Mirza, Masoma Halai Khawaja, Mashkoor Raza, Mina Haroon, Moshin Shafi, Nahid Raza, N H Kazmi, Noorjehan Bilgrami, Rukh-e-Nilofer, Rabeya Jalil, Riffat Khattak, Syed Arsalan Naqvi, Samina Ali Akhter, Syed Faraz Ali, Shahnaz Sheikh, Sadiya Hussain, Salma Manzoor, Samreen Asif, Shahzad Zar, Shirin Rasul, Sara Riaz Khan, Tayyaba Aziz, Ubaid Syed and Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi.

Artists used different media and techniques including mix medium, inkjet print, oil on canvas, miniature, wood engraved, acrylic, print making, lenticular print, mix media on wood cut, etching on paper, water colour, textile collage on killi, paper on paper with tea wash, photo-etching-aquatint, graphite on digital print on canson paper, coloured pencils and gousche on paper, breakfast in mist and Kashmiri Bazaar.

The exhibition at Alhamra Arts Gallery will continue till December 16. Day 3 will feature screening of documentaries produced by Nageen Hyat.

Published in Daily Times, December 14^th 2017.