400 young artists presented their artwork at the 14th annual exhibition of paintings, sculpture ceramics and graphic arts for young artists-2018 titled ‘Take Off’ held at Alhamra Art Gallery on Wednesday.
Additional Chief Secretary Punjab Omer Rasul inaugurated the exhibition and presented the awards among the winners. The exhibition was organised by Lahore Arts Council and was a part of their efforts to provide a platform to young artists for presenting their artistic approach.
This year Alhamra received approximately 850 artworks from all over the country, out of which which 500 best artworks were selected for display. The selected artworks included painting, miniature painting, drawings, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video, ceramic and graphic arts.
Each of the artists had submitted two artworks which were selected by Director Art and Culture Alhamra Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi. The show on Wednesday was the 14th annual exhibition at Alhamra that began in 2005. Ali Zulfi said that this exhibition is not just another exhibition, but an art contest as well in which ten best artworks will receive the price of 10,000 each and Young Artist Award would be given to young artists for exhibiting their artworks. He said, “the Young Artists Exhibition is a great step taken by Alhamra to create room for young souls and help them show their skills to the masses and the master, all under one roof.”
This year Alhamra received approximately 850 artworks from all over the country, out of which which 500 best artworks were selected for display. The selected artworks included painting, miniature painting, drawings, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video, ceramic and graphic arts
Jury members selected 10 best works among the participants including Aneeka Saeed, Areeba Majid Butt, Cyrus Javed, Irum Basher, Javed Iqbal, Mariam Laique, Memuna Shahid, Sana Durrani, Sidra Liaqat, and Tayyaba Sabir. Winners were awarded with shield and certificates along with the cash price of 10,000 rupees. Jury also selected six artists for the Consolation Awards.
On the occasion, Lahore Arts Council Executive Director, Captain (R) Atta Muhammad Khan said, “Young Artists Exhibition provides a platform for the young and artistic youth for exhibiting their works at the national level. Alhamra is thankful to all the artists for their participation”. He congratulated all the winners who have received the Ten Best Artworks Award. He also said that Lahore Art Council hopes to continue this exhibition for upcoming years with more zeal.
At the exhibition, the audience were thrilled to see the diversity of artworks that were on display and the amount of effort visual artists had put in. The visitors were of the opinion that every artwork was phenomenal in its own way. This exhibition generated a dialogue for the youth’s conceptual understanding of the world, highlighting their creative energies to speak about their perspectives individually and collectively.
The exhibition will continue till April 29.
Published in Daily Times, April 13th 2018.