Daily Times

LAHORE: A three-day exhibition titled ‘Saving the Dying Art’ based on the restored paintings of renowned artists kicked off at the Alhamra Art Gallery on Thursday.

A number of art lovers thronged the gallery on the occasion, who acknowledged the hard work of the restoration team.

As many as 33 painting of the renowned artists restored by Alhamra Art Council with the collaboration of the Danish Centre for Culture and Development (CKU) were displayed on the walls for visitors.

Lahore Arts Council Chairman Kamran Lashari and former National College of Arts principal inaugurated the exhibition while Minister Kanwal Numan, Muneeza Hashmi, Dr Anwar, Alhamra Arts Council Arts and Culture Director Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi were also present. On the occasion, a large number of art lovers and art students were also present. They admired the restoration of artwork by the Alhamra Art Council and the CKU.

Talking to Daily Times, Kamran Lashari said that restoration of valuables historical paintings was a great achievement of the Alhamra Arts Council with the collaboration of CKU. He said that several damaged paintings were still available at the Lahore Museum and at the Lahore Fort also. “After the successful restoration process, we have a lot of trained students in Punjab as well as other provinces of the country,” he said, adding that the restoration work of other paintings would be started soon.

“With our rich cultural heritage and a treasure of paintings, it is a dire need to have experts on conservation and restoration of various forms of art.” Alhamra Arts Council Arts and Culture Director Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi said: “We have been able to restore some of the masterpieces in our permanent art gallery which itself is a major achievement in just 15 days. We are now planning to open a conservation club at the Alhamra Art Gallery, where artists can come, use the available tools and materials and work on art restoration.”

He said a team of Danish experts visited the Lahore Arts Council months ago and they were asked to help the council in restoration of the damaged paintings.

Student from different colleges and universities, who participated at the inauguration ceremony, lauded the efforts of authorities concerned, and said that restoration process should be continued to save restored paintings and cultural heritage of the country.