Daily Times

Salima Hashmi is a Pakistani painter and artist. She has served for four years as a professor and the dean of the National College of Arts. She is the eldest daughter of the renowned poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz and his British-born wife AlysFaiz.

In her interview, she discusses thebeginning of the National College of Arts in 1958. Before 1958, the college was just a mere school of arts until Professor Sponnenburg was appointed principal by the Pakistani government.

Professor Sponnenburgwanted to transform the decaying, dilapidated institution into a modern day art and design school. First they searched both nationally and internationally for instructors who could contribute to the artistic development of the university. Under what was known as the Colombo plan, the professorhired art and design teachers from all over the world. This included ceramists from Japan and art historians from the United States of America. He had a very strong vision for what he wanted from the institution now renamed the National College of Arts, finding inspiration from Bauhaus in Germany, which was a combination of studio, workshop and theoretical studies that had never been seen in Pakistan before.

Under Professor Sponnenburg’s guidance the college also conducted expeditions into places such as Swat, which was considered unknown territory at the time. His aim was to expand the development of indigenous arts and crafts in Pakistan. According to Salima Hashmi, Professor Sponnenburg’s contribution to NCA has been vital for the development of arts in Pakistan. It was during his time as principal of NCA, that people such as Nayyar Ali Dada, ZahoorulIkhlaq and Ahmad Khan attended the college; these people found fame and success in their respective fields of arts. As she says ‘So much of what we see today, if you trace it back the seeds are in Sponnenburg’s three years as a principal.’

Salima Hashmi represents the first generation of modern artists who worked towards promoting the Pakistani aesthetic through arts and literature. One of the main aspects of The Citizens Archive of Pakistan is to archive the development of arts in Pakistan. The organization is fortunate to have interviewed artists who are iconic in their fields of expertise.

Text and pic by CAP

Published in Daily Times, July 1^st , 2017.