The Post-Graduate Research Center of Creative Arts at the College of Art and Design (UCAD), University of the Punjab, Lahore organised a seminar by renowned art historian Ms Marcella Sirhandi on Monday.
Titled “Innovation and Conflict in the 1920’s: Chughtai in Lahore, the Tagores in Calcutta and Trinidade,” the seminar offered an in-depth exploration of artistic developments in South Asia during a transformative historical period. Dr. Sirhandi, a distinguished scholar of Asian Art History specializing in South Asian art, is Professor Emeritus at Oklahoma State University, USA.
The session was attended by prominent academicians including Dr. Samina Nasim, Principal, College of Art & Design; Dr. Kanwal Khalid; Saba Hussain; Dr. Irum Zia Raja; Mr. Khalid Sarhandi; and Mr. Irfan, among many others and researchers.
During her lecture, Prof Sirhandi presented historical research examining cultural intersections in art, with particular emphasis on innovation, political conflict, Partition-era transitions and royal patronage. She analyzed the works and contexts of Abdur Rahman Chughtai in Lahore, members of the Tagore family in Calcutta and Angelo da Fonseca Trindade, highlighting the dynamic exchanges shaping modern Indian and Pakistani artistic identities in the 1920s.
Her comprehensive engagement with modern Indian and Pakistani painters sparked a thought-provoking discussion, followed by an interactive question-and-answer session with participants.
The seminar was organized by Prof. Dr. Naela Aamir, Director of the Research Center and Dr. Samina Nasim, Principal, College of Art and Design.