In order to say adieu to the year 2011- a year dedicated to Faiz Ahmed Faiz- one of the finest poet of Urdu language, a unique exhibition of around 150 artworks was held here on Tuesday at National Art Gallery (NAG) to pay homage to the poet. The exhibition titled ‘The Postcard to Faiz’ was based on the entries received for Faiz Art Prize competition from around the world.
The art show is a unique initiative of the NAG in collaboration with Nukta Art, Aman ki Asha and the Progressive Writers Association to celebrate birth centennial year of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, which is being commemorated globally.
The competition comprised two categories, professional artists and art students. In the artists’ category, the two prizes were awarded to Meher Afroz (Karachi) and Ruby Chishti (USA) respectively while Naureen Rashid (NCA), Uzair Amjad (NCA), Humaira Baloch (University of Sindh, Jamshoro) and Adnan Mairaj Malik (Karachi University were the winners of the students’ category. Two popular prizes selected by the visitors of the exhibition were presented to Sheema Khan and Zohra Tanveer of Punjab University.A large number of girl students along with their teachers attended the exhibition to represent the artwork of their fellow students.
The idea behind the Faiz Art Prize, according to the organisers, was to bring together two disciplines of cultural expressions, visual art and literature. The participating artists created an artwork, which symbolised the artists’ dialogue with the poet’s verses, illustrating Faiz’s philosophy and interpreting his message of peace, love, justice and fraternity through the language of colours and brush strokes. The participating artists were expected to convey their thoughts through artwork on a sheet of an A4 size paper.
The participants art students belonged to different institutions namely Sardan Bahadur Khan Women University, Quetta; Beaconhouse National University, Lahore; Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi; Punjab University; Karachi School of Arts; Karachi University; National College of Arts, Lahore; School of Fine Arts Central Jail, Karachi; University of Sindh, Jamshoro; G.G. Post Graduate College Kashmir Road, Rawalpindi; Islamabad College for Girls (F-6/2) and Jamia Millia Islamic University, New Delhi.
The Faiz Art Prize was received with enthusiasm as entries were received from major cities of Pakistan, India, Canada, Australia, UK and USA. The entries were displayed in a specially designed space by Pakistan’s one of leading architect Habib Fida Ali at Gallerie Sadequain, Karachi on October 9 where the winners were bestowed with awards.
Artists and art students from around the world competed with some of the distinguished names such as Prof. Saeed Akhtar, Meher Afroz, and Amin Gulgee.
PNCA DG Tauqir Nasir hoped the exhibition would help disseminate the Faiz’s philosophy to the masses. He added that the exhibition was an endeavour to pay tribute to PNCA’s first chairman, Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
The winners were awarded with a specially designed award created by eminent sculptor Shahid Sajjad based on a piece by internationally renowned scientist Dr Salimuzzaman Siddique, a close friend of Faiz. The cash prize was also given to the students to help them continue with their creative pursuits.
Unveiling of Faiz’s portrait bust in copper sculpted by Irfan Hakim was also part of the event. Faiz Ahmed Faiz has been the first chairman of the PNCA when it was created in 1973 under an act of the parliament in 1973. The bust would remain as permanent feature of the National Art Gallery, the audience was told during the programme.
A distinguished jury of the panel that judged the competition comprised eminent artists, critics and literary personalities including Naazish Ataulla, the former Principal of National College of Arts, Lahore; Mussarrat Nahid, the director of Visual Arts at PNCA; Saqib Hanif, an art critic; Tariq Rangoonwala, the chairman of Rangoonwala Trust and Asif Farrukhi, an art critic.
