BEIJING: The National Art Museum of China will permanently display a rare painting of renowned Pakistani artist and social worker Jimmy Engineer.
The artist handed over his piece of art to the administration of the museum on Wednesday. Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khalid joined the artist with other officials from the Embassy of Pakistan and National Art Museum for the event.
Speaking during the occasion, the ambassador said that Pakistan and China were celebrating 66 years of friendship.
He said, Pak-China cultural relations were significant as being an important component of Belt and Road Initiative announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
After building an economic corridor, both the countries were trying to expand their cultural, academic and intellectual links, he added.
Talking about friendly ties, the ambassador informed the guests that about 18,000 Pakistani students were currently studying in China in different fields, while 19, 000 Chinese nationals were working on different projects in Pakistan.
Khalid, who is an art-lover himself, hoped that museums in China could play a part in boosting cultural ties by promoting museums in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar that were displaying Gandhara cultural artefacts.
He lauded Jimmy Engineer for encouraging a soft image of Pakistan, adding that the artist’s first exhibition last week attracted Chinese audience and received appreciation. He said, the paintings of the versatile Pakistani artist had been selected for display by different museums of the world while he had received a number of national and international medals and awards as recognition of his artwork.
Pakistan, he said, had been a cradle of different civilisations and it had varied landscapes while people lived in harmony and unity.
Khalid thanked the administration for honouring Jimmy Engineer and displaying artwork by a Pakistani in the country’s prestigious museum.
While acknowledging rich Pakistani art and culture, Deputy Director of the Museum, Hu Wei said, Pakistan was the first country which established diplomatic relations with China. He said, both the countries had already maintained close cultural relations adding, the painting gifted by Pakistan’s most accomplished artist would further strengthen these ties.
“This unique painting to be permanently displayed in the museum will provide an opportunity to the visitors to witness artwork of an internationally acclaimed artist who has created a lot of paintings about Pakistan’s independence movement, landscape and the architecture,” he said.
Wei appreciated Jimmy Engineer for his art and social work, expressing confidence that the painting will boost people-to-people contact between Pakistan and China. He presented the artist with a certificate recognising his contribution to art and culture.
While speaking at the event, the artist shared that his artwork is dedicated to the country and he considers himself to be a “servant of Pakistan”. “I wanted to share my artwork with Chinese people and I thank the museum administration for providing me an ample opportunity by displaying my painting,” he said.
He added that he remains a student of nature as he considers himself a disciple of it. He said he hopes that the painting, one of the artist’s 58 paintings completed in 13 years, will continue to remind the visitors that Pakistanis were enlightened people who love art and look towards creating positive things.
