Khuhro hails art exhibition highlighting ray of hope in Sindh

Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro on Thursday inaugurated ‘Sindh Artists Exhibition-2012’ organised by the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP), which the organisers said was its first-ever exhibition in which over 50 artists and sculptors, mostly youngsters belonging to different districts of the province, participated.

The exhibition will continue till 25th October when the winners will be awarded handsome cash awards.

The speaker said he was happy to see that the artists had creatively highlighted the good things of life such as education, the ray of hope, hard work and unity. He added that it was good to see that the artists had not shown violence in their work, which had made the life of ordinary people miserable. “Thus, in a way, this work was a protest against the ugly aspect of the society,” opined Khuhro. He said if any artist had shown ‘Jhompri’ (makeshift abode) it was painted in a beautiful way, which was refreshing for everyone. “These are the real things, which reflect our inner voice and protest against ugly things.”

Khuhro said both senior and junior artists had put their work on display. The speaker suggested the artists should be appreciated and hoped that times would come when art and culture would be promoted in the country like it was in other parts of the world, where biddings worth millions of rupees took place at exhibitions. He lauded the ACP for encouraging such healthy activities. Khuhro hoped that more creative minds would emerge to highlight the good things of life.

President ACP Muhammad Ahmed Shah said fine art was neglected at the arts council for some time, but now they had taken up this issue to promote exhibitions. He added that a new building was being built where three art galleries would be established. The president ACP said on the last day of the exhibition a grand finale would take place and the judges would select the best paintings and sculptures for awards.

Ms Qudsia Akbar, chairperson of the ACP’s Fine Art Committee, said they had held such exhibitions in the past but this practice was discontinued for some time.

She said now they had restarted artists’ exhibitions to encourage young and emerging artists to promote their creative work. Qudsia said for the first time cash awards would be given to the artists. She said the important thing was that seniors had placed their paintings and sculptures on display, without being a part of the competition. She pointed out that the young artists had displayed around 100 items. She opined that promotion and protection of art and culture was a sign of civilized and forward-looking nations.