NCA exhibition: Faculty see welcome diversity in theses’ themes

LAHORE:

The thesis exhibition is bigger and better organised this year. There is greater diversity in themes selected for the works on display, said Quddus Mirza, head of the Fine Arts Department at the National College of Arts.

He was speaking to The Express Tribune at the inauguration of the annual undergraduate degree show.

“Their work suggests that the graduates have tried to grapple with the question: what is fine art?” he said. The exploration of connections between reality and art was a theme common to all theses on display this year, he said. “The way reality is presented to us through the media sometimes makes us question if it’s real or if it’s someone’s propaganda. The graduates have tried to bring forth this aspect of reality in their work,” he said.

Mirza said the work of some graduates was based on personal experiences and outlook towards fine art, education, culture and violence.

Saleena Ham, an art consultant from Brisbane, Australia, was also present on the occasion. She praised the work and said that each art piece narrated a unique story. “Art is a powerful medium to reach out to the people.

Ham said she was particularly touched by a few pieces. “I really liked the work of graduates from Quetta and Jacobabad,” she said. The graduate from Quetta had chosen to work on the life story of his brother and the one from Jacobabad on the oppression faced by women and children in his native region, he said. “It is great to see a man bring forth issues faced by women,” he said.

In his statement in the theses booklet, NCA Principal Murtaza Jafri said that the professional careers of the graduates had just started.

He said he hoped that they would proceed in their careers with the same determination they had showed during their stay at the institution.  The galleries where theses of the graduating batch were displayed remained packed with visitors throughout the day. The graduates belong to Fine Arts, Film and Television, Product Design, Musicology, Architecture, Textile Design, Ceramic Design, Visual Communications Design, Interior Design and Multimedia departments.

PHOTO:AYESHA MIR/EXPRESS 

Earlier, the exhibition was inaugurated by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Perviaz Rasheed and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and NCA Principal Murtaza Jafri.

Speaking to the media, Rasheed said some of the best artists in the country had been trained at the NCA. “They have gone on to become cultural ambassadors of the country,” he said.

Aziz said he had been happy to learn that NCA students were all likely to find a job within six months of their graduation.

The show will continue till January 22.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2016.