Painting our walls: Street art contest aims to beautify city

More than 300 school students participate in the second edition of the street art competition.

LAHORE:

More than 300 school students participated in the second edition of the street art competition held on Sunday. Students painted walls in Dharampura and Garhi Shahu areas. The themes were assigned by the organisers.

Wasif Hussain, one of the participants, said the event was meant to beautify the city. He said while most people decorated their homes, they generally paid no attention to public spaces which were equally important.

Sarah Jameel, a Beaconhouse National University student, said one of the benefits of painting the walls the removal of chalking done by political and religious parties. She said after all four zones were covered, the people would have something pleasant to look at.

She said the event was also a good community-building exercise. The participants, she said, were getting a great chance to interact with the people who lived in the areas.

The city has been divided into four zones for the purpose of this competition. On Sunday, participants painted walls in zone 1 (including Dharampura and Garhi Shahu areas). Students from National College of Arts, BNU, FAST, Lahore Grammar School and LACAS are participating in the activity. The themes for this week included truck art, education, peace and freedom, culture, gates of Lahore and historical monuments.

Next week, the participants will paint walls in Garden Town, Model Town and Faisal Towm (Zone 2).

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2011.