Fundraiser exhibit: When the art scene gives back

Nomad Gallery supports education for children without means.

ISLAMABAD:

A fundraiser art exhibition to support the Mashal Public School in Bari Imam was held on Tuesday by Nomad Art Gallery’s director Nageen Hyat and participating artists. Belgian Ambassador H E Hans-Christian Kint inaugurated the exhibition, along with his wife Carmen--a dedicated supporter of the school and the efforts of its owner Zeba Hussain.

Hussain has been running the school for two and a half years; her non-profit school educates impoverished street children from Bari Imam area.

“Initially the exhibition was supposed to be curated for an international show--we’ve got a spectacular line-up. Literally, we’ve got wet paint from Nahid Raza,” said Hyat, consummate hostess and director of Nomad Gallery.

Hyat explained that a good chunk of the proceeds from the exhibition will go directly to Mashal School.

A diverse range of works by the acclaimed Abrar Ahmed, Aqeel Solangi, Tabassam Rizvi, Arjumand Awan, S Faraz Ali, Zia Zaidi, Sumera Jawad, Anjum Ayub,
N H Kazmi, Nahid Raza, Samina Ali, M Rana and Zarina Ijaz were displayed, selling fast.

“We’ve got at least 350 kids right now,” said Zeba Hussain, explaining how she was going to use the funds received from the exhibition, “and I’m going to get them books. There are so many who are still without books and since we follow the Oxford University Press curriculum, they can be expensive.”

Hussain retold the sad state of affairs governing the lives of those she educates. In one instance, she narrated, twelve siblings were sharing one room, consigned to very little space.

“When the kids aren’t at school they’re washing cars, selling flowers and scavenging for trash to recycle. It’s also very hot so you can imagine what they have to go through. So many are prey to abuse and are also easy targets for extremist brain-washing,”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2011.