Summer art classes for children to start soon

ISLAMABAD: Summer art classes for children will be starting soon at the Nomad and Jharoka art galleries.

Nahida Raza, curator of Jharoka Art Gallery, said classes will start in the second week of June and will be open to children aged 10 and above.

The course will start with the basics; drawing, pencil sketching, stills, landscaping, shading and colouring.

Raza said she is trying to get renowned artists and teachers from Rawalpindi and Islamabad to give weekly lectures to the students as well.

“Art helps a child grow creatively and is useful in the long run,” said Raza.

Raza said in schools, classes take place once a week and are often overcrowded. “Here it is a continuous process and, since there are less students, each child gets more attention. Professional artists will be teaching so one can distinguish the talent of the child and further polish his or her natural skills and talents,” she explained.

Nomad Art Gallery will begin a summer art workshop from June 14 to July 14, open to children aged seven and older. Students will be taught basic drawing, coloring, sketching, ink, water colour, soft pastels, creative paintings on objects, portrait and landscape as well as collage and paper mache.

Artists from Islamabad who will be teaching at the workshop include Zia Zaidi and Anjum Ayub.

Mehreen Khan, who is interested in sending her children to an art summer school said that instead of sitting at home and watching television, it is better if her children go to workshops and learn a skill.

“I see my children scribbling on paper and I think that maybe there is hidden talent that can be polished by professional artists,” she said.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 1st, 2010.