‘Promoting culture, art helps project soft image’

President Alvi directs PNCA to make arrangements to facilitate people wanting to donate their art

ISLAMABAD: Promoting indigenous art and culture leads towards projecting a soft image of the country.

This was stated by President Dr Arif Alvi during a briefing by Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) regarding the activities of the council and the future plans of the organisation.

Dr Alvi stated that being the largest cultural institution in the federal capital, PNCA was the cultural face of the country, representing cultural activities within and outside the country. In this regard, he directed PNCA to make necessary arrangements to facilitate individuals who wanted to donate their personal art and cultural collections to its galleries for display before the public.

During the briefing, the president expressed satisfaction at PNCA’s affairs, noting that it was facilitating the implementation of pacts on the cultural front, depicting traditional and contemporary expressions to build a national image.

He also appreciated the contributions of PNCA towards the promotion and keeping the archival record of art and cultural activities on regular basis.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Shafqat Jalil was also present on the occasion.

Calligraphy workshop

A large number of students and artists from twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi attended the first day of a two-day calligraphy workshop at the National Art Gallery on Friday. The workshop had been organised by the council in collaboration with the Iranian Embassy.

Renowned Iranian calligraphers Ahmed Ali Barooti and Muhammad Pour, along with Pakistani artist Nasir Ahmed Seemab conducted the workshop.

Barooti and Pour had been invited by the Iranian embassy to display their works in Islamabad as part of the Iranian Revolution’s 40th anniversary.

On Friday, participants were informed about the history of calligraphy and its different forms or ‘khat’. The Iranian and Pakistan artists demonstrated the basics of the craft for students. Later, the students themselves tried to follow the instructions of the artists in creating their own basic calligraphic pieces. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2019.